SchaferAutismReport: New Model of Brain Sheds Light On Triggers of Autism

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Tuesday, July 11, 2006 Vol. 10 No. 121

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RESEARCH

* New Model of Brain Sheds Light On Triggers of Autism

EDUCATION

* Alberta's Autism Services Draws Families From Other Provinces

MEDIA

* Family's Plight and Song Catches World's Eye

* On Autism One: " The Candy Store: Music, Art, Inspiration,

& Information "

PEOPLE

* Autism Trailblazer Schopler Dies At 79

CARE

* Michigan Man Convicted of Sex Charge

FORENSIC

* Autistic Campus Arsonist Pleads

COMMENTARY

* Hawaiian Mercury Debate over Govnr's Indicated Veto Today Continues

RESEARCH

New Model of Brain Sheds Light On Triggers of Autism

iSTART model illustrates brain mechanisms that lead to autistic behaviors

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2006-07/bu-nmo071006.php

Boston - Approximately 1.5 million children and adults in the U.S.

have autism and it is estimated to be the fastest growing developmental

disability with a 10 - 17 percent increase each year. While much is known

about the symptoms of autism, the exact cause of the condition is not yet

defined.

A new model of the brain developed by Dr. Grossberg, professor

and chairman of the Department of Cognitive and Neural Systems at Boston

University, and Dr. Don Seidman, a pediatrician with the DuPage Medical

Group in Elmhurst, IL, sheds light on the triggers of behaviors commonly

associated with autism. The paper, " Neural Dynamics of Autistic Behaviors:

Cognitive, Emotional, and Timing Substrates, " appears in the July issue of

the journal Psychological Review, published by the American Psychological

Association.

" Autism involves multiple genes and correspondingly, people with

autism are known to have multiple cognitive, emotional, and motor symptoms -

such as impaired development of speech and difficulty expressing emotions, "

said Dr. Grossberg. " The iSTART model describes the various brain mechanisms

that underlie autism and how they may give rise to the symptoms of the

condition. "

iSTART, which stands for Imbalanced Spectrally Timed Adaptive

Resonance Theory, is derived from the earlier START model developed by

Grossberg to explain how the brain controls normal behaviors. The new model

describes how brain mechanisms that control normal emotional, timing, and

motor processes may become imbalanced and lead to symptoms of autism. START

and its imbalanced version iSTART are a combination of three models, each

one of which tries to explain fundamental issues about human learning and

behavior.

The first, called Adaptive Resonance Theory, or ART, proposes how the

brain learns to recognize objects and events. Recognition is accomplished

through interactions between perceptually-driven inputs and learned

expectations. Inputs attempt to match expectations which helps prompt the

brain to anticipate input/expectation patterns.

" When a match occurs, the system locks into a resonant state that

drives how we learn to recognize things; hence the term adaptive resonance, "

explained Grossberg.

The degree of match that is required for resonance to occur is set by

a vigilance parameter which controls whether a particular learned

representation will be concrete or abstract. Low vigilance allows for

learning of broad abstract recognition categories, such as a category that

is activated by any face; high vigilance forces the learning of specific

concrete categories, such as a category that is activated by a particular

view of a familiar friend's face. iSTART proposes that individuals with

autism have their vigilance fixed at such a high setting that their learned

representations are very concrete, or hyperspecific.

" Hypervigilance leads to hyperspecific learning which perpetuates a

multitude of problems with learning, cognition, and attention, " said

Grossberg.

The second model, called the Cognitive-Emotional-Motor, or CogEM,

model, extends ART to the learning of cognitive-emotional associations, or

associations that link objects and events in the world to feelings and

emotions that give these objects and events value. Under normal

circumstances, arousal of the circuits in the brain that control emotion are

set at an intermediate level. Either under-arousal or over-arousal of these

circuits can cause abnormal emotional reactions and problems with

cognitive-emotional learning.

