A majority of the research has found that individuals with autism perform poorly on measures of executive function. A general decrease in working memory (WM) is one of the limitations, although some studies have found that working memory is not impaired in autistic children relative to controls matched for IQ.
Documenting events with pictures.
Episodic memory is useful for remembering past experiences from one's life. In general, children with autism have a weak episodic memory and they can't always recall things that happened in the past.
Long-term visual memory — as assessed by the 30-minute drawing — declined faster in adults with autism than in controls, the researchers found. The hippocampus typically shrinks as memory declines with age. But hippocampus size didn't track with the visual-memory changes Braden's team measured.
The autistic brain shows fewer long-range connections but a lot more short-range connections. This means that with every thought, more connections are made, but also more side-steps; it produces nonlinear thought processes.
Specifically, researchers have found that some of the genes that are associated with autism are also associated with an increased risk of developing dementia later in life. This connection between autism and dementia is not yet fully understood, but it is clear that there is a lot of overlap between the two conditions.
Children with autism have memory challenges that hinder not only their memory for faces but also their ability to remember other kinds of information, according to new research from the Stanford School of Medicine.
In the autistic brain, the brain reduced connectivity, known as hypoconnectivity, allows weakly connected regions to drift apart, with sulci forming between them.” Research has shown the deeper theses sulcal pits are, the more language production is affected.
Early brain changes and autism spectrum disorder
Research is suggesting that, in future, brain scans may be used to diagnose autism, possibly even before behavioral symptoms become apparent.
The overall findings of the study suggest that, compared with neurotypical individuals, individuals with ASD experience greater difficulty with decision-making.
Associative Thinking: Most individuals on the spectrum are associative thinkers rather than linear thinkers. In other words, one thought connects to another and so on through sometimes loose or seemingly irrelevant connections.
In general, low-functioning ASD students also have a poorer working memory than their typically developing peers do. However, even high-functioning ASD students can display verbal working memory problems.
The downregulated genes were mainly linked to brain connectivity. This may indicate that the neurons may not communicate as efficiently. Too much activity in the neurons may cause the brain to age faster in autistic individuals.
While cognitive empathy can be lower in people with autism, affective empathy—which is based on instincts and involuntary responses to the emotions of others—can be strong and overwhelming. In fact, newer research suggests that some people with autism may actually feel other people's emotions more intensely.
People with Asperger's Syndrome were found to have spatial working memory deficits compared with control subjects on the Executive-Golf Task, although these may be indicative of a more general deficit in non-verbal intelligence in people with ASD.
Signs of High-Functioning Autism in Children
May appear more mature for their age and have above-average intelligence. A tendency to avoid eye contact. Trouble deviating from a routine or adapting to changes. Trouble making friends and maintaining social relationships or not “fitting in” with peers.
Autistic traits can amplify the conditions that lead to burnout, and burnout can cause these traits to worsen. They may become unable to speak or care for themselves, and struggle with short-term memory.
Sensory Issues
Many people with autism experience sensory processing disorder. This is more commonly known as sensory overload. Noise, crowds, bright lights, strong tastes, smells, and being touched can feel unbearable to someone with HFA. This makes going to restaurants, movies, and shopping malls difficult.
While love is expressed and experienced differently from person to person, those with autism are fully capable of forming deep emotional connections. These can include love for their family, friends, romantic partners, or even interests and hobbies.
Children with ASD may have difficulty developing language skills and understanding what others say to them. They also often have difficulty communicating nonverbally, such as through hand gestures, eye contact, and facial expressions.
Diagnosing autism spectrum disorder (ASD) can be difficult because there is no medical test, like a blood test, to diagnose the disorder. Doctors look at the child's developmental history and behavior to make a diagnosis.
If someone in your family has autism spectrum disorder (ASD), you may be more likely to have a child with ASD. ASD can look very different from person to person, so taking a careful family health history can be important for early diagnosis.
Although an MRI can detect autism in adults, its use as an effective tool for children remains ongoing. Medical researchers have been working on new ways to detect autism as a diagnosis for adults. Fast brain scans have been built where markers closely associated with autism are shown in as little as 15 minutes.
Although the underlying mechanisms remain largely unknown, autism is commonly described as a brain-based disorder since many documented changes are registered in the brain [21].
Four social brain regions, the amygdala, OFC, TPC, and insula, are disrupted in ASD and supporting evidence is summarized; these constitute the proposed common pathogenic mechanism of ASD. Symptomatology is then addressed: widespread ASD symptoms can be explained as direct effects of disrupted social brain regions.