Washington D.C., May 8: The prime time for brain development in a child's life is the first year, where the infant spends most of the time asleep. It is the time when neural connections form and sensory memories are encoded.
However, when sleep is disrupted, as occurs more often among children with autism, brain development may be affected, too.
New research led by the University of Washington finds that sleep problems in a baby's first 12 months may not only precede an autism diagnosis but also may be associated with altered growth trajectory in a key part of the brain, the hippocampus.
The study, which was published in the American Journal of Psychiatry, researchers report that in a sample of more than 400 taken of 6- to 12-month-old infants, those who were later diagnosed with autism were more likely to have had difficulty falling asleep.
It also states that this sleep difficulty was associated with altered growth trajectories in the hippocampus.
"The hippocampus is critical for learning and memory, and changes in the size of the hippocampus have been associated with poor sleep in adults and older children.
As many as 80 per cent of the children with autism spectrum disorder have sleep problems," said Annette Estes, director of the UW Autism Center and senior author of the study.
"In our clinical experience, parents have a lot of concerns about their children's sleep, and in our work on early autism intervention, we observed that sleep problems were holding children and families back," added Estes, who is also a UW professor of speech and hearing sciences.
"It could be that altered sleep is part-and-parcel of autism for some children. One clue is that behavioural interventions to improve sleep don't work for all children with autism, even when their parents are doing everything just right. This suggests that there may be a biological component to sleep problems for some children with autism," said Estes.
To consider links among sleep, brain development, and autism, researchers at the IBIS Network looked at MRI scans of 432 infants, surveyed parents about sleep patterns, and measured cognitive functioning using a standardized assessment.
At the outset of the study, infants were classified according to their risk for developing autism: Those who were at higher risk of developing autism -- about two-thirds of the study sample -- had an older sibling who had already been diagnosed.
Infant siblings of children with autism have a 20 per cent chance of developing autism spectrum disorder -- a much higher risk than children in the general population.
In the current study, 127 of the 432 infants were identified as "low risk" at the time the MRI scans were taken because they had no family history of autism.
They later evaluated all the participants at 24 months of age to determine whether they had developed autism. Of the roughly 300 children originally considered "high familial risk," 71 were diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder at that age.
Problems with sleep were more common among the infants later diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder, as were larger hippocampi. No other subcortical brain structures were affected, including the amygdala, which is responsible for certain emotions and aspects of memory, or the thalamus, a signal transmitter from the spinal cord to the cerebral cortex.
The authors note that while parents reported more sleep difficulties among infants who developed autism compared to those who did not, the differences were very subtle and only observed when looking at group averages across hundreds of infants.
Sleep patterns in the first years of life change rapidly as infants transition from sleeping around the clock to a more adult-like sleep/wake cycle. Until further research is completed, Estes said, it is not possible to interpret challenges with sleep as an early sign of increased risk for autism.
Comments
Do you know who start the tippu jayanthi dear
This is the fact, a party built on corrupt ideology will not survive. The entire nation will know the truth.
What is their moral value of these guys who killed that person who sacrificed his whole life for the nation. What can we expect from these people. Until the past few years they were agreeing TIPU SULTAN as the best ruler, tiger of Mysore, and the man who taught to resist the invaders.
Just for the personal benefits, the same guys portray him negatively
People of such a mentality should be catalgorized as sick and mentally distorted group who should not be considered fit for election or make any policitical party.
The wise people should boycott such immoral party, Support the fair and the reliable party. If not available go for the least corrupt party.
Eddi is the only CM who spent his life in jail for corruption (not as a freedom fighter)
Think of our future geneations and our children,
God help our country from these corrupt group.
Dear Sandesh
if you want join with bjp policy no objecttion but don't involve Hindu religion. All Hindus are not as you wished.
During BJP govt all these communal leaders including cheddiyurappa was on the dias to celebrated Tipu Jayanthi so now what happen with different colour and tune.
Go with the history i/o rss book.
Jai Hind Jai Karnataka
Why all people blaming BJP. Why this govt cant avoid celebration
BJP leaders are mentally retarded people. Trouble makers
All Hindus should support BJP's decision
BJP openly said they will oppose. If they didnt say anything also they will do the same. They will make trouble as they did previous year
Govt should seek order from hc or sc for arresting all BJP goons
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