" If the emotional center is over-aroused, the threshold to activate a

reaction is abnormally low, but the intensity of the emotion is abnormally

small, " said Grossberg. " In contrast, if the emotional circuits are

under-aroused, the threshold for activating an emotion is abnormally high,

but when this threshold is exceeded, the emotional response can be over

reactive. The iSTART model proposes that individuals with autism experience

under-aroused emotional depression which helps explain symptoms like reduced

emotional expression as well as emotional outbursts. "

The third model, called the Spectral Timing model, clarifies how the

brain adaptively times responses in order to acquire rewards and other

goals. iSTART shows how individuals with autism experience failures of

adaptive timing that lead to the premature release of behaviors which are

then unrewarded.

" iSTART depicts how autistic symptoms may arise from breakdowns in

normal brain processes, notably a combination of under-stimulated emotional

depression in the amygdala and related brain regions, learning of

hyperspecific recognition categories in the temporal and prefrontal

cortices, and breakdowns of adaptively timed attention and motor circuits in

the hippocampal system and cerebellum, " said Grossberg. " The model clarifies

how malfunctions in these mechanisms can, though a system-wide vicious

circle, cause and maintain problems with them all. "

According to the researchers, iSTART is a breakthrough in the

understanding of the many factors that contribute to autism and provides a

unifying perspective that connects autistic symptoms to brain mechanisms

that have no obvious connection to the condition.

" This approach should make it easier for scientists studying normal

behavior to connect their work to autism research, " said Grossberg. " iSTART

opens up a wide range of possible new experiments to evaluate autistic

behaviors and further test and develop the model. "

More information about iSTART and its component models can be found

at http://www.cns.bu.edu/Profiles/Grossberg.

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EDUCATION

Alberta's Autism Services Draws Families From Other Provinces

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/calgary/story/2006/07/10/autism-therapy.html

Parents with autistic children are leaving their home provinces for

Alberta, which pays up to $60,000 per child annually on an intensive

treatment that some other places don't cover at all.

Autism, or autistic spectrum disorder, is a neuropsychiatric disorder

that impairs a person's ability to communicate and interact with others. It

is estimated to affect between two and six children in every 1,000 - about

150,000 children.

A treatment called applied behavioural analysis (ABA) has spurred

controversy and lawsuits in several provinces in recent years, as parents

battled to have governments pay the $30,000 to $80,000 a year that it costs

per patient.

Other parents have simply opted to pack their bags and move to Alberta

- including MacKenzie and her family, who moved from Regina to

Edmonton in search of better care for their four-year-old autistic son.

Saskatchewan does not pay directly for ABA, which experts say should

involve 20 to 40 hours of therapy a week and start while children are young.

Schools are expected to meet the needs of all students - even those with

autism - from education funding.

MacKenzie said that in Regina, her family had to pay about $1,000 a

month out of pocket for half of the ABA treatments they felt were needed by

their son, Anson. They also faced long waiting lists for the treatments.

" When you hear that you know not only can they do very little, but

you're going to wait years for anything, I mean - you're just devastated, "

MacKenzie said.

Stark contrast after move to Edmonton In contrast, Alberta pays up to

$60,000 annually per qualifying child up to age 18 - and anyone who comes to

the province can apply.

Once the MacKenzies arrived in Edmonton, they were able to enrol Anson

in a special preschool. If the family qualifies, he could also receive up to

40 hours of therapy a week worth about $40,000 annually.

The city has a centre of excellence in autism treatment and several

agencies with workers who travel to people's home to deliver the therapy.

" The early intervention program looks at picking up those children at

a very young age, " said Terri Duncan, who runs one of the programs, Stepping

Stones Autism Institute.

MacKenzie said she is delighted at the therapies available for her son

and only regrets not moving sooner.

Influx straining system?

+ Read more:

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/calgary/story/2006/07/10/autism-therapy.html

.. . .

