Neurotransmitters Flow in this Autism Mind: Research

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An Evolving Landscape of Autism Research

AI and Technology in Autism

2020s: Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning are applied to analyze large datasets in autism research, identifying biomarkers and developing early detection algorithms.

Biomedical Research

2000s: Gastrointestinal Issues and the Gut-Brain Axis: Studies link GI issues to behavioral changes in autism, leading to research on the gut-brain connection and its impact on autism symptoms.
2014-2018: Endocannabinoid System: Research reveals its role in regulating mood and stress in autism, leading to trials exploring CBD as a treatment for anxiety and sensory sensitivities.
2016: Immune System and Neuroinflammation: Research finds links between immune system irregularities and autism, with some individuals displaying elevated inflammatory markers.
2017: Microglia and Inflammation Research: Studies on microglia (the brain’s immune cells) suggest that increased activation may contribute to autism traits through neuroinflammation.
2019: Microbiome and Gut-Brain Research: Research on the gut microbiome shows that differences in gut bacteria may influence autism symptoms, prompting interest in probiotic treatments.
2019-2021: Nutritional and Metabolic Research: Research explores nutritional deficiencies and metabolic dysfunction in autism, leading to interest in dietary supplements and other nutritional interventions.
2020s: Precision Medicine Approaches: The rise of precision medicine leads to personalized autism treatments tailored to individual genetic, biological, and environmental profiles.

Mental Health

2010s: Autism and Anxiety: Studies show that anxiety is one of the most common co-occurring conditions in autism, particularly linked to sensory sensitivities and social challenges.
2020s: Depression and Suicide Research reveals high rates of depression and suicidal ideation among autistic individuals, leading to calls for targeted mental health interventions.

Co-occurring Conditions

2014: High Prevalence of Co-occurring Conditions: Studies reveal that 70-80% of autistic individuals have co-occurring conditions like anxiety, depression, ADHD, or epilepsy, emphasizing the need for integrated care.

Aging and Lifespan Research

2010: Shift Toward Aging Research: Research begins focusing on the aging process in autistic adults, identifying accelerated aging and increased physical and mental health conditions.
2015: Aging in Autistic Adults: Studies show that older autistic adults face increased physical health issues like mobility problems and early cognitive decline.
2016: Premature Mortality in Autism: Research reveals a higher risk of premature mortality in autistic individuals due to co-occurring conditions and limited healthcare access.
2019: Social Isolation and Mental Health in Older Adults: Studies highlight loneliness, depression, and anxiety in older autistic adults, prompting calls for better social support.
2020s: Aging, Mental Health, and Physical Health: Research shifts to focus on employment, independent living, and healthcare for aging autistic individuals, emphasizing the need for lifelong supports.
2023: Neurodegenerative Diseases and Autism: Emerging research suggests that older autistic individuals may be at higher risk for neurodegenerative diseases, prompting preventive healthcare strategies.

Motor Function and Movement Disorders

1980s-1990s: Recognition of motor impairments in autism, such as coordination issues and fine motor skill difficulties.
2000s: Movement and Motor Stereotypies: Motor stereotypies, such as hand-flapping and rocking, are studied as part of sensorimotor integration and self-regulation in autism.
2011: Motor Planning and Dyspraxia: Research reveals that many autistic individuals struggle with motor planning and dyspraxia, affecting both fine and gross motor tasks.
2015: Cerebellar and Motor Function: Neuroimaging reveals cerebellar abnormalities in autistic individuals, linking them to difficulties with motor coordination and balance.
2016: Gait and Balance in Autism: Studies show that many autistic individuals have atypical gait patterns and balance issues, which affect daily functioning.
2018: Motor Skills and Social Communication: Research highlights a link between motor skills and social communication, suggesting that improving motor coordination can also enhance social abilities.
2020s: Movement Disorder Subtypes: Research identifies subtypes of motor dysfunction in autism, including parkinsonism and proprioceptive challenges, adding depth to motor-related autism research.

