research finds differences in aspies and auties brains

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This study found biological differences in aspergers and autism and suggests it is too soon to join then in one disorder
http://www.foxnews.com/health/2013/08/0 ... ces-found/
what you think?
also aspies have activity in the left hemisphere that neither auties or nt's have. What does it mean?

I don't know what it means.

I enjoyed reading the article though.

So they're saying there are some minor neurological differences between High Functioning Autism and Low Functioning Autism. Duh.

Notice the article (and apparently the researchers) made no distinction between HFA and AS whatsoever, so they weren't even taking into account what kinds of neurological differences might account for the speech delay in early childhood, that clears itself up over time.

The whole thing sounds extremely vague, like they weren't really sure what they were looking for and can't really account for what they found or what it means, if anything.

Ultimately, it seems to indicate that there are more similarities than there are differences, therefore Asperger Syndrome is in fact a "Higher Functioning" version of Autism and we already knew that.

quite interesting indeed.

I'd like to have my brain looked in to.

It means further research is needed. Much must be considered.

Not conclusive, by any means; even the researchers admitted it.

"Language functions such as grammar, vocabulary and literal meaning[14][15] are typically lateralized to the left hemisphere, especially in right handed individuals.[15] While language production is left-lateralized in up to 90% of right-handed subjects, it is more bilateral, or even right lateralized in approximately 50% of left-handers.[16] In contrast, prosodic language functions, such as intonation and accentuation, often are lateralized to the right hemisphere of the brain.[17][18]

The processing of visual and auditory stimuli, spatial manipulation, facial perception, and artistic ability are represented bilaterally, but may show a right hemisphere superiority.[16] Numerical estimation, comparison and online calculation depend on bilateral parietal regions[19][20] while exact calculation and fact retrieval are associated with left parietal regions, perhaps due to their ties to linguistic processing.[19][20] Dyscalculia is a neurological syndrome associated with damage to the left temporo-parietal junction.[21] This syndrome is associated with poor numeric manipulation, poor mental arithmetic skill, and the inability to either understand or apply mathematical concepts.[22]

The delusional misidentification syndromes, reduplicative paramnesia and Capgras delusion are also often the result of right hemisphere lesions.[25][26] There is evidence[27] that the right hemisphere is more involved in processing novel situations, while the left hemisphere is most involved when routine or well rehearsed processing is called for."

according to Wikipedia this left hemisphere activity found only in aspies could be responsible for literal interpretation, different stimuli processing or need for routine. But auties too have those things but don't have this part as much activated so... Maybe it is responsible for exact calculation and fact retrieval. I don't know if auties and aspies are as good in fact retrieval. Hmm what else? I don't know. And I admit I don't know much of biology.

this study is not duh since it is in the path of the other ones that showed we could see if a child is autistic using brain scanners. Then they decided to compare auties and aspies to see the brain differences, which exist to a certain amount. If it were only a matter of intensity then the moderate autistic and the low functioning ones would have this same brain difference, but this is not the case. Instead all low functioning to high functioning auties have similar brain physiology, but those with aspergers showed biological differences in the brain. It may not be a case of only trait intensity or functioning level. What they are saying is that it is too soon to assume they are the same condition. More research is needed.
also you are saying we aspies are a high functioning version of auties because of the minor brain difference. First of all, what is a minor brain difference is a subjective and disputable measure. Second, a "minor brain difference" may be the difference that makes a person have a condition or not. A "minor brain difference" can have a great impact.


yup. basically what they are saying is that we have to do more research before jumping to the conclusion aspergers and autism are the same condition

Last edited by linatet on 20 Apr 2014, 4:15 pm, edited 3 times in total.

Me too.

Me three.

I'd like to look into your brrrainzzz.

It's interesting.

It could be that there are many or a few different types of autism or sub-types distinguishable by EEG patterns and other biological things. Time will tell, I guess. Maybe people who would have been diagnosed AS (language dev. on-time, no global cognitive impairment) will be one distinct sub-type but I think there will be more than just one, that's just my speculation.

I would like to get looked into my brain by you, but I live in Europe and you live in the USA, very far distance.
Have you ever get looked into your brains,
because you are researching,
was there ever an opportunity?
edit due to mistakes, see signature

Last edited by Eloa on 20 Apr 2014, 5:32 pm, edited 1 time in total.

now that's creepy


yup. Maybe this autism umbrella is actually a bunch of different things with same symptoms joined together.
my speculation by far is that I noticed two different groups: one is "cold", more rigid thinking, trouble with imagination, emotionally apathetic, more like the stereotype, don't see a point in socializing. The other one is the "empath", empathetic, sensitive, trouble keeping the strong emotions under control, intuitive/creative, may try to relate, bond to animals/nature. But as I said only speculation.

I think this guy's findings may have an agenda. It's a very weak study because of the discrepancy between the numbers of auties (very large) and aspies (hardly any) and we know nothing about his sample selection techniques. On the basis of one study, unreplicated, not peer reviewed, he leaps to a conclusion "it's essential that they are separated.." No discussion (at least not reported by Fox) addressing the difficult fact (for him) that the number of likenesses (many) far outweigh this ONE difference.

Scientists DO have agendas, - the wish to be novel for career building purposes is one of them - and often what they see or find depends on where they stand... There are famous examples of biased "research" like the Galton twin study on IQ, which was quoted as gospel for years in universities until they found out he had faked the whole thing to prove that the upper class were "naturally" more gifted (and so more deserving of privileges than others Yeah right!!

I am far more interested in the many studies which explore the likenesses of function on the ASD spectrum:
ASD brains work faster than NTs, show much more electrical activity (hence the almost universal factor of anxiety on the spectrum), are deficient in the neurotransmitter GABA - because these studies (replicated and reviewed) potentially offer us something as a group, a basis for further research to seek to identify solutions to the troubling issues we all have. Separatism - whether on the board or in the guise of science - leads nowhere positive or constuctive so far as I can see, from where I sit.

Thanks though for posting it.

yes, researchers have agendas. But they didn't say it like that, they just said more research needs to be done.

"Although the study included a reasonable number of children, like any new finding, the research needs to be replicated in future studies, McPartland said."
"Parents worried that their children with Asperger's might not receive the special training they need, and experts said it was premature to combine the two conditions under one group when it cannot be ruled out that there are biological differences."
"At present, it is hard to know whether [the new findings] reflect a core, intrinsic difference between Asperger's and autism"

And maybe the separation was useful for adressing different struggles. Like this boy my psychologist knows that has aspergers but received autism treatment and didn't improve his functioning and social skills as much as if he had received a specific treatment. Maybe it could be useful. But we still don't know what will change based on this new DSM-5 criteria with no aspergers. Also if there are actually different conditions and causes under the autism umbrella the separation could be useful indeed.

But I agree there was no discussion. As we all know FOX would want the article to be novel and polemic.

The old parable about the 3 blind men and the elephant comes to mind: one grasps a tail, one the trunk, and one a leg. On the basis of their individual findings, they come to blows over what an elephant is like.

It's a warning about what is called in science the folly of 'generalizing from a single case' or single piece of research and promoting it as "the answer".