The Simple Neuroscience of Autism

Autism is a prevalent and highly variable diagnosis that we often see in our student population. This video discusses the recent research investigating the role of genetics and neuron loss in the brain in the development of autism symptomatology.

Created by: Natalie Wilcox

Learn more at: https://untappedlearning.com/


Transcript
Autism is often used as a condition descriptor, but in reality Autism spectrum disorder encompases a variety of conditions and symptom presentations that all share a few common traits. Many people with Autism spectrum disorder have some difficulties with social situations, executive functions and often have repetitive interests or behaviors, but that is where the similarities between individuals end. Autism is a genetic condition, but the exact related genes are not fully known. This is likely because different manifestations may have different genetic causes. There is also little known about the neuroscience behind the condition, but current research suggests the difference occurs at the cellular level. When we grow up our brains produce many many neurons that each connect to many more neurons. However this isnt very efficient, and is why young children have very high creativity but lower self control and higher thinking skills. Through adolescence dominant neuron tracks tend to form and unnecessary connections are eliminated. This makes us able to focus better and have greater concentration and emotional understanding. This process typically ends in the 20s, which is why you can’t rent a car until you are 25 because your brain isn't fully developed. However for people with Autism spectrum disorder they may not lose neurons and form dominant tracks the same way others do. This can occur at different extents and may explain why people with ASD struggle with some skills but also often have extraordinary creativity and out of the box thinking because their brains are simply wired in a more connected way.