New research analyzed prenatal brain scans and found significant differences in brain structures around 25 weeks gestation in children diagnosed with autism.
With the new study, the researchers reinforce the idea that autism begins during child development in the womb, which may aid diagnosis and treatment of the disorder.
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“Our results suggest that increased insular lobe volume may be a powerful prenatal MRI biomarker that might predict the onset of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) later in life. »
Researchers analyzed brain scans of 39 children, nine of whom were diagnosed with autism, 20 were neurotypical and 10 others did not have the disorder but had health issues that have also been seen in children with ASD .
“Since many genetic and environmental factors can affect the onset of ASD from the fetal stages, it is ideal to identify the first signature of brain abnormalities in future autistic patients. »
Scientists have observed brain differences associated with apparent autism in utero. Image: Nikosnikossss/Shutterstock
“To the best of our knowledge, this is the first attempt to semi-automatically target prenatal brain regions in patients later diagnosed with autism and to compare different control groups,” he said. concluded.
The study follows the same line of research as previous work that found changes in the insular cortex in autistic adults and reported that these changes began in utero. Additionally, the researchers also found that children with autism had significantly larger amygdala and hippocampal commissure than other children.
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