IAAC Report Shows Explosion in Autism Research

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In the Article linked below from Disability Scoop, information is provided from a recent IAAC report that there has been an explosive growth in Autism research in the last three decades, and per the linked report, in that article, from the IAAC, just in the year 2010, over 1800 research publications were provided among research organizations in 50 countries.

http://www.disabilityscoop.com/2012/08/20/autism-research-explosive/16281/comment-page-1/#comment-25197

A comment from the article provides a link to another report, that lists information that surprisingly, the Simon's foundation provided by far the most amount of money for Autism Research, in the US, for private organizations in 2010 at 53M, opposed to Autism Speaks 18M, and lists the other private organizations in the US and the dollar amounts donated as follows:

CARD 906K, ARI 386K, ASF 245K, OAR 91K, Safeminds128K, and SAARC 70K.

The total amount of money reported funded for Autism Research in the US in 2010 was 408M, with approximately 335 million dollars funded by10 government organizations, as listed in the linked report below:

http://iacc.hhs.gov/portfolio-analysis/2010/index.shtml#table2-note2

The Simon's foundation website on Autism Research, has reported on some very interesting research projects, recently, including research highlighting the difficulties those with forms of Autism like Aspergers face in adulthood, as well as attenuated morphological sex differences in brain scans reported among males and females with Aspergers syndrome.

Here is the link for the Simons Foundation Autism Research Initiative, below, which I've come across many times, but had no idea was the leading funding source for Autism Research among private organizations in the US, until I saw the IAAC report. James Simons, the man that is responsible for this research initiative, is a philanthropist billionaire that also provides funding for math, science, and computer foundations. He was named as the world's smartest billionaire in 2006, per the Wiki link below.

http://sfari.org/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Simons

long time no see,welcome back

Thanks, I've been here, just posting in some other areas of the site.

Could you provide a specific link to the gender-specific brain scans? I'm curious.

The first link is the full research linked from the article from SFARI that identify gender neutral measures of brain scans among individuals with Aspergers, that are normally seen as sexual dimorphic traits in males and females in control groups

http://www.ajnr.org/content/33/1/83.full

This link is for research associated with androgens and androgynous facial features in male and females with High functioning Autism(Aspergers Syndrome).


http://m.bjp.rcpsych.org/content/early/2012/03/28/bjp.bp.111.097899.abstract

And, research linked below that suggests that on average males with ASD's have normal androgen levels but higher androgen levels correlate with more severe symptoms of ASD's and lower androgen levels correlate with less severe symptoms of ASD's.

Samuel Baron Cohen was involved in the first linked research on the brain scans, and while the last link states that research casts doubt on Cohen's extreme male brain theory, all three links cast doubt per the autism spectrum as a whole, but it is worth noting that Cohen's research done almost a decade ago, showed closer to normal 2d/4d digit ratios among individuals with Aspergers as compared to those with Autism Disorder. Which does at least in part correlate with the last link that suggests that androgen levels are higher among males with ASD's that have more severe symptoms. Unfortunately, females were not included in the last study for those diagnosed with more severe symptoms, as one might expect higher androgen levels among the females as well, with more severe symptoms. I suppose future research may address that issue

http://www.odt.co.nz/news/dunedin/221648/theory-autism-challenged

There is other research from Australia that was provided earlier in the year that suggests that higher prenatal levels of testosterone is associated with problems in language development:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120125195530.htm

When I read this research together it makes me think of Michelle Dawson's research linked below that showed an inverse relationship between standard IQ measures of Verbal IQ vs. Performance IQ in individuals with Aspergers as opposed to those with Autism Disorder. While the individuals with Autism Disorder did much better on a non-verbal measure of fluid intelligence using the Raven Matrices tests as opposed the standard IQ test, there was not nearly the significant improvement among individuals with Aspergers syndrome as compared to their scores on standard measure of intelligence, as indicated in the graphs in the link below.

http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0025372

Of course there are many other structural variations in subgroups, like regressive autism, per abnormal brain growth specific to male individuals with regressive autism.

http://www.ucdmc.ucdavis.edu/publish/news/newsroom/5983

While the diagnosis in the DSM5 may collect the behavioral variables that are similar among these current subgroups and different disorders on the spectrum, it also appears there may be some clearly defined biological differences that relate to brain structure, physical morphology, levels of hormones both prenatal and postnatal, as well as measures of intelligence, and the development and use of language.

