Breakthrough in Understanding of Children's Brain Development: Medical Research News Published: 21-Jun-2005 A major new research initiative at York University will build on new knowledge of the brain's development, and help set children --including those with developmental disorders -- on the path towards emotional and intellectual health. York professor Stuart Shanker and renowned child psychologist Dr. Stanley Greenspan have uncovered the critical missing link in how a child's mind makes the leap from automatic action to thought - literally, how the human brain learns to think. They have formulated innovative new methods to treat children whose developmental processes are impeded, such as those with autism. Their research has resulted in techniques that all parents can use to better their child's emotional and intellectual development. MEHRI researchers will work directly with children who are developing typically and with those who have various biological challenges. (more on this story) EEG Evidence for Mirror Neuron Dysfunction in Autism Spectrum Disorders Brain Res Cogn Brain Res. 2005 Jul;24(2):190-8. Oberman LM, Hubbard EM, McCleery JP, Altschuler EL, Ramachandran VS, Pineda JA. Center for Brain and Cognition, UC San Diego, Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are largely characterized by deficits in imitation, pragmatic language, theory of mind, and empathy. Previous research has suggested that a dysfunctional mirror neuron system may explain the pathology observed in ASD. Because EEG oscillations in the mu frequency (8-13 Hz) over sensorimotor cortex are thought to reflect mirror neuron activity, one method for testing the integrity of this system is to measure mu responsiveness to actual and observed movement. It has been established that mu power is reduced (mu suppression) in typically developing individuals both when they perform actions and when they observe others performing actions, reflecting an observation/execution system which may play a critical role in the ability to understand and imitate others' behaviors. This study investigated whether individuals with ASD show a dysfunction in this system, given their behavioral impairments in understanding and responding appropriately to others' behaviors. Mu wave suppression was measured in ten high-functioning individuals with ASD and ten age- and gender-matched control subjects while watching videos of (1) a moving hand, (2) a bouncing ball, and (3) visual noise, or (4) moving their own hand. Control subjects showed significant mu suppression to both self and observed hand movement. The ASD group showed significant mu suppression to self-performed hand movements but not to observed hand movements. These results support the hypothesis of a dysfunctional mirror neuron system in high-functioning individuals with ASD. Allergy Sensitivity Doubles Since 1970s Scientists Don't Know What's Behind Increase (Aug. 8) -- More than half of all Americans test positive in response to one or more allergens, double the percentage who did 30 years ago, a new study reports. Researchers at the National Institutes of Health found that 54% of people tested positive to at least one of 10 allergens. The doubling of the prevalence of the six allergens tested in the earlier survey corresponds to a period during which there also was a 74% increase in asthma. The testing was part of CDC's third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey from 1988 to 1994 and is considered the most complete national data available to scientists. The previous survey was from 1976 to 1980. (complete story) Effects of prenatal nicotine exposure on development of central and peripheral cholinergic neurotransmitter systems. Evidence for cholinergic trophic influences in developing brain HA Navarro, FJ Seidler, JP Eylers, FE Baker, SS Dobbins, SE Lappi and TA Slotkin Department of Pharmacology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina. The development of cholinergic systems in brain regions was evaluated biochemically in developing control rats and rats whose mothers received nicotine via continuous minipump infusion during gestational days 4 to 20. The cerebral cortex displayed a unique maturational pattern of choline acetyltransferase (ChAT) activity and high-affinity synaptosomal [3H]choline uptake capabilities, characterized by increases in the concentration of these components and a postnatal spike of neuronal activity as assessed with the uptake/ChAT ratio; the peak of activity coincided with the time at which neurogenesis declines and synaptogenesis rises. Evaluation of the same markers in midbrain + brainstem indicated rises in uptake which were relatively unselective, primarily reflecting tissue growth and no postnatal peak of uptake/ChAT; cerebellum likewise showed primarily tissue growth-related changes in ChAT rather than increases in its specific concentration. Prenatal exposure to nicotine had a marked adverse effect on developmental patterns of ChAT, uptake and uptake/ChAT only in cerebral cortex, the region previously shown to exhibit major abnormalities caused by this drug and other treatments with cholinomimetic effects. ChAT was unaffected in peripheral projections to the adrenal. Nicotine may thus selectively disrupt central nervous system development by stimulating nicotinic receptors which are present in fetal brain, prematurely eliciting the events ordinarily triggered postnatally by cholinergic projections.

