Autism Affects Different Parts of the Brain in Male and Female: Study

A latest study focusing on females with autism , an area generally under researched , discovered that in females a different part of the brain is affected.

In order to examine whether there is any similarity or difference in the way autism affects the brains of male and female, a team of scientists at the Autism Research Centre at the University of Cambridge used magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)   They conducted MRI brain scans on 120 men and women in which 30 men and 30 women suffered from autism.

With the help of MRI they noticed that the anatomy of the brain of someone with autism depends on the gender of the person.

The researchers stated that brain areas that were unusual in adult female suffering with autism were similar to the areas that differ between typical developing males and females. Whereas in men with autism, this was absent.

"One of our new findings is that females with autism show neuroanatomical 'masculinization'," said Professor Simon Baron-Cohen, senior author of the paper, in a press statement. "This may implicate physiological mechanisms that drive sexual dimorphism, such as prenatal sex hormones and sex-linked genetic mechanisms."

Autism is a development disability that causes communication, social and behavioral challenges. This is five times more common in men than women. One in 88 suffer with autism spectrum in the U.S,  a tenfold increase in prevalence in the past 40 years. Nearly 2 million individuals in the U.S. and tens of millions worldwide suffer with autism and the prevalence rate has gone up from 10 to 17 percent annually, reports Autism Speaks.org.

"This is one of the largest brain imaging studies of sex/gender differences yet conducted in autism. Females with autism have long been under-recognized and probably misunderstood," lead researcher Meng-Chuan Lai, said in a news release. "The findings suggest that we should not blindly assume that everything found in males with autism applies to females. This is an important example of the diversity within the 'spectrum'."

According to Dr Michael Lombardo, co author of the study, autism is visible in several ways and this condition can be better understood by grouping gender. He says that the study shows a new way to subgroup autism on the basis of gender. The researchers can make progress in understanding the mechanism that triggers autism by lowering heterogeneity through sub grouping.

The study was published in the journal Brian.