Right hemisphere dysfunction & Aspergers

Post Reply New Topic

I'm interested in any comment as to the association between AS, developmental disabilities of the right hemisphere and blood flow abnormalities in the frontal and right temporal regions of the brain. I have read left hemisphere dysfunction is generally associated with autism and right hemisphere dysfunction is associated with Aspergers.

Is Aspergers more closely associated with nonverbal learning disabilities(Right hemisphere dysfunction) then High functioning autism(Left hemisphere dysfunction)?

The latest paper on this, which is titled, Differential effects on white-matter systems in high-functioning autism and Asperger's syndrome (2009).

That article was a shocker and I will share it with my friend who has been contemplating with me whether AS and HFA are really that different and if they should share the same status on the spectrum.

I have right hemisphere dysfunction, manifested by my nonverbal learning disability. 1/3 of people with AS also have NLD. But, I suppose the rest also have right hemisphere dysfunction.

Who did that study and where, so I can quote it for friends?

Here

There's more studies that show similar results; I think there's some on the right in "Related articles".

It's been decades since I studied biology... remind me again the functions of white and grey matter?

Kind of backs of what I said a few days ago about how AS people were more left brained, and HFA more right.(Though I said it in a thread about handedness).

IIRC, white matter allows the parts of the brain to communicate with each other, which said parts are covered in gray matter.

Kinda makes sense why people with AS and AD obsess over things.... Also that sensory, social and emotional stimuli aren't processed correctly, which leads on to the symptoms. Different areas will cause a different subset of symptoms; probably why people with AD tend to have far more severe sensory deficits than those with AS, whereas those with AS tend to have worst motor problems (especially those with NLD).

Thanks for a very interesting post EvoVari. For a long time I've been a strong believer that Asperger's (or PDD-NOS with Asperger's symptoms) is related to right-hemisphere dysfunction. I was actually diagnosed with right-hemisphere dysfunction before I was diagnosed with PDD-NOS (with symptoms most similar to Asperger's). Some psychologists link Asperger's to a performance IQ vs. verbal IQ deficit, with VIQ > PIQ. This, along with the fact that right-hemisphere "holistic" processing is thought to be involved with understanding non-verbal social cues, would seem to suggest a right-hemisphere explanation.

I tend to question whether people who claim to have Asperger's that have a PIQ vs. VIQ discrepancy towards PIQ actually have Asperger's. Perhaps those autistics with normal IQs whose PIQ > VIQ actually have a form of HFA where IQ is in the normal to above normal range (average IQ for HFA is about 80). Many claim that those with Asperger's do well in fields such as engineering, but this doesn't seem to make sense, engineers require high spatial abilities (right hemisphere) which doesn't jive with a Yale Study that shows 80% of AS have NLD (spatial disorder).

It just doesn't make sense that a portion of Aspies have very low spatial ability while other seem to have very high spatial ability.

Speaking from anecdote, someone I know reminds me of myself in a number of areas related to AS. I pointed this similarity out to this person and they stated that they have the particular traits in question as a result of right hemisphere damage from a child-hood illness.

Hmmm...I am definitely right-brain dominant...as I am left handed...but there also seems to be something dysfunctional about that hemisphere...I do have spatial difficulties and whatnot....

For a while I had myself thinking i was an odd left handed NLDer..

From what I understand both NLD and AS are different manifestations of the same thing, right hemispheral atypical development.

Also from what I understand it is not uncommon for NLD folks to have AS traits, and vice versa. Why it is said that NLD might be higher functioning AS, from what I can tell they both function on the similar spectrum with different issues. Some things that NLD folks struggle with AS folks don't, and vice versa. The weird thing now is the fact more girls these days are diagnosed with NLD and boys AS. The fact is they may be the same thing (abnormal right hemispherical development) manifesting itself in different ways, but once you get down to an individual level..lines blur quite a bit.

There has been thinking that autism manifests in through two different spectrums verbal and nonverbal, nonverbal being the one less understood. NLD and aspergers being the the two manifestations of nonverbal autism.

From what I know of what they know of the higher functioning manifestations...
1. NLD-right hemispheral atypical development. Neurologist diagnosis.
2. Aspergers - right hemispheral atypical development. Psych diagnosis
3. HFA- left hemispheral atypical development. Psych diagnosis
4. Semantic pragmatic disorder (pdd-nos is the frequent diagnosis now for this in the USA) - left or central hemispheral atypical development.
Pdd-nos psych diagnosis, SPD neurologist or speech pathologist diagnosis.

I have saved this thread to my favorites section. Really great stuff. I suspeact there will be an explosion of more specific diagnosis in the next few years as the brain is better understood.....but that may be more scary than our current ignorance.

Appreciate the awesome replies people. I'm dx Aspergers and a psych dx ADHD. I believe the ADHD is NVLD traits as I have Visual Spacial processing Intergration issues. A certec Scan revealed I have perfusion defects to the frontal lobe areas with blood flow reduction to the right hemisphere. Lots of white matter area as well.

Interesting....

What sort of effects does irregular bloodflow in the left hemisphere cause besides the posiblity of Aspergers again?

I wonder if those with AS tend to score low on the picture arrangement test of the WAIS-III. This test measures a persons ability to read social situations.