Autism Brain Scan Signs Found At 6 Months Of Age

American Journal of Psychiatry, researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill have discovered considerable differences in brain development at age six months in high-risk infants who develop autism, than high-risk infants who do not develop the condition.

Jason J. Wolff, Ph.D, lead researcher of the study and a postdoctoral fellow at UNC's Carolina Institute for Developmental Disabilities (CIDD), explained:

"It's a promising finding. At this point, it's a preliminary albeit great first step towards thinking about developing a biomarker for risk in advance of our current ability to diagnose autism."

According to results from the study, autism develops in infancy over time, not suddenly in young children. Wolff said this raises the possibility "that we may be able to interrupt that process with targeted intervention."

Senior researcher of the study is Joseph Piven, M.D., director of the CIDD.

Results from the study are the most recent from the current Infant Brian Imagine Study (IBIS) Network. The network is headquartered at UNC and funded by the National Institutes of Health.

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