Final project for Coursera course "Understanding the Brain: Neurobiology of Everyday Life"

1. Neurobiological aspects of Autism
By Daniela Brandão M. Valeriano
Autism is a neurodevelopmental disorder and it's often characterized by
difficulties in social interactions and repetitive patterns (thoughts and
actions included). It's often diagnosed in childhood, but late diagnosis is
also common, because autism is a spectrum and that means there is a
wide variation in the severity of symptoms, which makes it difficult to
diagnose in some cases. It's considered a developmental disorder
because the first signs appear in the first 2 years, normally.
But focusing more on the nervous system and the mechanisms behind
autism, we can start with the most active parts in the individuals who are
in the spectrum. The amygdala is overactive in the individuals with ASD,
and it may cause more sensitivity to sensory stimuli (loud noises and
bright lights, for example), and difficulties to understand expressions
and tone of voice. And adults with ASD showed greater activity in the
bilateral occipital cortex.
ASD, as a disorder that features deficits in social interactions and
cognition, and has been linked with a lot of atypical brain functions, so
understanding more about neuroanatomy is essential to comprehend
about autism. Studies have shown that the parts of the central nervous
system that show more unusual activities in the ASD are the: Amygdala,
cerebellum, limbic system, hippocampus, corpus callosum and the
frontal and temporal lobes, and we are going to focus on the alterations
on some of these brain structures.
Changes in the amygdala: Amygdala functions are associated with
emotional experience, fear and panic responses, so it's essential for our
survival. Amygdala deficit in autism might cause atypical activity, such
as showing too much or too little fear response when compared to
children that are not on the spectrum. It's important to say that the size
of the amygdala is different too, and when it's smaller than average it can

2. cause anxiety disorders. When it is larger, it is associated with behavior
disorders.
Changes in the cerebellum: Cerebellar dysfunction plays a really
important role in ASD, because it's associated with communications
deficits and repetitive behaviors. Cerebro-cerebellar loops are important
to cortical development, but autism might cause an interruption of the
specialization of cortical regions involved in motor control (causing
problems with balance and coordination), language, and social
interaction.
Changes in the hippocampus: It's often larger in children and teenagers
with ASD, and it may be related with difficulties forming new memories.
Frontal and temporal lobes: Enlargement of different brain areas was
found in both gray and white matter volumes, in the frontal and
temporal lobes.
It's important to say that the differences in the autistic brain doesn't
mean it's worse than the typical brain, in fact, many autistic people have
gifts in areas such as memorization, visual thinking, ability to focus on
details, logical thinking ability and many others. On the YouTube video “
The autism experience”, Samuel Beldie talks about his experience being
autistic and the struggles he finds in life. He also says that autistic people
may do things that are considered awkward, but it's because their brain
structure it's different, and it may cause difficulties with emotion and
communication but are gifted in other aspects, like the ones written
above. His speech is very important, because despite all the difficulties
that autism brings, they are very intelligent, capable and deserve respect.
To conclude, “Understanding the Brain: Neurobiology of Everyday Life”
was a very helpful course to me in this journey of learning more about
the brain, and its anatomy and functions of every part. It made me
realize how incredible and fascinating the brain is and how everything
works (neurons, synapses, abstract functions, vision, hearing and many
more fascinating topics). It was enriching, not only for my academic life,
but for understanding more and developing more empathy for people

3. facing the most diverse types of neurological disorders, such as aphasias,
autism, amnesias and many others.
Sources:
https://youtu.be/7L5Bh1TCcGc?si=vVbV439sahxE_Zob
https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/autism-spectrum-disorders-as
d
https://www.integrityinc.org/what-are-the-5-types-of-autism/#:~:text=
There%20are%20five%20major%20types,developmental%20disorder%
20%E2%80%93%20not%20otherwise%20specified.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7287879/
https://www.autismparentingmagazine.com/how-autism-affects-amygd
ala/
https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/neuroscience/articles/10.3389/fni
ns.2015.00408/full
https://www.thetreetop.com/aba-therapy/how-do-autistic-brains-work
https://www.altogetherautism.org.nz/strengths-and-abilities-in-autism/