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Cerebellar circuits; facial recognition; cortical anatomy

Here is a roundup of autism-related news and research spotted around the web for the week of 25 December.

By Jill Adams
26 December 2023 | 1 min read
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https://doi.org/10.53053/VDSF1023 https://doi.org/10.53053/VDSF1023 - opens a new tab Cite this article
  • Autistic people show similar neural responses, as measured with electroencephalography, to images of their own faces and closely matched faces, whereas non-autistic people respond differently to the two. Cortex
  • Brain imaging reveals differences in cortical anatomy between people with autism and those with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, according to a preprint. medRxiv
  • Cerebellar circuits that are known to play roles in autism mediate emotional responses to threatening stimuli, according to a review. Frontiers in Systems Neuroscience
Research image of rat and human cerebella.
Danger signals: The cerebellum, shown here for rats (top row) and humans (bottom row), plays a role in fear responses and may also contribute to emotional processing in autism.
  • Many autistic people have slightly greater physiological reactions to social stimuli, which may be mediated by a smaller parasympathetic nervous system response, according to a review. Autism Research
  • Hospitalized children with autism are more likely to be restrained for violent or self-injurious behavior than are non-autistic children. Pediatrics

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