Post by healthy11 on Sept 16, 2017 7:55:52 GMT -5
medicalxpress.com/news/2018-01-imperceptible-fluctuations-movement-correspond-autism.html
A new study led by researchers at Indiana University and Rutgers University provides the strongest evidence yet that nearly imperceptible changes in how people move can be used to diagnose neurodevelopmental disorders, including autism.
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www.newsweek.com/girls-autism-masculine-features-extreme-male-brain-theory-666022
Excerpts follow:
"University of Western Australia researchers have found distinct facial similarities in boys and girls with autism compared to those in the control group. These included differences in the width of the alar base (or nostrils); height of the nose and upper lip; forehead width and height; right upper cheek height; and other subtle facial differences. In all of these, the participants with autism appeared closer to what's typically characterized as a male face. Other findings were in line with similar studies that have defined the autistic facial phenotype as an increased height and mouth width, and decreased midface height....
The effort to identify a facial phenotype for autism could help improve clinical assessments, leading to diagnosis at a younger age and earlier interventions and treatment.
Proponents of extreme male brain theory may see this new study as supporting their claim. Coined in 2002 by Simon Baron-Cohen, now a director of the Autism Research Centre in Cambridge, England, the theory says that people with autism exhibit personality attributes and behaviors typically associated with the male gender, such as lack of empathy and rigid thinking. These common traits of people with autism, the theory asserts, are the result of higher exposure levels of male hormone testosterone during fetal development. Many experts have criticized the theory.
Facial phenotyping is already used to identify and help diagnose other neurodevelopmental and genetic disorders such as Down Syndrome, characterized by upward-slanting, almond-shaped eyes, a flatter face and nose, and smaller ears. Fetal Alcohol Syndrome also produces distinctive facial features in a child that include an upturned nose, a thin upper lip and a small head circumference, among others, according to the journal American Family Physician."
A new study led by researchers at Indiana University and Rutgers University provides the strongest evidence yet that nearly imperceptible changes in how people move can be used to diagnose neurodevelopmental disorders, including autism.
____________________________________________________________________________________
www.newsweek.com/girls-autism-masculine-features-extreme-male-brain-theory-666022
Excerpts follow:
"University of Western Australia researchers have found distinct facial similarities in boys and girls with autism compared to those in the control group. These included differences in the width of the alar base (or nostrils); height of the nose and upper lip; forehead width and height; right upper cheek height; and other subtle facial differences. In all of these, the participants with autism appeared closer to what's typically characterized as a male face. Other findings were in line with similar studies that have defined the autistic facial phenotype as an increased height and mouth width, and decreased midface height....
The effort to identify a facial phenotype for autism could help improve clinical assessments, leading to diagnosis at a younger age and earlier interventions and treatment.
Proponents of extreme male brain theory may see this new study as supporting their claim. Coined in 2002 by Simon Baron-Cohen, now a director of the Autism Research Centre in Cambridge, England, the theory says that people with autism exhibit personality attributes and behaviors typically associated with the male gender, such as lack of empathy and rigid thinking. These common traits of people with autism, the theory asserts, are the result of higher exposure levels of male hormone testosterone during fetal development. Many experts have criticized the theory.
Facial phenotyping is already used to identify and help diagnose other neurodevelopmental and genetic disorders such as Down Syndrome, characterized by upward-slanting, almond-shaped eyes, a flatter face and nose, and smaller ears. Fetal Alcohol Syndrome also produces distinctive facial features in a child that include an upturned nose, a thin upper lip and a small head circumference, among others, according to the journal American Family Physician."