新的研究有助于科學家理解患自我封閉癥的兒童為何在解決問題方面存在困難。

使用功能性核磁共振掃描(fMRI)技術，來自Howard Florey研究所(Melbourne, Australia; www.hfi.unimelb.edu.au)的科研人員最近證實患自我封閉癥的兒童，負責執行功能的大腦深層部位缺乏活性(例如，注意力、推理、和解決問題)。Ross Cunnington醫生主持了這項研究，他報道說已知自我封閉癥具有生物學原因，但是神經掃描研究明確顯示大腦功能失調的區域可以說明患自我封閉癥的兒童為何在執行功能方面存在問題。

“關于自我封閉癥兒童為何出現執行功能損害的發現，有助于研發更好的治療方法，改善患者的注意力并有助于解決疾病問題。”Cunnington醫生說。“值得注意的是，我們發現尾狀核的活性在自我封閉癥的男孩中降低，這是連接大腦額前葉通路的關鍵部分。這些研究結果具有重要意義，因為額前葉大腦通路在解決問題和作出決策的過程中，在維持注意力、計劃與設定目標、以及在記憶中維持目標的過程中發揮極其重要的作用。”

Cunnington醫生與其他研究機構合作，評估了注意缺陷多動障礙(ADHD)兒童，發現了注意缺陷多動障礙(ADHD)兒童和自我封閉癥兒童的特定執行功能區域損害的相似之處。

這項自我封閉癥兒童的研究在11～18歲患自我封閉癥或者Asperger綜合征的兒童以及作為對照的無疾病青少年中進行。這些研究結果發表在即將出版的《美國精神病學期刊》之上。

fMRI Provides Insights into Autism
 
New research is helping to scientists to understand why children with autism spectrum disorders (autism) have problem-solving difficulties.

Utilizing functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) technology, scientists from the Howard Florey Institute (Melbourne, Australia; www.hfi.unimelb.edu.au) have recently demonstrated that children with autism have less activation in the deep regions of the brain responsible for executive function (i.e., attention, reasoning, and problem-solving). Dr. Ross Cunnington, who led the study, reported that autism was known to have a biologic cause, but this neuroimaging study distinctly showed the area of the dysfunction in the brain that accounted for why children with autism have problems with their executive function.

“Discovering why children with autism have impaired executive function may help develop better therapies to improve their ability to pay attention and solve problems,” Dr. Cunnington said. “Specifically, we found that activity in the caudate nucleus, a critical part of circuits that link the prefrontal cortex of the brain, is reduced in boys with autism. These findings have important implications, since prefrontal brain circuits play a critical role in maintaining and focusing attention, planning and setting goals, and keeping goals in memory during problem-solving and decision-making.”

Dr. Cunnington, collaborating with several other institutions, has also been evaluating children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and has found similarities in the impairment of certain executive functions in children with ADHD and autism.

The autism study was performed with boys aged 11 to 18 years who had autism or Asperger’s disorder, as well teenage boys without the disorder, who were the controls. The findings of this research are to be published in an upcoming issue of the American Journal of Psychiatry.