Propanaol has come up in lectures in my Cell Neuroscience course this sem. Of personal interest to me, as its use has become prevalent in the autism population. My last set of docs at Stanford said they preferred its use as it has less side effects compared to other drugs. I have mixed feelings about it effectiveness in my case but I've heard its helping a number of other autistics.
The use of Propranolol (brand names - Inderal, Hemangeol, & InnoPran XL) in autism is actually off-label as some research has suggested that propranolol may be helpful with anxiety, social withdrawal and repetitive behaviors. More research is needed to fully understand its effectiveness in autism.
In class today, we studied pharmacology of GABA-A receptors, specifically Benzodiazepine's. Of personal interest as I've been on lorazepam (fast acting for agitation, mood swings) and clonazepam (longer lasting). Unfortunately the body develops a tolerance and these don't work anymore.
This time a young white 28 year old female ex-student, walked into an elementary school with assault weapons and just shot 6 people, 3 staff and 3 kids aged 8-9. What a horrible tragedy.
Why is the US the ONLY country in the world where young kids are getting shot in their own schools every few months? That too with assault weapons.
This does not make sense. I wonder at the need to even own assault weapons when you live in a city. A gun makes remote sense maybe if you were living in the midst of the woods with a grizzly bear or packs or wolves on the loose.
Just last week our professor had mentioned how suicide rates dramatically increased amongst women who's partner/boyfriend owned a gun. Why is there such an obsessive need to hand out guns to just about anyone so easily in this country.
Vanderbilt University Medical Center, located just 4 miles from the school was where all the children were sent - already dead on arrival. How does a hospital emotionally prep for "emergencies" like this?
Every spring, the Vanderbilt Brain Institute puts on Brain Blast event at Nashville Public Library for high schoolers and younger children, with various booths educating children on the wonders of the brain in fun and creative ways. Oh and the screen in the background was showing various images, including some things about autism and neurodiversity.
Autism Lexicon [Measures] - ASEBA
ASEBA (Achenbach System of Empirically Based Assessment) measures are used in assessing various behavioral and emotional functioning in children and adolescents. While ASEBA is not specific to autism, it is used to information about co-occurring behavioral and emotional difficulties and help tailor interventions.
Wind Advisory and Tornado Watch. Tornado missed us but crazy thunderstorm at night, pounding rain and blinding flashes of lightning.
Thunderstorm brewing, lightning striking
This time last year, I was holding up the Tower of Pisa. LOL.
Italian Vacation during spring break
Do you know that PhD students don't get spring break like the undergrads. We sure could use that break for sure. Its been a crazy semester.
I was holding up the Tower of Pisa
With a tilt and a twist, like Galileo's wrist
Galileo throwing objects from the top
Law of falling bodies nonstop.
Lexicon [Measures] - SSTPQ
The SSTPQ consists of 13 questions and measures three distinct constructs and aims to capture individuals' subjective experiences and perceptions related to cognition areas of.
Scoring is on a Likert scale and individual scores provide a total score. Interpretation may involve comparing the scores to established norms/controls
Limitations:
Potential Limitation in Autism Populations:
Last year, I had been invited to join the DREDF board, my response to joining was a resounding YES.
At the first board meeting on Aug 12,2022, it was the late Judy Heumann who nominated me to the board and the motion was seconded by Christina Mills. The board voted unanimously to have me join the board.
Thinking of you Judy, as we head into the next board meeting without you today. You were there at start of DREDF to make it a reality and later on its board, and we will miss your presence.
I learned a little bit about the politics of research during a conversation with a professor, for instance researching the dopaminergic system belongs to people studying strictly study movement disorders.
Which is a real pity really. I have wondered why that is not looked at in the context of autism. Its like the two are never considered together for autism. But disabilities like autism have so many areas involved. Like challenges in movement, is such a critical piece for autistics like me, and worth investigating. How else will we get to solutions.
(Understanding Cre rats for my upcoming presentation, and why not learn which ones are used in autism space while I am at it)
First, what is a Cre-rat?
Lay Summary: Scientists have now mapped all the neural connections/pathways of a fruit fly (connectome). Why is this important? Fruit fly model is used in autism research, so this advance potentially helps autism research.
Some nice comments about my talk "Redefine The Table" at the @ITAKOM conference
This time last year, I had met with Prof Carissa Cascio during my Vanderbilt campus visit, and she had shown her copy of the Kendal textbook that awaited me in the program. Well certainly got to experience this textbook first hand this semester.
Lexicon [Measures] - BAPQ
The BAPQ (Broad Autism Phenotype Questionnaire) is a self-report measure designed to assess traits associated with the broader autism phenotype (BAP) in individuals (ages 16 and up) who do not have a clinical autism dx. Its primary goal is to identify and quantify autistic-like characteristics in relatives of autistics and in the general population.
I completed the Protection of Minors Training this morning.
Why is this important - while a majority of students are not-minors, universities do cross path with thousands of children each year with all the programs they run., ~50K kids/year at Vandy, per the training.
Apparently 1:10 kids get abused (median age 9) but only 38% disclose and 90% perpetrators are known to the child. Types of abuse include physical, sexual, neglect and emotional.
When it comes to abuse, most just focus on the physical or sexual parts. I want to address childhood "abuse" in the context of disabled kids who are also subject to endless rounds of emotional abuse and neglect all through childhood. It's terribly unreported, not even acknowledged, and we carry lifelong emotional scars well into adulthood.
Here is a small example: Throughout my special education years in elementary I was moved around multiple classrooms, sometimes are many as 4 in the course of one school year. How is that not emotional abuse by teachers who openly did not want me in their classrooms and resentful of my presence. How does that make a small child feel. How it is that the very people we are supposed to trust to nurture and support us (the 98% of folks we are surrounded by), end up as the perpetuators of lifelong emotional trauma for us.
The Bayes Squad
A Probability Party with Formula Fellows
Bayes Theorem BT: Alright folks, let's get this Bayesian statistics party started! I'm Bayes Theorem, and I'm the king of the castle around here.
Prior Probability PA(A): Whoa, whoa, whoa. Slow down there, Bayes. You may be the main formula, but I'm the one who sets the foundation. I'm Prior Probability, and I establish the probability of events before any data is collected.
Likelihood P(A): And I'm Likelihood, the star of the show. I calculate the probability of evidence given the hypothesis.
Buch et al, 2023
Methods
combo of network-based analysis and text mining to identify hub genes associated with each subgroup and to analyze the frequency of certain keywords in abstracts related to these genes. The goal was to understand how these genes and their associated behavioral phenotypes may be related to atypical brain connectivity patterns in each subgroup.
Judy, My Friend: A Tribute to a Disability Rights Legend
Judy my friend, I miss you dearly
But your legacy lives on, ever so clearly
As a trailblazer, a hero, a friend
Your spirit will never, ever end
Lexicon [Measures] - ABAS
The ABAS-3 (Adaptive Behavior Assessment System, Third Edition) is a measure of adaptive behavior in individuals from birth to adulthood across multiple domains. It is a widely used measure in autism.