Genetic and Neurological Research

1977: Genetic Link Discovered: Twin studies by Folstein and Rutter reveal a strong genetic component to autism, marking the beginning of autism genetics research.
1980s: Brain Differences Identified: Neuroimaging shows structural differences in the amygdala, frontal cortex, and cerebellum, regions related to social interaction and motor coordination.
2007: Autism Genome Project identifies several genetic mutations, emphasizing the heterogeneous nature of autism and its complex genetics.
2011: Synaptic Pruning: Research finds that impaired pruning in autistic individuals may lead to excess neural connections, contributing to sensory overload.
2015: CRISPR and Genetic Editing: The introduction of CRISPR/Cas9 gene-editing technology provides new insights into autism by allowing the study of genetic mutations and considering potential treatments.
2018: Epigenetics research shows how environmental factors influence gene expression, adding complexity to the genetic understanding of autism.

Sensory Processing Research

1990s: Sensory Processing Differences: Researchers recognize sensory processing differences (hypersensitivity or hyposensitivity) as a hallmark of autism, leading to sensory-based therapies to manage anxiety and stress.
2000s: Sensory Integration Therapy emerges as a common approach to help autistics respond better to sensory input, using activities such as swinging, climbing, and deep pressure to improve sensory regulation.
2000s: Sensory Overload and Environmental Factors: Studies explore how sensory overload in environments like schools and workplaces contributes to anxiety and meltdowns. Creating sensory-friendly environments with dim lighting and noise reduction improves functioning.
2010s: Sensory Over-responsivity and Brain Connectivity: Over-responsivity to sensory stimuli is linked to atypical brain connectivity, showing hyperconnectivity in sensory processing areas, which results in overwhelming responses to stimuli like loud noises or bright lights.
2010s: Sensory Subtypes in Autism: Researchers identify sensory subtypes, including over-responsive, under-responsive, and sensory-seeking behaviors, acknowledging the diversity in sensory processing challenges.
2018: Sensory Processing and Mental Health: Research highlights the connection between sensory processing differences and mental health conditions, such as anxiety and depression, especially in relation to sensory overload contributing to social withdrawal and stress.
2020s: Sensory Processing and Social Communication: Findings suggest that sensory processing differences directly impact social communication in autism. Sensory overload may interfere with social interactions, prompting sensory-informed social skills interventions.
2020s: Wearable Sensory Devices: Wearable devices, such as noise-cancelling headphones and compression garments, help autistic individuals manage sensory overload in daily settings.

Technology and Autism

2010s: Assistive Technology for Communication [still lagging terribly]
2020s: AI and Virtual Reality (VR): applied in autism research, particularly in social skills training, allowing autistic individuals to practice social interactions in controlled settings.

Autism and Employment

2010s: Employment Challenges: Research reveals widespread unemployment and underemployment among autistic adults, leading to the development of neurodiversity hiring programs at major companies like SAP and Microsoft.
2020s: Inclusive Work Environments: Studies focus on creating inclusive work environments, showing that autistic employees can thrive with the right accommodations and mentorship.

Social Cognition Research

1980s: Theory of Mind (ToM): Research introduces mindblindness in autistic individuals, suggesting difficulty understanding others’ thoughts and feelings (Theory of Mind deficits).
1990s: Executive Function and Social Challenges: Studies explore how executive function deficits (e.g., planning, flexibility) affect social cognition, leading to challenges in managing social situations.
2000s: Empathy Research: Researchers distinguish between cognitive empathy (understanding others’ perspectives) and affective empathy (sharing others’ emotions), with cognitive empathy being impaired but affective empathy often intact.
2010s: Mirror Neuron Research: Mirror neuron dysfunction is studied as a potential cause of difficulties with social imitation and understanding others' actions in autism.
2017: Social Skills Training: Social skills training programs target social cognition deficits, such as recognizing emotions and understanding social cues, improving social functioning.
2018: Social Cognition and Cognitive Flexibility: Research shows that autistic individuals process social information differently, leading to interventions focused on cognitive flexibility and social interaction.
2020s: Social Motivation Theory: Social motivation theory suggests that reduced motivation for social interactions, rather than an inability to understand social cues, contributes to autism’s social challenges.

