SchaferAutismReport: Unfolding The Mysteries Of The Brain

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Subject: Unfolding The Mysteries Of The BrainTo: "Schafer Autism Report " Date: Monday, August 3, 2009, 2:55 PM

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RESEARCHUnfolding The Mysteries Of The BrainHouse Approves $8m For AutismNEWSCourt: State Cannot Curtail Services For Autistic ChildrenHouse Approves New Food-Safety LawsTREATMENTBerard Auditory Integration Training with Sally Brockett, MSSuit Filed Against Autism Clinic Alleges Fraud, ConspiracyCaldwell College OK'd to Launch First Ph.D. for ABA-Autism in NJRESOURCESEaster Seals Adds Saturday Respite Program To ServicesPEOPLEMother of Autistic U.K. Hacker Calls on Obama for HelpFamily Wants Its Pig BackHidden Disabled

Girl To Be InstitutionalizedCOMMENTARYAn Interview with Dr. Geri Dawson, Chief Science Officer, Autism SpeaksExperiencing a Hyperbaric Chamber Of WondersLETTERSDefend Care Clinics

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Hundreds of Local Autism EventsRESEARCHUnfolding The Mysteries Of The Brain Researchers are learning to map the wrinkled landscape of the cerebral cortex for clues to how the mind

develops By Anthes, Globe boston.com. is.gd/20QQr The surface of the brain is a complex landscape, featuring endless peaks and valleys. This intricately folded outer layer, known as the cerebral cortex, is one of the brain’s most noticeable features. But it’s also one of the least well understood. “There’s this large expanse of cortex, much of which is like South America to a 17th century cartographer," said Van Essen, a neurobiologist at Washington University in St. Louis. “It’s this big mass of land, and we know what the outlines are, but no one’s been able to chart the intricacies." That’s beginning to change. Technological and computational advances have enabled researchers to image the brain’s wrinkled exterior in stunning detail, mapping the size and

shape of each fold. Scientists pursuing this new discipline of “cortical cartography" expect it to yield insights into how the brain develops and what happens when things go awry. Researchers have already discovered that the cerebral cortex - which controls higher-level functions, including thought, emotion, and perception - is folded abnormally in disorders ranging from autism to depression. Such insights could lead to better and earlier diagnoses and perhaps even new clues to treatment. When the human brain develops in the womb, the outer surface is initially almost entirely smooth. But during the last few months of fetal development, the cortex begins to fold and wrinkle; by the time a full-term infant is delivered, most of the folding has been completed, though subtle refinements continue through early childhood. The folds create more surface area, increasing the size of the cerebral cortex that can fit in our

skulls, and, it’s believed, partly accounting for the greater cognitive powers of humans compared with species with smoother brains. “There are some basic principles of folding, but the topology varies quite a bit" from person to person, said Ellen Grant, a radiologist at Massachusetts General Hospital who specializes in imaging young brains. “There’s tuning that’s due to someone’s genes and environment." That means that everyone’s folding pattern is unique. “The difference between your cortex and mine are even greater than the differences between our fingerprints," Van Essen said. And these differences can reveal how our brains work. “The cortical folds are meaningful because they tell us, albeit indirectly, about the wiring of the brain." Van Essen has created a cortical atlas, which compiles brain-imaging data to reveal variations in the topography of the cortex.

Because even normal brains vary in the precise folding patterns, Van Essen’s atlas combines data from many individuals to create representations of what folding looks like in an average brain at various stages of development. And as the atlas evolves, it’s beginning to include images of what can happen when the surface of the For rest of today's SAR click here:www.sarnet.org/frm/forsar.htm

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