EFN

A new study on autistic spectrum disorder (ASD) shows that neurofeedback (EEG biofeedback) can re mediate anomalies in brain activation, leading to symptom reduction and functional improvement.

The report, which was in part funded by the National Institute of Health’s National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) was led by Dr Ami Klin, of the Yale Child Study Center at Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut, and colleagues, and was issued online on 29 March in Nature.

In the Yale study, researchers made five versions of animated children’s games such as ‘peek-a-boo’ and ‘pat-a-cake’ where points of light marked movement, each with sound.

Although it was acknowledged that those with autism don’t spontaneously orient to social signals, it wasn’t clear what early-emerging mechanism may contribute to that. A more indepth analysis of other synchronized sounds and motions in the five cartoons suggested that sensory pairings nearly always got the attention of toddlers with autism.