Brain maps highlight autism disorders

Posted on March 14, 2016

Photo: flickr

Researchers at University of Malaysia Sarawak compared the brainwave patterns of ten individuals with ASD to those of ten typical individuals to try to pinpoint what anomalies might be associated with particular disorders.

Overall, individuals with ASD have fewer beta waves throughout the brain than normal, indicating under-connectivity throughout the brain. Decreased beta waves are usually associated with attention problems, learning disabilities and brain injuries.

The brain maps further revealed ASD individuals had both excessive slow and fast waves in the frontal lobe. This might suggest faulty connections between the front and back regions of the brain.

ASD individuals also had reduced alpha waves in brain regions associated with senses and gross motor movement, which might explain why they could not mimic instructed tasks.

The researchers found that neurofeedback training based on a QEEG(auantitative electroencephalogram)-guided protocol was more effective than neurofeedback based on symptoms.


Category(s):Autism spectrum disorders

Source material from ResearchSEA