Biomarker For Autism Discovered Research provides opportunity
for identifying genes linked to autism Siblings of people with
autism show a similar pattern of brain activity to that seen in
people with autism when looking at emotional facial expressions.
The University of Cambridge researchers identified the reduced
activity in a part of the brain associated with empathy and
argue it may be a ‘biomarker’ for a familial risk of autism. Dr
Michael Spencer, who led the study from the University’s Autism
Research Centre, said: "The findings provide a springboard to
investigate what specific genes are associated with this
biomarker. The brain’s response to facial emotion could be a
fundamental building block in causing autism and its associated
difficulties." The Medical Research Council funded study is
published today, 12th July, in the journal Translational
Psychiatry. Previous research has found that people with autism
often struggle to read people’s emotions and that their brains
process emotional facial expres