Early Identification and Intervention

1990s-2000s: Early Screening: Advances in early screening tools, enable earlier detection and more effective interventions.
2010s: Early Behavioral Interventions: Research on early interventions ABA, Early Start Denver Model (ESDM), and Pivotal Response Training (PRT).

Family and Caregiver Research

2000s: Family Impact: Research highlights the emotional, financial, and logistical burdens faced by families and caregivers of autistic individuals, calling for family-centered support services.
2000s: Sibling Research: Studies explore the experiences of siblings of autistic individuals, prompting the development of support groups and resources for siblings.

Neurodiversity and Self-Advocacy

2010s: Rise of the Neurodiversity Movement: The neurodiversity movement led by autistic self-advocates promotes the view of autism as a natural variation of human experience, leading to a strengths-based approach to autism research.
2020s: Advocacy and Policy Changes: push for more inclusive research practices and participatory models, making autistic individuals co-creators of research.

Read at https://time.com/6299599/autism-research-limited-essay/

"Willy-nilly... existing autism research findings, and the resultant therapies and educational strategies, have been applied across the board to all autistics.

Unfortunately, a lack of success in therapies not suited for you in the first place, leads to negative downstream impacts such as being placed in low expectations classrooms, the closure of opportunities, and less than positive lifetime outcomes."

-Hari Srinivasan, Time

Neurodiversity Misattribution

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/13623613241237871

While neurodiversity is popularly attributed to Judy Singer, it was in fact a collective effort of many autistic activists in the 1990s. A correct in attribution is overdue.

"For some time, the coinage and theorizing of the concept of ‘neurodiversity’ has been attributed to Judy Singer. While Singer published one early book chapter on the neurodiversity movement in 1999, she was only one of many working on theorising neurodiversity, and certainly not the first. In fact... ‘neurological diversity’ or ‘neurodiversity’ concept – and body of theory surrounding it – was collectively theorised and developed by autistic activists, primarily in the autistic community email list Independent Living in the mid-1990s. While much of this earlier theorising, and that which followed, has been lost due to being on now defunct emails lists, forums, blogs, and so on, in our view, it is important to clarify the multiple origins of the concept. This allows us to correctly show that neurodiversity theory arose and was developed collectively among autistic activist communities, rather than originating with any individual"

Its like the way I had attributed "inspiration porn" to Stella Young, who had used it a Ted Talk and thus popularized it. But the term was coined by comedian Maysoon Zayid. Thanks to disability rights activist, Rebecca Cokley who knows both was nice enough to correct the attribution.

The role of the autistic in research

Thoughts around autistic people leading research rather than only participate by giving accounts of lived experiences.

I think rather than talking about one autistic or neurotypical being the leader, which seems to imply a position of dominance by one group, we should be thinking more in terms of what Judy Heumann used to term as Collaboration Cooperation. Both disabled researchers and non disabled researchers need to work together for meaningful change. And most research is a team effort anyway. What the non disabled researchers bring to the table is a lot of experience in how to go about research and they’ve had a couple of centuries of head start in this. When you combine this with collaboration and leadership of autistic researchers you get the following added benefits.

Autistic insights through a nuanced understanding of autistic experiences that cannot be fully captured by observation or second-hand accounts.
Innovative approaches through distinct cognitive and perceptual experiences. This can lead to innovative research methods and findings that might be overlooked by non-autistic researchers.
Increased relevance and application towards practical and relevant issues.
Empowerment and representation as autistics in leadership, challenges traditional narratives of them only being research subjects.
Reducing bias in data interpretation from a neurotypical lens.
Building trust among autistic participants that this research is likely to be ethical and beneficial.
Policy and practice impact as autistic researchers are more likely to advocate for changes that directly improve the lives of autistics. Their leadership in research can influence policy, educational practices, and therapeutic approaches in ways that are more aligned with the needs of the autistic community.

Your body position influences your emotional state

Research on posture and emotion has shown that adopting certain body positions can influence one's emotional state.

A study by Peper and Lin (2012) explored how body posture affects energy levels and the ability to generate positive and negative thoughts. They found that an upright posture can promote a more positive mood and energy levels, while a slumped posture can lead to increased feelings of depression.

