hitting one's head? autism's location in the brain?

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misslottie
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01 Feb 2009, 1:04 pm

thanks for all the comments. i was really wondering- i think- whether autism was supposed to be related to any part of the brain any more than another.
eg- i suffer REALLY badly from sensory problems, so wondered if that is located in the area i hit, or whether there was any other reason for hitting a specific area in that way. i googled brain function, frontal lobes etc in several ways, but didnt really get anywhere.

i know autistics can hit out at other people- i hit my mother a few times- but i have always associated autism more with head hitting or banging. maybe that is a misconception because tahts what id initially heard and it stuck in my memory, or because it related to me, and i forgot further contrary evidence.

but hitting one's head seems to be more personal-m i dont know how to explain it... legs, arms chest etc- feel more of the world, my head feels to be more more me, more my world.

thank you esp to kingdom of rats for the crash helmet advice- :lol:

scarily enough, Acacia, there does seem to be evidence of head trauma being linked to autism. at least in my non scientific googleing of autism, head trauma/ brain injury.

i have been meaning for years (aspie procrastination) to go to a cranial realingner, or whatever they are called. i know my skull is mis alingned, as one of my eyes is further out than the other (you cant tell, honestly, but i can feel a sleep mask on one eye, not the other!! i sound like such a freak!!), and my spine curves over weirdly- again, invisable except to osteopaths,a nd i ilearnt to have very errect posture.... this guy mentions head injury and spine/skull misalignment- 'The missing link is the misalignments of the spine and skull. '
http://www.turnerwellness.com/index.php ... dia/autism

as does this guy- 'Traumatic injury to different parts of the brain can cause the same problems suffered by autistic and dyspraxic children. '
http://unclesamscabin.blogspot.com/2006 ... brain.html

there is also this from wikki-
Savant syndrome—sometimes abbreviated as savantism—is not a recognized medical diagnosis, but researcher Darold Treffert defines it as a rare condition in which persons with developmental disorders (including autism spectrum disorders) have one or more areas of expertise, ability or brilliance that are in contrast with the individual's overall limitations.[1] Treffert says the condition can be genetic, but can also be acquired,[1] and coexists with other developmental disabilities "such as mental retardation brain injury or disease that occurs before (pre-natal) during (peri-natal) or after birth (post-natal), or even later in childhood or adult life."[1]

i cant find any links to the study i once found on 44% of aspies in an aussie study having birth trauma, thought...



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02 Feb 2009, 3:56 am

I always hit that part of my head too... WEEEEEEIRD!

Maybe there is some reason because there is another girl who hits that part of her head too...


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StewartMango
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14 May 2009, 3:13 pm

I hit my head on both sides when the kids start SCREAMING or dogs bark or if I'm frustrated and sometimes I strangle myself!! !

I know it's sad isn't? :wall:


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14 May 2009, 3:29 pm

Autism is related to the amygdala, which is in the lower part of your brain, mostly in the center. I doubt you'd be able to damage it directly without damaging other parts of your brain quite severely.

Also the difference in autistics is not a damaged amygdala, but a larger one. The amydgala is responsible for feelings of fear, anxiety, and also for connecting memories to feelings or sensations. If when you smell a certain perfume and suddenly you are ported back to 1994 when you smelled it on someone you knew, that's your amygdala at work.

More on the amygdala here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amygdala



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14 May 2009, 3:58 pm

As a child I engaged in some serious head-banging but fortunately outgrew it.



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14 May 2009, 5:33 pm

idk that either, but makes me wonder i hit my head a lot, and it feels good, i dont really feel any pain due to it at all either. my head has a huge permantent bump from severe headbanging, im now starting to hit my head on the back of it, usually i hit on the forehead, but have hit the sides of my heads, now also the back. im waiting until i can save up more money and getting a weighted hat to see if it works, you check into that... http://www.southpawenterprises.com/Sear ... ighted+hat headbanging is serious ive been trying to fix my headbanging for yearrrrrrrs, been doing it since i was a kid, and basically deformed my head due to it, messing up my sight, my memory a lot.


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20 Sep 2010, 1:48 pm

misslottie wrote:
i had a total meltdown last night, and started hitting my head, first with both fists, then a heavy hairbrush (after i calmed down i started brushing my hair, then started hitting again)..

i was interested to note that i kept on hitting the same place- about equidistant between my right eye and right ear.

i know hitting one's head is somewhat common in autism- but do people hit them selves anywhere on their head, or in particular points?

is my right frontal lobe in some way related to autism?

or is this simply because i am right handed?


---

Don't know the exact location of autism in the brain.

I am under the general impression that autism is more associated with a glitch in the left hemisphere of the brain vs the right hemisphere of the brain. If it's a glitch in the right hemisphere of the brain, it may be ADHD.

(Likely oversimplified - large generalization - bottomline, a guessestimate only)

http://www.sportsconcussions.org/
http://www.headinjury.com/
http://www.biausa.org/
http://www.givebackorlando.com/

Other



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20 Sep 2010, 7:39 pm

saintetienne wrote:
I think you might be on to something actually, what I would suggest now is that you get a simple household drill and drill a hole through your skull and into this part of your brain. might work.

VENKMAN: You know, Egon, this reminds me of that time that you tried to drill a hole in your head?

