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Behavioral disorders in kids with autism linked to reduced brain connectivity
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/04/190418164340.htm

In this article, Yale researchers have found a biological cause that regulates emotional functions differently in children with autism who also have disruptive behavior disorder. Very little was known about what causes such aggressive behaviors in these children before this study, and it is one of the main reasons children with autism seek psychiatric treatment and hospitalization. This study used fMRI scan to conduct an emotional perception task and compare it to children with autism who do not have disruptive behavior.  The children were asked to view pictures of human faces that showed calm or scared expressions. Researchers found that there was reduced connectivity between the amygdala and ventrolateral cortex. This pathway is very critical to the regulation of emotion. This reduced connectivity is uniquely associated with disruptive behavior but not with severity of social defects or anxiety. This suggests that there is a network in the brain that could be separate from main autism symptoms. These findings offer a potential biomarker that will help develop targeted treatments for aggressive behavior in autism. 


In class, we talked about what emotions are and what parts of our brains process emotions.  This study suggests that these children with autism and behavioral disorders also have trouble with facial feedback. They have a hard time understanding emotion, so they also have trouble expressing positive emotion. This may suggest another reason why they can be so aggressive because the emotions we express on our face can have a huge impact on how we actually feel. This also could suggest that these children have a reduced amount of gaba in their brain which can inhibit our regulation of emotions in the brain.

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