My Civil Advocate

Autism is a complex disorder affecting brain development that causes difficulty in social interaction as well as verbal and nonverbal communication, and often produces repetitive behaviors. Interestingly, savant abilities spring from those who are autistic to a far greater degree than the general population -- as high as 33 percent with autistic individuals, compared to less than 1 percent in the non-autistic individuals. "Savant" refers to exceptional abilities not exhibited by most persons, such as musical, artistic, mathematical, or mechanical ability, coupled with extraordinary memory. The autism-savantism connection is a mystery. In recent years, however, a fuller picture has begun to emerge. The current line of thinking goes something like this: Much of the brain dysfunction marked by autism occurs in the left hemisphere of the brain. Many of the savant skills originate in the right hemisphere. The brain redirects neural activity from the left hemisphere to the right ...

In recent years, research has ramped up to get to the bottom of the striking disparity between genders when it comes to the incidence of autism spectrum disorders (ASD). ASD affects approximately four times as many boys as girls. In one theory, the PTCHD1 gene on the X chromosome plays a pivotal role. PTCHD1 is a protein coding gene that helps to deliver information to cells during brain development. If it has mutated or is missing altogether, there is an elevated risk of autism or an intellectual disability. Boys inherit one X chromosome from their mother and one Y chromosome from their father. Girls carry two X chromosomes. If one X chromosome carries a mutated PTCHD1 gene, or is missing it altogether, the second X chromosome provides backup, shielding a girl form ASD. However, the genetic abnormality can still be passed on to a future son. Other research is examining the role that the brain cortex thickness has on the development of ASD. The cortex is the brain's outer lay...