23/11/05 - Health news section Autism family link discovered Relatives of people with autism who do not have the disorder themselves may still display behaviours and brain differences linked to the condition, scientists have found. The discovery could make it easier to spot families at risk of having an autistic child. It could also help in the quest to identify the genetic and environmental triggers for the condition, characterised by emotional detachment and an inability to relate to others. Dr Eric Peterson, from the University of Colorado in Denver, USA, compared the brain scans of 40 parents with autistic children with those of 40 matched parents whose children were normal. The parents of autistic children shared several differences in brain structure with their offspring. These included an unexpected increase in the size of the motor cortex and basal ganglia, both areas linked to movement planning and imitation. The neighbouring somatosensory cortex, bycontrast, was smaller than average. This region is important for understanding social information such as facial expressions - a skill autistic people often lack. There were also reductions in the cerebellum, important for co-ordinating movement, and a frontal region thought to play a key role in understanding the intentions of others. Another study led by Brendon Nacewicz, from the University of Wisconsin-Madison Medical School in the United States, tested for avoidance of eye contact, a common feature of autism. While parents seemed normal in this respect, brothers of autistic children avoided eye contact just as strongly as their affected siblings.--------------------------------- Find this story at http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/health/thehealthnews.html?in_article_id=369547&in_page_id=1797©2005 Associated New Media