Using MRI brain scans, researchers found that the area of the brain called the amygdala was, on average, 13 percent larger in young children with autism, compared with control group of children without autism. In the study, published in the latest Archives of General Psychiatry, researchers scanned 50 toddlers with autism and 33 children without autism at age 2 and again at age 4. The study adjusted for age, sex and IQ.
The lead study author Dr. Joseph Piven said that people believe that children with autism have normal-sized brains at birth but at some point, in the latter part of the first year of life, it begins to grow in kids with autism. Also, this study shows people insight inside the underlying brain mechanism so people can design more rational interventions.
Autism experts say such findings are critical in developing new ways to treat and diagnose autism earlier.
Many studies have observed the brain grows too big in kids with autism, but this study finds that by age 2, the amygdala is already bigger and stops growing. Then, it tells people the critical difference has already developed.
Moreover, UNC researchers conducted diagnostic assessments, in addition to the MRI scans, to monitor the children's behavior. They found toddlers with a large amygdala also had joint attention problems.
Autism is the fastest-growing serious developmental disability in the United States. It's newly diagnosed in 67 children every day. The average age for diagnosis 3.
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