This image from an electron microscope reveals a cross-sectional view of an oligodendrocyte (blue) amongst nerve fibers coated with myelin (dark red). In designs of autism spectrum disorder, oligodendrocytes appear to produce too much or too little myelin.
Jose Luis Calvo/Science Source.
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This image from an electron microscopic lense shows a cross-sectional view of an oligodendrocyte (blue) among nerve fibers covered with myelin (dark red). In designs of autism spectrum disorder, oligodendrocytes appear to create excessive or insufficient myelin.
Researchers have discovered an idea to how autism spectrum disorder interferes with the brain’s information highways.
The problem involves cells that assist keep the traffic of signals moving efficiently through brain circuits, a group reported Monday in the journal Nature Neuroscience
The team discovered that in both mouse and human brains affected by autism, there’s a problem in cells that produce a substance called myelin.
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For example, several sclerosis takes place when the myelin around nerve fibers is harmed.
The finding could help describe why autism spectrum conditions include such a wide range of social and behavioral functions, states Brady Maher, a lead private investigator at the Lieber Institute for Brain Advancement and an associate teacher in the psychiatry department at Johns Hopkins School of Medication.
” It’s possible to make these cells healthier,” includes Dr. Daniel Weinb