What is even more interesting I think, is that there is anecdotal evidence for most of these findings recorded on this website, just a few of what is available linked below, through tests of gender neutrality in brain tests where results have been shared, personal identification associated with gender neutrality, and reports of higher scores on standard intelligence testing per verbal intelligence as opposed to performance IQ. Unfortunately there haven't been nearly as many individuals with autism disorder to share their story for anecdotal evidence on this website, but there is the evidence that exists now as a result of the recent research.

http://www.wrongplanet.net/postt122533.html
http://www.wrongplanet.net/postp637789.html&highlight=
http://www.wrongplanet.net/postt186130.html

http://www.wrongplanet.net/postt134462.html
http://www.wrongplanet.net/postt183121.html

And finally, the link to this theory, titled "Evolution, Autism and Social Change: A New Feminine Theory of Evolution That Explains Autism", linked from Andrew Lehman's Neoteny.org website. He is a member from this site that developed this interesting theory, from his observations in life, that science appears at least in part to provide some evidence for at this point in time.

http://www.neoteny.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/andrewbook-download.pdf

My final thought/speculation, that has some research to back it up that isn't directly related to the Autism Spectrum, is that I suggest that modern technology and the move away from face to face interaction, as well as a more sedentary life, is potentially making the existing biological issues harder for some to accommodate in life, overall, that one might have achieved more easily through the process of neuroplasticity, both mentally and physically in decades past. Along with acknowledgement of advantages as well, for individuals that find communication possible through the use of technology, that otherwise would not have been possible.

Beyond the findings of potential associated genetic mutations, and the newer field of epigenetic research, organizations that focus on research have their hands full with life span issues across the spectrum, and many co-morbids associated such as immune system dysfunction, mitochondrial dysfunction, fragile X syndrome, 22q11 deletion syndrome, gastrointestinal illness, sleep disorders; symptoms of ADHD, Non-verbal learning disorder, and Pragmatic language impairment; as well as Bi-Polar disorder, Chronic Depression, Anxiety, OCD; and many other co-morbid issues. And, some of these co-morbid conditions that likely contribute to behavioral impairments observed.

But altogether, from beginning to end of what I describe above, is associated with the commonly observable and identifiable behavioral impairments in the revised definition of autism spectrum disorder, in the DSM5.

I know that was much more than you asked for , but it gave me an opportunity to bring these thoughts and facts together in one place, some of which I felt like I intuitively knew from general observations in life, before I visited this website or the research done in these areas.

Last edited by aghogday on 23 Aug 2012, 2:02 am, edited 2 times in total.

Most of this research is a damn waste of time and energy.

Care to provide any input on which one of the 1800 research publications, provided across 50 countries, in 2010 were a waste of time and energy? Or, why you think any of this research quoted above or indicated above per the co-morbid conditions associated with the Autism Spectrum is a waste of time and energy?

Science often works slow; but the potential associated benefits of results reach out much further than the autism spectrum, per a substantial amount of the research that is currently being done.

It is a potential matter of life and death for some individuals with these co-morbid conditions.

That part of the research is not a waste of time or energy under any humane standard.

what does all this gender stuff have to do with autism research.and are you and or the study trying to say about gender and autism

In the first study I linked above it was determined on brain scans that characteristics that normally vary between males and females were close to the same for males and females with Aspergers Syndrome.

In the next study it was determined that males and females with Aspergers syndrome have androgynous facial features, which means less masculine facial features for males and less feminine facial features for females, on average as measured in the research. This is potentially associated with the balance of hormonal influence, that is also potentially associated with brain development, and many other developmental issues.

And in the third study that focused on males on the full ASD spectrum, overall male hormones were average as opposed to a non-autistic control group but those with more severe symptoms had greater levels of male hormones as opposed to those with less severe symptoms with lower levels of male hormones in comparison.

So basically, these three studies indicate a level of gender neutrality, in both brain scans, and measures of androgyny in individuals with Aspergers system on average. This is not applicable to everyone with an Aspergers diagnosis, just an association, on average, from the limited participation in the studies.

This has not been clearly identified for any Autism Spectrum Disorder, except those diagnosed with Aspergers Syndrome. It may be that males with Autism Spectrum Disorder do not display the same androgynous facial features on average, per the limited evidence that suggest that levels of male hormones are higher among those with Autism Disorder than those with Aspergers syndrome on average. But again, it hasn't been studied in detail for those with autism disorder, perhaps it will be in the future, as what is suggested in some of the research.

And the anecdotal threads that I linked from the site are self reports from gender identification tests for the brain, as well as reports on verbal IQ as opposed to performance IQ, Each of which reflect the applicable research that I linked above and the research of Michelle Dawson that I linked in my long post above.