Autism Research: An Overview
Basic and clinical
autism research is being conducted, including investigations into causes, diagnosis, early detection, prevention, and treatment of the disorder.
Some specific autism research being conducted includes the following:
- Investigators using animal models to study how the neurotransmitter serotonin establishes connections between neurons in hopes of discovering why these connections are impaired in autism
- Researchers testing a computer-assisted program that would help autistic children interpret facial expressions
- A brain imaging study investigating areas of the brain that are active during obsessive/repetitive behaviors in adults and very young children with autism
- Other imaging studies searching for brain abnormalities that could cause impaired social communication in children with autism
- Clinical studies testing the effectiveness of a program that combines parent training and medication to reduce the disruptive behavior of children with autism and other autism spectrum disorders.
Other areas of autism research include:
- Early diagnosis of autism
- Genes and their impact
- Treatment options, including improving communication.
Autism Research Into Early Diagnosis
Improved early diagnosis and differentiation of various forms of autism is a goal of brain imaging studies that are building a database on normal brain development in children. Scans of the normal structural and functional maturation of the brain will be compared with those from individuals with autism, speeding development of targeted treatments and evaluations of their effects.
Yet even the most advanced scanners cannot substitute for post-mortem brain tissue. Brain banks are working with families to arrange for tissue donation following the deaths of individuals with autism.
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