Aspies For Freedom

Dear Ilja, Sophist and Violet,

By coincidence many of the studies that I have done have been collaboration with friends from different countries including The Netherlands (Utrecht and Maastricht).  I was a presenter in this year�s 4th International Symposium on Autism celebrated in Rotterdam.  I love the country and its people.  See http://www.springerlink.com/media/3pvxun...755248.pdf

The proposed study has a time frame of 4 years.  Not knowing the size effect of the treatment on outcome measures the time frame was selected as an approximate end.  In this regard we need to collect a sufficient number of patients to show significance to the FDA and peer investigators.  We may also have problems in training participants to receive therapy (basically staying still).  In this regard we are limiting participation to high functioning autistic patients, at least initially.  Without doing the study there are many unknowns including the duration of the trial and how long lasting are the effects.  

In depression patients receiving TMS do so at longer and longer intervals.  It seems quite possible that in the long run they can maintain the effect based on the plasticity of the minicolumn.  Interestingly we did a study on a large series of pre and postnatal patients showing the development and maturation of the minicolumn (A Temporal Continuity of the Vertical Organization of the Human Neocortex, Cerebral Cortex, 2006).  This structure is markedly plastic and responsive to environmental influences.  Environmental influences having its greatest impact between 2 and 4 years of age.  I have another article to appear in the next few months in The Neuroscientist that dwells more into the factors affecting the development of the minicolumn (a multifactorial trait with both genetic and environmental influences).

Why do I dwell on the cortex?  The same has what are called phase transitions in its properties, e.g. like when water turns into ice.  This means that there is evidence of self-organization in cortical arrangements that explains emergence of properties, that is, properties that can�t be explained in lieu of it individual components.  In terms of a car it is the totality of the car that accounts for locomotion and a satisfying ride, e.g. transmission, axels, tires, radio, etc.  In terms of the cortex by connecting different modules (minicolumns) together we obtain language, intellect, memory, orientation, etc.  These are the properties that I am interested the most and that appear affected primarily in psychiatric conditions.  

Incidentally the cortex is the most highly evolved area of the brain and accounts (along with its projections) for 70% of its volume.  The addition of more and more minicolumns account for changes in how the brain is wired together, for cerebral dominance, and for specific functions such as language.  Many of the observed changes are present only in humans and may be considered speciation events, i.e., changes in the brain that account for the unique abilities of homo sapiens.  

TMS itself is quite safe.  At low frequencies it has inhibitory effects.  We believe it is due to selective strengthening of fibers at the periphery of the cell minicolumn.  At higher and higher frequencies, the effects become less specific and all cells are stimulated.  Since the majority of cells within the cortex are excitatory the end result in a susceptible individual may be a seizure.  This is a very rare side effect of the therapy. In this regard we have proposed using very low frequencies in our study (less than 1 Hz).  

The technique (TMS) does not need to be applied to the whole brain.  We have found that there is a pattern of minicolumnar alterations within the brains of autistic patients (Clinical Neuroscience Res, also to appear published within the next few months).  Areas that have the longest and most numerous connections appear affected the most.  Otherwise areas that excel in intrinsic connectivity (e.g., visual cortex) are not affected; they may even work better than normal.  This may explain why functions that need inter-areal integration (e.g., language, face recognition, joint attention) appear affected while others that emphasize intra-areal connectivity are spared or improved (e.g., visual discrimination, mathematical abilities).  

Again, the technique is not meant to change how different cortical areas are wired nor the unique and charismatic way of thinking of a particular individual.  It is only meant to build the inhibition around minicolumns so that information is not amplified and floods the cortex.

Thank you for allowing me to participate in your forum. Hopefully my discussion has not been too technical. Let me know if you have any additional questions.

Best regards,

Manuel

All of our results are based on averaging series.  The same do not account for individual variability.  Thank you for asking.

The question is interesting and has only been answered recently.  Traditionally the belief was that brain circuitry was fixed. However, recent imaging studies has shown patients and controls using different brain areas in performing the same tasks. Also, in patients with brain injuries (e.g., stroke) a given area function may be subverted for use in another capacity.  Overall, the brain is highly adaptable and even during aging exibits remarkable plasticity with different areas growing or shrinking depending on usage.  This can be seen in the area of the motor cortex that serves finger movement in people practicing playing musical instruments.  This is a long answer just to say that you are correct in assuming individual variability and a link to splinter/savant skills.  

As an aside--I have a publication on the subject where I did an analysis of the brains of several highly distinguished scientists and found minicolumnar changes consistent with the findings in our autistic series.
At present the publication has been submitted but is not in press.  Thank you for asking.

Oh boy did I try and try I did!  I went to Canada and visited a friend who had a piece of the same.  For many reasons I had no luck.  I also tried getting brains from renowned individuals from both Cornell and the Vogt collection in Russia (you can find more about them from a popular book titled Postcards from the Brain Museum by Brian Burrell).  Similarly, a great effort gone to waste, no luck.  