SPENGLER: That would have worked if you hadn't stopped me!


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20 Sep 2010, 9:48 pm

Mage wrote:
Autism is related to the amygdala, which is in the lower part of your brain, mostly in the center. I doubt you'd be able to damage it directly without damaging other parts of your brain quite severely.

Also the difference in autistics is not a damaged amygdala, but a larger one. The amydgala is responsible for feelings of fear, anxiety, and also for connecting memories to feelings or sensations. If when you smell a certain perfume and suddenly you are ported back to 1994 when you smelled it on someone you knew, that's your amygdala at work.

More on the amygdala here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amygdala
Does bigger amygdala mean more fear? That's what I'm assuming since we tend to be more neurotic and more easily overstimulated. And that leads me to another question. Does bigger amygdala mean experiencing more cortical arousal (stimulation of the conscious parts of your brain)?



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20 Sep 2010, 10:53 pm

I've always been a head-banger & I still am. There were also times when I hit my forehead really hard when I started to feel a crying spell cuz of depression. I've had MRI's, EEGs & CAT-scans done on my brain because I have a rare vision disorder I was born with & a tremor disorder & things checked out on those test. I wouldn't rule out having brain damage from my birth but those test did not turn up anything


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21 Sep 2010, 1:05 am

I have damage on left side of my brain. but I hit both sides of my head usually my temples in a meltdown. I dont think you were beating it out of you as much as it was right handeness
I could be wrong. Dont get to carried away with the idea of beating it outta ya cause you can knock yourself a good one and result in further brain damage which would cause more problems instead. I usually bite myself when I am at the mercy of a meltdown. I dont understand the whole self injury thing. It is like the emotions are so overpowering and with a bolt of emotional lightning that goes through me and I strike myself with hitting or biting or scratching. I have no control over it once it gets to that point. but why this happens is almost surreal.

Most NT people who self injure, usually cut themselves cause the bleeding causes endorphins and gives them a sort of high. I understand that

But I would never cut myself...I dont like blood nor pain. When I hit or bite myself, I have no control over myself. I dont want to do it...nor does it feel good...and I usually feel ashamed for a few days after it happens and I have to wear long sleeves to cover the bruise I left so people wont worry about me.


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21 Sep 2010, 6:04 am

It's all of the brain, really. Over the last few years that I've been paying attention, I've seen studies showing physical macroscopic and microscopic differences in the brains of autistics (including Asperger's autistics) in everything from the brain stem to the frontal lobes, and everything in between. It seems that "neurodevelopmental" is about right--it starts very early and affects how the brain develops.


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21 Sep 2010, 7:07 am

Never mind that brain injury from strikes to the head can appear elsewhere than just the point of impact. Kinetic energy does lots of funny things.



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17 Jun 2011, 10:31 pm

I have 8 y/o twin with severe autism. One of the boys slaps and hits his head but can not tell me why he does it. Sometimes he does it because he is upset and other times for no reason that is aparent reason. I am puzzled as to why he does this because he has no way of telling me because he is nonverbal. Can anyone give me some insight as to why people hit themselves? Does hitting give him some kind of release? Is it because he can not respond appropriately and that is the best way he knows how? Any and all insight would help. Thanks
Eric



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17 Jun 2011, 11:07 pm

AceOfSpades wrote:
Mage wrote:
Autism is related to the amygdala, which is in the lower part of your brain, mostly in the center. I doubt you'd be able to damage it directly without damaging other parts of your brain quite severely.

Also the difference in autistics is not a damaged amygdala, but a larger one. The amydgala is responsible for feelings of fear, anxiety, and also for connecting memories to feelings or sensations. If when you smell a certain perfume and suddenly you are ported back to 1994 when you smelled it on someone you knew, that's your amygdala at work.

More on the amygdala here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amygdala
Does bigger amygdala mean more fear? That's what I'm assuming since we tend to be more neurotic and more easily overstimulated. And that leads me to another question. Does bigger amygdala mean experiencing more cortical arousal (stimulation of the conscious parts of your brain)?


Nah its a part of the limbic system and that is the part that is supposed to be enhanced



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18 Jun 2011, 12:05 am

rivergoat wrote:
misslottie wrote:
i had a total meltdown last night, and started hitting my head, first with both fists, then a heavy hairbrush (after i calmed down i started brushing my hair, then started hitting again)..

i was interested to note that i kept on hitting the same place- about equidistant between my right eye and right ear.

i know hitting one's head is somewhat common in autism- but do people hit them selves anywhere on their head, or in particular points?

is my right frontal lobe in some way related to autism?

or is this simply because i am right handed?


A couple of years ago, when I was on the hunt for "what's wrong with me", I looked a bit into brain damage. It turns out that frontal lobe damage can affect personality, for example, sociopaths and sexual deviants have been found to have frontal lobe damage, whether caused by accident or disease. I haven't looked at that material in a while, and of course I have no idea if any of it has to do with autism (other than the research stated that the frontal lobe seems to be the seat of personality).

goat

}:)~


I've been looking into that as well, I've had a LOT of head injuries, ranging from being born with a skull fracture, to being kicked in the forehead by a horse. I've heard that brain damage can cause AS like symptoms so I've been wondering if I have AS or just brain damage, or maybe both.


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