Peper, E., & Lin, I. (2012). Increase or decrease depression: How body postures influence your energy level. Biofeedback, 40(3), 125-130.

Time

What an insightful and well written article. I applaud you! As a pediatrician I too have felt frustrated with the limited information we have to provide parents and children once they receive a diagnosis of Autism. Interestingly, I have noticed that many of my patients with Autism are gifted with almost "special" abilities. For some it is art, for others music for others it is academics. I had 2 patients that went on to study aerospace engineering and amazed me with their knowledge in the office. I have always felt that as a society we should expose children with autism to a vast array of things and concepts to see what resonates with them and then nurture that, instead of forcing them to conform to "how we think children should be". It would be interesting to create a longitudinal study that follows children after a diagnosis over a lifetime to see what helped them develop their skills (parenting styles, conventional schooling and therapies, unconventional..) I feel like with the diagnosis of Autism there is so much we don't know and so much we can learn from them too. Its like untapping parts of the brain we never knew existed. I wish you luck on your advocacy efforts and agree 100%!

Article Link: https://time.com/6299599/autism-research-limited-essay/

In the thick

Event hosted by Spectrum at Cal during my undergrad years.

Panel on Autism Research

Now I'm in the thick of doing Autism Research. How about that!!

And this is the area I will be looking at https://youtu.be/TG67gYXyz1o

A Jest for the Best

https://youtu.be/BXGY6PCxuM4

Find my poetry on my YouTube Channel

Consciousness

The exploration of consciousness is a central theme in both Buddhism and Sanathana Dharma (Hinduism) philosophies, and modern scientific inquiry has begun to intersect with some of these ancient concepts. While there are parallels, there are also significant differences in the methodologies, foundational assumptions, and goals of spiritual traditions and scientific inquiry. The intersections, however, provide fertile ground for scientific enrichment.

Nature of Consciousness and Quantum Physics. Both Sanathana Dharma and Buddhism assert that consciousness isn't a byproduct but a fundamental aspect of reality. This perspective aligns, to some extent, with certain interpretations of quantum mechanics, which propose that consciousness plays a role in the process of quantum measurement or wave function collapse.

Meditation, Mindfulness, and Neuroscience: Neuroscientific research into the effects of meditation—a practice central to both Sanathana Dharma and Buddhist traditions—has shown that it can induce significant changes in areas of the brain associated with attention, emotion regulation, and self-awareness.

Self and Non-self: Sanathana Dharma philosophy's exploration of the self through concepts like "Atman" (individual soul) and its relationship with "Brahman" (universal consciousness) can be seen in parallel with the scientific exploration of individual consciousness and its relationship with the world. Buddhism's concept of "Anatta" (non-self) proposes that there's no continuous, unchanging self. This idea resonates with certain findings in neuroscience, suggesting that the perception of a continuous "self" is an emergent property of various neural processes and not localized in one part of the brain.

Levels and States of Consciousness: The Mandukya Upanishad, outlines different states of consciousness, including waking, dreaming, deep sleep, and a transcendent state known as "Turiya." Modern neuroscience also explores various states of consciousness, such as REM sleep, deep sleep, and altered states induced by substances or meditation. Buddhist meditation practices often aim to transcend ordinary states of consciousness and attain enlightened states. Neuroscientific studies on accomplished meditators have reported unique brainwave patterns and states of consciousness.

Interconnectedness: Both Sanathana Dharma and Buddhist philosophies emphasize the interconnectedness of all things. This idea has resonances with holistic perspectives in science, especially in fields like ecology and certain interpretations of quantum physics which emphasize non-locality and entanglement.

Plasticity and Transformation: Both Sanathana Dharma and Buddhist traditions emphasize the possibility of transforming one's mind and consciousness. The idea of neuroplasticity in modern neuroscience—that the brain is malleable and can be changed through experiences, especially practices like meditation—aligns with this.

Phenomenal Experience: Buddhism, particularly in schools like Yogacara, delves deep into the nature of experience, cognition, and perception. These explorations find parallels in cognitive science and phenomenological approaches in modern philosophy of mind.

https://time.com/6299599/autism-research-limited-essay/