Parts of the Brain Affected by Autism

 

 

Autism effects of the brain

People with autism often have underdeveloped brain structures, mainly the cerebral cortex, the amygdala and the hippocampus, which is the structure involved in emotion, aggression, sensory input, memory, and learning.  It is assumed that because of the underdeveloped system, many autistic children have problems integrating sensory information, and are over or under stimulated.

Autism is a neurodevelopmental disorder of the cerebral cortex. The part of the brain which is largely responsible for higher brain functions, including sensation, voluntary muscle movement, thought, reasoning, and memory.  There are three main divisions of the cerebral cortex: frontal lobes prefrontal cortex, the premotor area and the motor area. The prefrontal cortex has been implicated in planning complex cognitive behavior, personality expression, decision making, and moderating social behavior.  There is much current research devoted to understanding the role of the prefrontal cortex in neurological disorders. Many disorders have been related to dysfunction of the prefrontal cortex.

Memory difficulty is not part of the diagnostic criteria for autism spectrum disorder, but it is a common difficulty experienced by many individuals with this diagnosis.  Autism is a spectrum disorder which presents many challenges to the study of autism and memory function. It is important for researchers to be able to collect data across the spectrum; furthermore, in the memory studies there were observations of memory dysfunction in autism that were consistent with a deficit in executive function of the prefrontal cortex.

BJ and I have asked Hayden questions all the time that he is unable to answer.  Is this due to his memory dysfunction or his speech disability? We may never know. One of my biggest worries with Hayden is him not being able to tell me what happens to him when I am not around.  It is actually a nightmare for me, and I pray with his development progressing he will soon be able to answer more questions.

 

 

 

 **It is noted that this is not an APA college paper! I did not add references! There are too many to add and I didn't feel like taking the time......... once again this is not an APA college paper!!!**