Autistic Association

About ninety thousand person born in the United States will be diagnosed with autism before they are three years. The boys have a significantly higher risk of acquiring these horrible disorders than will girls. The causes of autism have not been determined yet, but researchers at the University of Texas are closer than to have yet. They found the features of autism such as poor social interaction and high sensitivity in mice. Researchers believe that if they can find the cause of behavior in mice, they are a step closer to finding the cause of autism in humans.

What researchers can do with the mouse, they can not do with humans. They plan to examine the brains of mice with autism and this particular area of the brain that deals with learning and memory. Although autism affects the ability to communicate and interact with people around you, researchers suggest that chemical reactions in the mouse brain are similar to those who have autism. Good communication is a learned behavior and your brain region that has the task of producing memory and learning is supposed to allow you to accept this information. Without the appropriate neurons or the interaction of chemicals in your brain, the communication process will be lost.

The researchers emphasize the PTEN gene, because this gene is known to be associated with other brain disorders. The similarity of autistic traits in mice could be associated with the similarity of autism and brain disorders found among humans. The mice studied showed they were not as curious as the other mice in the pen. When a new animal was introduced, the mice showed little interest in autism. It's the same thing with an autistic child. When a new person enters the home or classroom, the autistic child will lose interest while non-autistic children will show great interest and even try to communicate with the newcomer.

Mice do not build nests nor care for their babies. They show a lack of interest in one of the normal avenues of normal mice. The mouse seems disinterested in anything except their primal needs of food, water, and defecation. When exposed to stimuli such as noise or sudden movement, like being picked up, the mice would act as an autistic child with autism by overreaction to stimuli. The mouse cried and refrain from physical stimuli, like most autistic children run from cover their ears when over stimulated.

The behaviors that are not only in the correlation between mouse and man have been autistic repetitive behaviors or obsessive movements of man that most autistic children. The other similarities were that the mice have a larger head and larger brain volume is traditionally a symptom of autism in humans. Researchers believe that if they can find the gene responsible for autistic behavior in mice as the quest to find the cause and cure of autism may be one step closer. This research shows that there is hope for autistic and suffering if not for them and for thousands of autistic children who are yet unborn.