NEURO BASIS OF AUTISM

This course covers the signs and symptoms of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), such as their lack of language, eye gaze aberrations, deficits in joint attention, avoidance and inadequacies of social interaction, hand flapping, and self stimulating behaviors. We will learn about diagnostic tools, such as the ADOS and ADIR. We will cover the neurobiological changes specific to the brains of autistic children such as in the cerebral cortex white matter amygdala, brainstem, cerebellum and neural communication systems. We will also focus on genes associated with autism, many of which regulate neuronal communication systems. They include NRXN1,NLGN3,NLGN4, SHANK3,CNTNAP2,CHD10 BZRAP1 and MDGA2, DLX1and DLX2, fragile X, Tuberous Sclerous 1,Neurexin 1 Tuberous Sclerous2, Rubinstein-Taybi Syndrome, Neurofibromatous 1, and Rett's syndrome. Additionally covered are some of the more popularized issues such as autistic savants, vaccines and mirror neurons. Finally, we will discuss brain plasticity and treatment choices, such as drugs and early behavioral interventions.