Brain Activity Linked to Autism Discovered

A team of Israeli researchers has uncovered brain mechanisms involved in recognizing others' emotional states, offering potential insights into treating social disorders like autism.

Autism: New Findings

Autism is a neurodevelopmental condition marked by social communication difficulties, restricted interests, and repetitive behaviors. The study, published in Current Biology, highlights the medial prefrontal cortex’s (mPFC) role in emotional recognition and behavior, according to Xinhua news agency.

Recognizing emotions is key to empathy and social interaction, but individuals with autism often struggle with this ability. To explore the underlying brain mechanisms, researchers from the University of Haifa (UH) conducted experiments using mice.

Using genetic manipulation and real-time neural measurements, the team found that neurons in the prelimbic region of the mPFC responded differently to stressed and calm mice. The tested mice preferred to be near stressed mice, indicating an awareness of emotional states. However, when mPFC neural activity was disrupted, the mice lost this ability to differentiate emotions.

The researchers believe that impaired neural activity in this brain region may contribute to the emotional recognition difficulties seen in autism. Their next step is to study mice with autism-related genetic mutations to examine how altered neural activity affects their behavior.

These findings could pave the way for better understanding and potential treatments for autism and other social disorders.

Source-Medindia