MEDIA

Family's Plight and Song Catches World's Eye

By Zelinski for the Journal.

http://www.journal-topics.com/pr/06/pr060628.8.html

The Waters' family household in Park Ridge was flooded this

month---with e-mails.

After the Park Ridge Journal published a story about the family's

autistic daughter Candace, the Waters said they never imagined they'd get

such a positive response.

and Sandy Waters told the Journal about 5-year-old daughter

Candace and their struggles with her autism earlier this month in the

paper's June 7 edition. They said the disorder left their daughter with

difficulty communicating and explained how their daily struggle raising

Candace lead them to pen a song. They titled it " Faith, Love, and Hope, " and

said those words represent the inspiration every family needs when they

struggle with autism.

After the article was published, waves of responses came rolling in

from as close as their neighbors in town to as far away as a family in

Australia.

" We got over a hundred e-mails " asking for a copy of the song, said

Mr. Waters. " And we got back to every one of them, " Mrs. Waters added.

Alderman Rex (6th) e-mailed the family, saying he'd like to

meet them personally. " said I was the greatest dad in the world, "

said Mr. Waters. " I have to come over and meet you, " Mr. Waters recalled

saying to him last week.

They also received responses from Judy Baar Topinka, republican

candidate for governor, who said she loved the story and thought the song

was beautiful.

Kennedy, an attorney for the Autism Society of Illinois

put the article in the group's e-mail newsletter which has since spanned

around the globe.

" At that point it kind of blew up. It took off, " said Mr. Waters.

The article was also posted in the Schafer Autism Report, which is

also available worldwide, he said. From there, a woman in Australia e-mailed

the family, looking for a copy of their song.

They have since received several requests to perform their song at

autism walks and conferences, including " Walk Around the World " in McHenry

County and at the 20th anniversary conference for Likotek, a producer of

toys for disabled children. Both events are in October.

" We're going on tour, " Mr. Waters joked.

The song might also be used at the Autism Speaks walk-a-thon in New

York this year, Ms. Waters said.

The family received a request to use the song in a short film for

Autism Speaks, she said. The film will be finished in October.

They were also invited to a radio show to talk about autism on WMBI

radio on July 1, 90.1 FM, at 11 a.m.

Mrs. Waters said they didn't think they'd get such a great reaction,

though it was their goal.

" So many wonderful responses, " said Mrs. Waters. " We never dreamed

we'd get so many responses...We never thought we'd be in this [situation]. "

The Waters said they sent maybe 20 to 30 articles out to different

political figures and autism activist groups.

" Just out to different politicians to show them what's going on, " said

Mr. Waters.

(See related announcement below. -ed.]

.. . .

SAR - ALL IN THE FAMILY

(October 2002)

" Congratulations, Lenny "

" This [Community Service award from the Contra

Costa ARC] certainly is a recognition for years of

dedicated work and commitment, which grew into an

amazing service to the community.

" I hope this is just the beginning. The Autism

community can really benefit from an articulate

person like yourself promoting the needs of the

parents of children with Autism

" Now I don't have to say any nice things about

you for a while. "

- Max Schafer (Lenny's brother).

For timely, relevant information about autism that can directly effect

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.. . .

" The Candy Store: Music, Art, Inspiration, & Information "

On Autism One: Monday July 24 at 10:00 am

www.autismone.org/radio

and Sandy Waters debut their program " The Candy Store: Music,

Art, Inspiration, and Information " this month on Autism One Radio. July 24,

2006 at 10:00 am. " The Candy Store " is named after the Waters' daughter,

Candace, a 5-year old cutie with brilliant red hair. The Waters wrote a

song for Candace entitled " Faith, Love, and Hope " that has touched parents,

organizations, and legislators worldwide. Hollywood artist Metin Bereketli

has contacted the Waters about placing his artwork on the cover of the

Waters' CD to benefit autism charities, as well as playing the Waters' music

while he performs his " Healing Art " sessions, which will be filmed for a

DVD. Metin Bereketli's website is www.hollywoodpainter.com. " The Candy

Store " stocks its " shelf " with music, art, inspiration, and information to

inspire, educate, and help parents guide their children on the road to

recovery, while having some fun along the way. It will be sweet!

