1 Running Head: Neuroplasticity And Autism
Neuroplasticity and Autism
Francisco Tijerina Mt. San Antonio College
Biological Psychology Dr. John Pellitteri 12/4/2014
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According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) “is a developmental disability that can cause significant social, communication and behavioral challenges. There is often nothing about how people with ASD look that sets them apart from other people, but people with ASD may communicate, interact, behave, and learn in ways that are different from most other people. The learning, thinking, and problem-solving abilities of people with ASD can range from gifted to severely challenged “(CDC; 2014). People with ASD have problems with socialization as well as communication skills that may inhibit their ability to live a prosperous normal life. The cause of autism is not yet known, however it is believed that there are many different factors contributing to ASD such as environmental factors as well as genetics, there is also some evidence to suggest that when taken during pregnancy, the prescription drugs Valproic and Thalidomide have been linked to a higher risk of ASD (CDC; 2014). In 1989 the rate of autism was projected at about 4 in 10,000 births, with 66% scoring below a 70% in a standardized IQ test, although that number is much less today as the spectrum has become more wide-ranging. Today it is estimated that about 1 in 66 children will be born with ASD with boys being affected 5 times greater (about 1 in 54 boys). It is estimated that the cost of caring for individuals with ASD in the United States is 137 billion a year, with a lifetime cost of about 2.4 million for those with a intellectual disability and around 1.4 million for those without intellectual disabilities (Dawson & Bernier, 2013). An estimated 40-60% of children with autistic disorders show some degree of mental handicap, what separates children with Autism and children who are mentally handicapped is children with mental disabilities seem to be more evenly able to function in all areas, where children with autism will exhibit drastic inconsistency within and
3 Neuroplasticity And Autism between tasks and areas. Children with Autism also show uneven development in areas such as motor, language and life skills. It is considered to be a “spectrum” disorder because of the large range of symptoms and functionalities. Children with mental handicaps are also much more likely to relate well with people and enjoy social connection which is rare in children with Autism. As of December 1st, 2013 there were 6,318 children aged 6 who are part of the California school system (California Department of Education, 2014). Autism is usually diagnosed around age 3 and can sometimes be detected at 18 months or even younger, however many children do not receive a final diagnosis until they are older, a diagnosis by an experienced professional can be very reliable (DiLavore et al., 2006). Neuroplasticity, also known as brain plasticity or cortical remapping is a pretty broad term, which essentially refers to the brain’s ability to change and adapt as a result of experiences and learning. Psychologist William James suggested that the brain was not as unchanging as we had formerly assumed. In his book The Principals of Psychology, he noted “Organic matter, especially nervous tissue, seems endowed with a very extraordinary degree of plasticity” (James 1890), however his theory was largely ignored for many years after publication. In the 1960’s many researchers were fascinated by cases in which adults were able to regain functions after having suffered massive strokes, this demonstrated that the brain is much more flexible and able to recover from traumatic instances than had previously been believed. Early researchers believed that the creation of new neurons stopped not long after birth, however today we understand that the brain has an amazing capacity to recognize paths and patterns, create new connections and even create new neurons. According to psychology expert Kendra Cherry, there are four key facts about neuroplasticity: 1. It can very by age, 2. Plasticity is ongoing throughout life and involves brain cells other than
4 neurons including glial and vascular cells, 3. It can happen for two reasons, one being the result of learning, experience and memory formation, the other as a result of damage to the brain. 4. Both environment and genetics have an influence on neuroplasticity (Cherry 2011). By the age of 3, a child has about 15,000 synapses per neuron, however the average adult has about half that number because as we humans gain new experiences and knowledge, some connections are strengthened whilst others are eliminated. This is known as synaptic pruning. Just like our muscles, neurons that are frequently used develop stronger connections and those that are rarely or never used eventually die off. Thus by developing new connections and pruning away the weaker connections the brain is able to adapt to the changes in the environment (Cherry 2011). As previously stated there are two types of brain plasticity. Functional plasticity refers to the brains ability to move tasks from a damaged area of the brain to another undamaged area. Structural Plasticity is the brains ability to change its physical structure as a result of learning; this is the form most people are knowledgeable about. Anywhere from 20-40% of children with autism had developmental recession, with skills typically lost between 15 and 24 months of age, there also seems to be a higher incidence of recession in children diagnosed with classic autism versus those in the broader spectrum disorder (Karmiloff et al., 2011) Most investigations are based on reviewing parental reports, which indicated the loss of the children’s social and communication skills especially around age 2-3. In many cases word loss was most common, however in most cases word loss coincided with the loss of communication skills such as eye contact and fine motor skills. A team of researchers wanted to know if pathological brain growth precedes the first sign of ASD and whether the rate of overgrowth during the first year is related to the neuroanatomical and clinical outcomes in a child (Carper et al., 2003). The researchers
5 Neuroplasticity And Autism obtained medical records for 48 children with ASD containing the measurements of the children’s head circumference at birth, compared with data of healthy infants. The results showed that infants with ASD had head circumferences that were significantly smaller after birth. Within the ASD group every child had an increase of head circumference than individual healthy infants, furthermore only 6% of the individual healthy infants in the data showed accelerated HC growth trajectories with from birth to 6 to 14 months; 59% of infants with autistic disorder showed these accelerated growth trajectories. The conclusions showed that autism seems to be preceded by 2 different phases of brain growth abnormality: a reduced head size at birth and a sudden and excessive increase in head size between 1 to 2 months and 6 to 14 months. Thus the abnormally accelerated rate of growth may serve as an early warning signal of risk for autism (Carper et al., 2003). Because autism is a neurobiological disorder, neurobiological abnormalities happen before the first behavioral expressions of the disorder, unfortunately this is not the case for autism because neurobiological early warning signs have not yet been discovered for autism (Carper et al., 2003). For children with ASD, Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) is a very useful tool to achieve learning skills that are similar to children in their peer group who do not have ASD. ABA is applying behaviors to everyday situations that will over time increase or decrease targeted behaviors such as self-injury and aggression. The ability to rewire the brain can apply to just about anyone or any behavior or for that matter, any aspect of life. Because this rewiring of the brain is a means of creating new connections between neurons that adopt positive habits and behaviors, while turning off those pathways that are associated with negative habits, one can see how much of an advantage such a concept would have when applied to children with Autism. Furthermore this rewiring of the brain and the development
6 of new pathways that promote positive behaviors is achieved through repetition and positive reinforcements (Knight). Although the results are often incredible it is important to remember that there is a difference between recovery and a cure. There currently is no cure for autism however ABA offers children with ASD a chance to adapt and experience some sense of recovery which can lead to great success in what can otherwise be a very challenging world (Knight). Having worked with children with autism for about 3 years I can say I have seen the results of ABA and it is astounding at times the progress that can be made especially when the child has a supportive environment and is encouraged often and praised for work well done.