Possible explanation for “withdrawal into self,” a characteristic of the disorder
New research from Case Western Reserve University and University of Toronto neuroscientists finds that the brains of autistic children generate more information at rest – a 42% increase on average. The study offers a scientific explanation for the most typical characteristic of autism – withdrawal into one’s own inner world. The excess production of information may explain a child’s detachment from their environment.
Physicians have long known that oxygen deprivation to the brain around the time of birth causes worse damage in boys than girls.
The findings underscore the need to explore questions about gender differences in all studies, including those conducted in animals, infants and children. Answering these questions in this case could prove to be a stepping stone toward finding precisely targeted, gender-based therapies to stimulate brain cell preservation and recovery.
Our brains have billions of neurons grouped into different regions. These regions often work alone, but sometimes must join forces. How do regions communicate selectively?
The various regions of the brain often work independently, relying on the neurons inside that region to do their work. At other times, however, two regions must cooperate to accomplish the task at hand. The riddle is this: what mechanism allows two brain regions to communicate when they need to cooperate yet avoid interfering with one another when they must work alone?
3-D model of famous amnesiac’s brain helps illuminate human memory
During his lifetime, Henry G. Molaison (H.M.) was the best-known and possibly the most-studied patient of modern neuroscience. Now, thanks to the postmortem study of his brain, based on histological sectioning and digital three-dimensional construction led by Jacopo Annese, PhD, at the University of California, San Diego, scientists around the globe will finally have insight into the neurological basis of the case that defined modern studies of human memory.
2-step approach allows localization and resection in complex cases, reports Neurosurgery
A staged approach to epilepsy surgery—with invasive brain monitoring followed by surgery in a single hospital stay—is a safe and beneficial approach to treatment for complex cases of epilepsy in children.