For a copy of the song " Faith, Love, and Hope, " e-mail and

Sandy at hotwater60@....

.. . .

PEOPLE

Autism Trailblazer Schopler Dies At 79

He inspired shift in field's outlook

By Clabby

http://www.newsobserver.com/102/story/458599.html

Chapel Hill - Schopler, an international pioneer in the humane

and effective treatment of autism, died from cancer Friday at age 79.

Forty-one years ago, the UNC-Chapel Hill psychologist co-founded a

program that rejected the notion that destructive parents caused autism.

Instead, he recognized autism as a brain disorder -- one that could be

managed.

He observed that people living with autism did not learn in

traditional ways but were capable of learning, especially with customized

interventions from therapists, family and teachers.

Those insights led to the development of Division TEACCH -- Treatment

and Education of Autistic and Related Communication-Handicapped Children --

a network of nine state-funded clinics that are still operating. To this

day, families stream to North Carolina to enroll in the TEACCH programs,

which have inspired autism therapy programs in countries throughout the

world.

" He influenced tens of thousands of people, " said Lord, a

prominent University of Michigan psychologist who worked with Schopler in

Chapel Hill early in her career.

" Not only did he develop treatment, he had this understanding about

what autism is and how it could be treated in the family and broader context

of the community and in the schools. That was unique, " Lord said.

The child of German parents forced to flee Hitler in the 1930s,

Schopler was deeply motivated by injustice, friends and family said Friday.

He saw stark unfairness while training in psychology at the University of

Chicago with the Freudian psychoanalyst Bruno Bettelheim, who compared the

parents of autistic children to concentration camp guards.

But while working with those families, Schopler saw instead caring

people who frequently raised normal children in the same household. As a

young professor at UNC-Chapel Hill, he and child psychiatrist

Reichler started a research project that described autism as a brain

disorder, not an emotional problem, and developed strategies to help parents

accommodate their child's disabilities.

" It was very courageous of him. He came as an assistant professor and

took on the whole establishment in his department as well as the whole

country, " said Mesibov, who took over as executive director at TEACCH

after Schopler retired from that post in 1993.

When the federal grant that Schopler and Reichler used to start their

research dried up, families who had benefited from their help lobbied the

North Carolina legislature to fund and expand the program. It did so in

1971.

'Father of it all'

+ Read more: http://www.newsobserver.com/102/story/458599.html

.. . .

CARE

Michigan Man Convicted of Sex Charge

By Margaret Levra for the Daily Globe.

http://www.ironwooddailyglobe.com/0710fave.htm

Bessemer -- A 20-year-old Bessemer man was convicted of criminal

sexual conduct-second degree Friday, following a three-day jury trial in

Gogebic County Circuit Court.

It took the 12-person jury 90 minutes to reject the accidental

touching defense for Alan Favero and decide this was an intentional touching

for sexual purposes incident, according to prosecuting attorney

..

Favero, who was running an inflated slide ride at the Gogebic County

Fair two years ago, groped a six-year-old autistic girl as he helped her

onto the ride, said.

When interviewed by Ironwood Public Safety Department officers Mike

Rimkus and Sheryl Saippa, Favero first denied knowing anything about the

incident, and then said he recalled the incident and termed it an accident,

said.

Favero claimed he had apologized to the girl after his hands slid

inside her sweat pants and accidentally touched her private areas. while he

lifted her up to go on the ride, said.

Defending attorney Jim McKenzie from Bessemer argued that Favero had

ADD and borderline autism and so his statements to officers, " where he

admitted that what the little girl said more likely than not did happen as

she described it, were not to be trusted, as he was easily lead, "

said.