FDA to label ADHD drugs for side effects UPI June 29, 2005 WASHINGTON, June 29 (UPI) -- The Food and Drug Administration has announced plans to print possible psychiatric side effects on the labels of drugs including Concerta and Ritalin. The FDA said i t would also investigate other drugs used to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, or ADHD, for similar problems, The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday. The organization said on its Web site that it has received reports of patients experiencing hallucinations, suicidal thoughts, psychotic behavior, aggression and violent actions while using forms of methylphenidate -- the generic name for Novartis AG's Ritalin. Concerta, made by Johnson & Johnson, is a long-acting form of methylphenidate. The FDA said it "intends to make labeling changes describing these events," and has asked its pediatric advisory committee to comment on the reports. However, The Wall Street Journal said the announcement seems to imply that it does not see the label change as an urgent safety issue. Autism Linked To Mirror Neuron Dysfunction Source:University Of California, San Diego 2005-04-18 Seeing is doing -- at least it is when mirror neurons are working normally. But in autistic individuals, say researchers from the University of California, San Diego, the brain circuits that enable people to perceive and understand the actions of others do not behave in the usual way. A child with autism, wearing an EEG cap to measure brain-waves, watches video of a moving hand. (Credit: Lindsay Oberman) According to the new study, currently in press at the journal Cognitive Brain Research, electroencephalograph (EEG) recordings of 10 individuals with autism show a dysfunctional mirror neuron system: Their mirror neurons respond only to what they do and not to the doings of others. The human mirror neuron system is now thought to be involved not only in the execution and observation of movement, but also in higher cognitive processes -- language, for instance, or being able to imitate and learn from others' actions, or decode their intentions and empathize with their pain. Because autism is characterized, in part, by deficits in exactly these sorts of social interaction and communication skills, previous research has suggested that a dysfunctional mirror neuron system may explain the observed pathology. The current findings, the researchers say, lend substantial support to the hypothesis. (complete story) QuantumBit and Biodyne Expand Neurotherapy Procedures. Business Wire; 9/3/2004 HOUSTON -- The initial focus is the treatment of Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD), thus providing an alternate to treatment with psycho-stimulants such as Ritalin. A quote from a recent scientific animal study points to the potential negative effects of the extensive use of the psycho-stimulant, Ritalin, to treat attention deficit disorder (ADD) in our children. " . . . in some brain regions, repeated exposure to psychomotor-stimulant drugs limits the ability of later experience to produce this form of synaptic plasticity . . (Amphetamine or cocaine limits the ability of later experience to promote structural plasticity in the neocortex and nucleus accumbens. (complete story) Age and gender effects in EEG coherence: II. Boys with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder. Clin Neurophysiol. 2005 Apr;116(4):977-84. Epub 2004 Dec 10 Barry RJ, Clarke AR, McCarthy R, Selikowitz M, Johnstone SJ, Hsu CI, Bond D, Wallace MJ, Magee CA. Brain & Behaviour Research Institute and Department of Psychology, University of Wollongong, Northfields Avenue, Wollongong NSW 2522, Australia. OBJECTIVE: This study investigated intra-hemispheric and inter-hemispheric EEG coherences as a function of age in boys with different subtypes of Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (AD/HD), in comparison with a control group of normal boys. METHODS: Three groups of 40 children (AD/HD combined type, AD/HD inattentive type, and normal controls) participated. Each group contained 8 males in each 1 year band from 8 to 12 years. EEG was recorded from 21 sites during an eyes-closed resting condition. Wave-shape coherence was calculated for 8 intra-hemispheric electrode pairs (4 in each hemisphere), and 8 inter-hemispheric electrode pairs, within each of the delta, theta, alpha and beta bands. RESULTS: Developmental effects in intra-hemispheric coherences at shorter and longer inter-electrode distances generally supported Thatcher's two-compartment model. Control boys showed evidence of development in longer-range inter-hemispheric coherences which was not apparent in AD/HD boys. Boys with AD/HD of the combined type showed qualitatively different anomalies than boys with AD/HD of the inattentive type. CONCLUSIONS: EEG coherences in normal boys of this age range develop systematically with age in a non-linear fashion. Boys with AD/HD do not show this development. They display coherence anomalies which differ in nature between DSM-IV subtypes, suggesting differences which are not relatable to simple symptom severity. SIGNIFICANCE: The data reported here indicate differences in the development of EEG coherences in boys with AD/HD, and point to differences between the AD/HD subtypes which may help understanding of the disorder.

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