I have not received the criticisms from our submission but I would gladly send you a copy of the manuscript if you email me directly (m0casa0@louisville.edu).

I have enjoyed my participation immensely.  At present I will have to leave and hide in my academic responsibilities.  Two grant datelines (both in regards to autism), my commitment to our IRB, and being a single parent are taking a stranglehold on my time.  Otherwise I wish to keep in touch with many of the participants.  Please feel free to email me directly.  You have all been very kind.

Tell me this, given your experience with the world, do you really think that this is how it will play out, or will it just be used to eliminate babies who might have the "risk factors"?  Be realistic.

I wonder what the government will say about making "cures" mandatory for those who are not "severely affected".  We have already seen school districts forcing children to take psychoactive medications simply to make them more quiescent.  The ultimate sin in our society is to have a medicalized mind.  At that point, society arrogates the "right" to use force or its threat to drug the person into submission.

A large number of people simply wouldn't care.  In the name of imposing "normality", they would demand that "treatment" be forcibly imposed.  It's a dirty little secret of the mental health industry.  Some practitioners are quite opposed to it, most tacitly let it happen.  A few actively promulgate it.

If the "treatment" makes its subjects sufficently docile (and docility is really the issue, not "mental health"), there is a real risk that the government will use its power to make it mandatory.

He can't, and if things like the "overclocked brain" hypothesis is actually true (there is some evidence that the brains of H. sapiens may be more vulnerable to certain types of progressive damage than are the brains of other primates, for example). Such "fixes" may actually pretty much guarantee the elimination of any concomitant talent or ability, destining the "cured" individual for mental mediocrity.

We have seen evidence that "treatments" for other "disorders" can damage our most refined faculties.   Loss of creativity and motivation are fairly common "side effects" of SSRI, for example.  Although, if one were to wish to create a population of permanent wage slaves, happy to toil away in meaningless jobs and unable to come up with ways to change society, the SSRI is an excellent avenue to explore--but I digress.

From the point of view of our "people processing" culture, that's hardly a problem.  Mediocre but "well-integrated" people are far easier to use as marketing fodder, after all.

New autism treatment shows promise
April 9th, 2008

When University of Louisville researchers pulsed a low-frequency magnetic field around the brains of people with autism, the patients later experienced less severe symptoms.

The treatment, transcranial magnetic stimulation, is still in early testing stages, but has potential to become an effective treatment for the major symptoms of autism, said neuroscientist Manuel Casanova.

Members of the UofL research team placed a coil on the scalps of 10 people with autism to create a low-frequency magnetic field, which they then pulsed by reversing the field’s polarity. After receiving a 20-minute treatment twice a week for five weeks, patients showed fewer symptoms of hyperactivity, sensory overload and repetitive behaviors, said psychologist Lonnie Sears, a project collaborator.

The team assessed symptoms before and after the treatment by measuring patients’ brain activity and their scores on standard neurological and psychological tests.

Casanova has demonstrated in previous studies that structural differences between autistic and normal brains contribute to the symptoms of autism, which include sensory, social and communication problems that limit the patients’ ability to function independently.

“Our results are preliminary, but they show a great deal of promise in reducing the severity of symptoms that people with autism find most distressing and, as a result, helping them communicate and relate better — something that most of us take for granted,” Casanova said.

The team also found that the treatment did not seem to affect areas of “giftedness” in the test group.

“This is important,” Casanova said, “because, despite communication and social problems, some people with autism are very gifted in specific areas of intelligence.”

One in 150 children is diagnosed with autism each year and rates of diagnosis have increased sharply over the last two decades, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Source:
http://php.louisville.edu/news/news.php?news=1143

See also:
http://www.wave3.com/global/story.asp?s=8163595

I don't know about you, but this new development concerns me...

Whatever happened to "accept oneself as one is...." and "don't play God"...

You don't think if your method is perfected, even some of the higher functioning autistics will also want this?  And if that started to become commonplace, this treatment will be all but forced on the rest of us?

Accepting one's self as one is means one can't look to ways to improve one's self? You yourself showed interest in that piracetem. Can't one treat co-morbids?

As for playing god why is it a bad thing? Don't we play god by giving people with infections anitbiotics?

I'm not against treating comorbids.  But I am concerned that a highly effective treatment--as seen in that last post from "timstassen"--is a bit of a stepping stone toward a better, longerlasting "cure."  At which point, it will be all but forced on autistics/Aspies who don't function at peak level.

rTMS can produce seizures in people prone to them... this is troublesome. Seizures are very common on the Spectrum, and while they are not generally damaging, they would probably wipe out any benefit.

^Funny how he can't spell "various" right, despite being a 'genius' neurotypical.

I'm not really a grammar Nazi, it's just that I have such angry emotions toward Dr. Casanova. I'm sorry if I acted like a Grammar Nazi.

I hope he wastes his money and his life. ignorant fool.