Local special education teacher Stiffarm was called by the

defense as an expert witness.

However, school records showed that Favero was of average intelligence

and did not have problems understanding the English language or of

expressing himself, but did have problems with impulse control, said.

The incident was not immediately reported to officials.

McKenzie argued that because the girl did not report the incident

immediately, she must have felt it was an accident, as well.

He said the girl's mother (who reported the incident after leaving the

area) was overreacting, said.

+ Read more: http://www.ironwooddailyglobe.com/0710fave.htm

.. . .

FORENSIC

Autistic Campus Arsonist Pleads

http://www2.ljworld.com/blogs/lawrence_blotter/2006/jul/10/arsonist/6

comments

A former Kansas University student has been convicted of setting fire

to Library in March 2004, part of a month-long arson spree in

Lawrence and County.

R. Jay pleaded no contest this morning to one count of

aggravated arson and two counts of arson for the fires at Library, a

local dentist's office and a plant nursery, according to Dist. Atty.

Branson's office.

Jay already is serving a six-year sentence for setting more than a

dozen fires the same month in County.

After his arrest, he was diagnosed with Asperger syndrome --

essentially high-functioning autism -- attention-deficit disorder, mild

cognitive delay and a form of psychosis. He will be sentenced in

County on Aug. 10.

.. . .

COMMENTARY

Hawaiian Mercury Debate over Governor's Indicated Veto Today Continues

Pro Mercury: Hawaii Medical Assoc. Urges Legislature to Uphold Veto

Thimerosal Ban

By a Arcena http://tinyurl.com/e8vu6

Honolulu, HI. - The Hawaii Medical Association (HMA) urges the

legislature to uphold Governor Lingle's intended veto of SB2133, SD2,

HD2, CD1 Relating to Health, which would limit and then eventually ban the

use of mercury-containing vaccines in Hawaii.

HMA has issued this statement in light of reports that Hawaii Union

leaders are pushing Democratic legislators to call a special session in

order to override all of the Governor's intended vetoes and as a show of

unification and strength of the Democratic Party.

HMA is appealing to legislators to uphold a veto of the thimerosal

ban, which is in the best interest of the health and safety of Hawaii's

citizens, and not to allow politics to interfere with sound public health

policy.

On June 27, 2006, HMA and the Hawaii Chapter of the American Academy

of Pediatrics (HAAP) issued a joint statement thanking Governor Lingle for

the announcement that she intends to veto SB2133, SD2, HD2, CD1 Relating to

Health. HMA and HAAP thanked the Governor for listening to the medical

community, which overwhelmingly opposed this bill.

HMA and HAAP support Governor Lingle's veto because scientific

evidence has failed to confirm fears that the ethylmercury in thimerosal

causes any harm and because banning the substance will create a shortage in

the supply of pediatric flu vaccine for the upcoming season.

The U.S. government's Centers for Disease Control (www.cdc.gov) have

established that thimerosal creates no imminent or substantial hazard to

public health. Further, in 2004, a report by The Institutes of Medicine

(IOM) concluded that there is no association between autism and vaccines

that contain thimerosal as a preservative.

In July 1999, the Public Health Service agencies (PHS), the American

Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), and vaccine manufacturers agreed that

thimerosal levels in vaccines should be reduced or eliminated as a

precautionary measure, not because there was scientific evidence of harm,

but because there was fear of harm that might cause some parents not to have

their children vaccinated.

Currently, there is not enough thimerosal -ree pediatric flu vaccine

for the upcoming flu season. Banning thimerosal-containing vaccines now

guarantees that a dangerous shortage in pediatric flu vaccine will occur.

