[ad_1]
Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder that can impair communication skills, socialization, and verbal and motor skills. It usually starts in early childhood and is diagnosed by behavioral observation. This means of evaluation may be imprecise, which is particularly problematic when early identification is vital for development monitoring. There is a strong need for objective and measurable clinical indicators, called biomarkers.
At present, a team of researchers from Kanazawa University in Japan has taken an important step in identifying a biomarker based on motor cerebral activity. Their work stemmed from the key hypothesis that autism resulted from an excitatory and inhibitory imbalance of the brain, badociated with repetitive brain waves called gamma oscillations. A reduction in this type of brain activity has been observed during visual, auditory and tactile stimulation in people with ASD.
Researchers have begun to further explore motor-induced gamma oscillations in children with ASD and have recently reported their findings in The journal of neuroscience.
They formed two groups of children aged 5 to 7 years old. People in the first group were clbadically diagnosed with ASD, while the second group consisted of children clbadified as typically developing. The kids each performed a task similar to that of a video game where they had to press a button with their right finger in a relaxed environment. Magnetoencephalography, which records the magnetic activity of neurons, has been used to monitor the brain waves of children during the task.
"We measured the response time of the buttons, the magnetic fields evoked by the motor and gamma oscillations related to the engine," says the study of the corresponding author Mitsuru Kikuchi. "As was found in other studies, ASD children's response time was slightly slower and the amplitude of their magnetic fields was a little smaller." The gamma oscillations were those where we found significant and interesting differences. "
The peak frequency of gamma oscillations was considerably lower in the ASD group. A lower peak frequency of engine-related gamma oscillations also reported a low concentration of the inhibitory neurotransmitter GABA, which has also been badociated with ASDs. The results also suggest delayed development of motor control in young children with ASD. Together, results on behavioral performance and brainwaves are promising for the diagnosis of ASD.
"Early diagnosis of ASD is very important to be able to actively manage this disorder as quickly as possible," said the first author, Kyung-min An. "These results could prove extremely useful in helping us understand the mechanism. neurophysiological behind the development of motor and social control in children with ASD.This magnetoencephalography provides us with a non-invasive and quantifiable biomarker, which we badly need. "
Source of the story:
Material provided by Kanazawa University. Note: Content can be changed for style and length.
Source link
