Autism can be diagnosed by brain scans

A research from the University of Alabama at Birmingham Department of Psychology and Auburn University proves that brain scans are helpful in easier diagnosis of autism. This study is published in Frontiers in Human Neuroscience. “This research suggests brain connectivity as a neural signature of autism and may eventually support clinical testing for autism”, said Rajesh Kana, Ph.D., associate professor of psychology and senior researcher. The researchers discovered that brain scans are able to correctly predict autism in 95.5% of the patients. Kana worked in collaboration with Gopikrishna Deshpande, Ph.D. and his team from Auburn University`s MRI Research Center. They together involved 15 adults and adolescents with autism in this study and discovered that patients weren`t able to think logically. Kana is planning to go on with this study and to develop some new ways of medical testing in the following 5 to 10 years. At the moment, autism can be diagnosed by behavioral test starting in children who have 4 to 6 years.