Both very young and very old people are at the highest risk of dying or

having other serious effects from the flu.

a Arcena is the executive director of the Hawaii Medical

Association, a professional, membership organization for physicians,

residents, and medical students in the State of Hawaii. Reach her via email

at mailto:paula_arcena@... See more at http://www.hmaonline.net

EVIDENCE OF HARM DISCUSSION LIST HEATS UP

AS MERCURY LINK TO AUTISM QUESTION SPREADS

>> PAPERBACK BOOK NOW OUT - CHECK AMAZON.COM

An Evidence of Harm email discussion list has

been created in response to the growing interest

in the book and the issues it chronicles. Now over

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(no cost): EOHarm-subscribe at yahoogroups.com

.. . .

Anti-Mercury: Unequivocally, There is Strong Evidence Linking Thimerosal to

Autism

Open Letter to Gov. Lingle By C. Deth, PhD.

http://tinyurl.com/jb58e

I am a neuropharmacologist and Full Professor at Northeastern

University in Boston who has been investigating the molecular origins of

neurodevelopmental and neuropsychiatric disorders. For the past few years

much of my lab's work has focused on autism, including an evaluation of the

possible contribution of thimerosal, the ethylmercury-containing vaccine

preservative. Based upon my expertise in this area I have testified to

Congress on several occasions, appeared on NBC Nightly News and in several

documentaries and presented our findings at numerous scientific conferences.

I understand that you are currently evaluating legislation to removal

thimerosal from vaccines used in Hawaii. Let me state unequivocally that

there is strong scientific evidence linking thimerosal to autism, so taking

steps to remove it from vaccines is a true " no-brainer " . Moreover, it is

vital that states indicate their expectation of thimerosal-free vaccines in

order to shift the pharmaceutical industry to this safer form. Public

confidence in the vaccination program will be greatly increased when mercury

is removed, allowing the full public health benefits without the unnecessary

mercury burden.

Our research has shown that very low concentrations of thimerosal,

typical of those found in the blood following vaccination, cause strong

inhibition of metabolic processes that are crucial to neuronal cell

well-being and survival. The most sensitive of these processes involves

sulfur metabolism, including the anti-oxidant defense mechanism that is

critical to all cells. The effect of thimerosal is to significantly lower

levels of glutathione, the primary cellular antioxidant. Studies of autistic

children clearly show that they are suffering from oxidative stress and

their glutathione levels are reduced by 40-50%. Thus the toxic metabolic

actions of thimerosal are paralleled in clinical studies of autistic

children.

In further studies we showed that thimerosal inhibits a key cellular

process called " methylation " , in which various activities, including gene

expression, are controlled by the transfer of a single carbon atom.

Methylation is closely linked to oxidative stress, and when thimerosal

induces oxidative stress, it also causes impaired methylation. Again, blood

tests in autistic children show that they have impaired methylation.

Furthermore, metabolic therapies that help restore methylation have been

able to improve the clinical symptoms of many autistic children, strongly

indicating that this metabolic dysfunction plays a central role. Genetic

studies have also revealed a higher frequency of risk-inducing polymorphisms

and mutations affecting methylation and sulfur metabolism. Our most recent

research indicates that the brain has a particularly higher vulnerability to

oxidative stress, which helps explain why neurological problems occur with

low doses of thimerosal.

The point of all this scientific background is to reinforce the common

sense logic of reducing mercury exposure by all possible routes, including

vaccine-related. It is illogical to inject mercury into anyone, at any age,

and you will be doing a service to all Hawaiians by helping to restrict

their exposure by signing SB2133 part II.

If I can help provide any further background, please feel to contact

me. I am eager to assist.

C. Deth, PhD is a Professor of Pharmacology for Northeastern

University in Boston, Massachusetts

.. . .

Public Service Announcement to the Reader:

AUTISM IS TREATABLE. Consult these sources:

. Autism Research Institute http://tinyurl.com/ccxco

. Generation Rescue http://www.generationrescue.org

. UK - Autism Treatment Trust http://www.autismtrust.org.uk

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