Autism

Autism

Autism Brain Disorder
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May 12, 2014
Introduction to Psychology
Omaha Campus
Kaplan University
Our brain is the control center of our body. It is a part of the neurological system, which is a complex system that includes the spinal cord and a vast network of nerves and neurons that control and implement the functions we do every day. Brain disorders usually happen when our brain is damaged by an injury, disease, or a serious health condition (Macon & Leonard, 2012). There are many diseases and disorders that plague today’s society. One of the most serious of those disorders is autism. Autism is a complex developmental disorder of the brain and on average it appears during the first 5 years of a child’s life and is one of the fastest growing serious developmental disabilities in the U.S. Autism affects 1 in 68 children, most of them males. As of now, there is no cure for this disorder, only a variety of treatments (AUTISM SPEAKS INC., 2014).
There is long belief that autism only affects the regions of the brain that control social interaction, communication, and reasoning. However, new research suggests that autism affects the entire brain. Different parts of an autistic brain have difficulty working together to process complex information, which may be the driving component of autism. The major brain structures implicated in autism are the brain stem, corpus callosum, and cerebellum. Autistic adults and children usually have problems with social interactions and verbal and non-verbal communications. In addition, they tend to exhibit repetitive behaviors or narrow obsessive interests. Those are three behaviors that are the basis of the diagnosis of autism (Boyles, 2006).
Autism studies have been done with the use of imaging technology, like an fMRI. An fMRI (functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging) is a powerful tool used to research autism and it is a type of brain scan that uses a magnetic field to create images of brain activity in each brain area...

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