Three current and former lab members presented work at the 2023 Society for Neuroscience conference in Washington D.C.! From left to right: Sonali Naik, former undergraduate research assistant, presented on postural stability. Her project found that autistic children demonstrate distinct neural contributions related to postural stability when they stand with their eyes closed. Monica Duran, …
With the Waisman Center turning 50 years old this year, a Scientific Symposium was held that featured researchers from inside and outside of the Waisman community. Our very own Dr. Brittany Travers gave a talk about her and Dr. Olivia Surgent’s work on the brainstem and grip strength in autistic individuals. We’re always so proud …
Our Undergraduate Research Scholar (URS) students had their presentations last week at Union South! Susan Lei, Lauren Salmi, Madelyn Scheid, and Roselyn Pacheco presented our Brainy Movement Study for Kids to the program and other URS students for their end of semester project. They did a wonderful job communicating our work, and we …
The brainstem’s white matter — the nerve fibers that connect brain regions — may be altered in autistic people. Among boys and men with autism, those with more poorly organized white matter in the brainstem also have more severe autism traits and weaker grip strength, hinting at a link between the brainstem and motor problems …
The severity of autism tracks closely with that of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and the brainstem may underlie this connection: Children with either condition who have a small brainstem tend to have severe traits.
Children with autism show different patterns of connectivity than controls do in brain stem regions associated with balance. The connections in the brain stem are associated with balance and motor skills, both of which are known to be frequently affected in autism.
