Brain Neuroplasticity Inspires Rethinking
Can mapping change in our brains, healing autism? Having autism can generate havoc in the brain, causing intense feelings of being trapped in one’s body. The mind and body are disconnected becoming eager to battle for inspiration to control capabilities creating defenses in happiness. Autism Speaks currently states, “Autism affects 1 in 68 children in the United States and about one third are nonverbal.” Meaning in the body and brain disconnect marvelously has baffled scientists and doctors causing more candid determination to generate answers. Therefore, being nonverbal can create better beneficial reason to ask meaningful questions making more marks on being autistic. Hence, meaning in neuroplasticity, which is defined generally as the capacity of the nervous system to develop new neuronal connections, is paving the way to understanding how the brain paces its changeability. Calling for meaningful studies with inspiring nonverbal autistic people has to play a huge role in scientific studies. Deafening science inspires others to study the brain’s neuroplasticity in the autistic mind and make strides to cease mainstream understanding of nonverbal autism by creating new ways of thinking.
First, the brain’s malleability is inspiring new research to learn more about the autistic brain. The delay in learning the meaning of our brain’s appearing plastic is teaching scientists the way healing manifests beautifully in the brain. The brain is extremely complex and static was stated continuously until the 1960’s. “In the late 1960s, the term neuroplasticity was introduced for morphological changes in neurons of adult brains” (Fuchs and Flugge). At the same time, infant studies have shown how the brain is plastic and growing continuous marvelous connections. “The brains of infants and children are known to be plastic, undergoing spurts of neuronal development in response to stimulus exposure during critical periods. This development consists of the genesis of neurons, increased connectivity between extant neurons, and the routing of new synaptic connections between previously unrelated neurons” (Garland and Howard). Now, many studies indicate that synapses connections in the adult brain do make new learning and reforms itself continually throughout adulthood. “Upon discovery of the growth of new neural tissue, or neurogenesis, in the adult human hippocampus, a brain region responsible for memory, the dogma of the “hardwired brain” was formally repudiated. This finding complemented earlier evidence from primate studies demonstrating that novel sensory experience and learning new behaviors triggers neuronal growth in the somatosensory and motor cortices, areas of the brain subserving tactile perception and limb movement” (Garland and Howard). The brain has inspired scientists to study the meaning of its plasticity and has started conversations of healing autism. Some studies indicate the autistic brain is making tender new pathways and healing itself. “The brains of people with autism are more flexible than those of their peers. In general, people with autism recruit different neural pathways than controls do to accomplish a particular task. They also may have more activity in regions associated with perception. In the same way that losing one sensory faculty, such as eyesight, may prompt the brain to compensate by reallocating more neural resources to produce exceptional hearing ability, the brains of people with autism may be better able to reorganize” (Marsa).
Second, how can scientists develop meaning in parts of the autistic brain that are hard wired causing specific behaviors in the autistic person? Having autism defies calmness and peace of mind causing battles in your body with circuit dysfunction in your brain. Scientists are now seeing links to circuits found in depression, anxiety, schizophrenia, and autism. “Identifying which neural circuits are altered in the brains of people with autism may help scientists develop treatments that can fine-tune the wiring but this approach could take decades,” stated by Joshua Gordon, director of the National Institute of Mental Health (Griswold). Their studies are trying to find the disruptive brain circuits to reduce the havoc in the autistic brain without changing the person’s own inspiring unique talents capturing beneficial ways to learn more about circuit mapping creating healing.
Now, can having larger brain size matter in developing language causing new research to see if possible new pathways develop? A small study showed that nonverbal autistic children have smaller sizes in two language areas of the brain. “Based on diffusion tensor imaging, two language-related areas of the brain are much smaller in non-verbal children with autism than in controls. Non-verbal children with autism show structural differences in key language areas of the brain compared with controls” (Deweerdt). Importantly, the cause to make new connections are developing in creating more therapies to amend verbal output in one’s speech. This study is seeing progress in children imitating hand tapping and song-like intonation (Deweerdt). More studies need to be conducted with nonverbal autistic children in order to learn causes and effects of determining if new pathways can make language.
Next, one nonverbal autistic keen person has blown away scientists mainstream thinking and turned their heads upside down. Amanda Baggs is 27 years old, has inspiring tender intelligence, and makes marvelous meaning in being a nonverbal autistic. She communicates gently by typing 120 words per minute giving meaning to how a person who doesn’t speak and generates uncontrollable sounds with hand flapping and unusual body movements. Therefore, you would think she can’t be intelligent making strange movements hindering ones perspective. “If Amanda Baggs had walked into my clinic five years ago,” says Massachusetts General Hospital neuroscientist Thomas Zeffiro, one of the leading proponents of the difference model, “I would have said she was a low-functioning autistic with significant cognitive impairment. And I would have been totally wrong” (Wolman 156).
Likewise, tender cause to not see the intelligence in every mind has to change in the way we test determines truth. Therefore, testing is not showing true intelligence of nonverbal autistic people. “Autistic smarts have been underestimated because the tools for assessing intelligence depend on techniques ill-suited to autistics” (Wolman 158). Many scientists today still think if a person can’t verbally communicate the answer then they don’t understand. Amanda and scientists are on the right path to move the common defiance of outdated, hindering, blind testing. “To a remarkable degree, scientists conducting cognitive evaluations continue to use tests which presume that people who can’t communicate the answer don’t know the answer. For example, you would not give a blind person a test heavily dependent on vision and interpret their poor score as an accurate measure of intelligence” (Wolman 159). In spite of Amanda, we still need to rethink deeply how we measure nonverbal autistic intelligence capabilities despite not having language. Mainstream science is not performing studies on the whole nonverbal autistic person and this is causing many scientists to amend their research studies but it is a leisurely, gradual battle of scientific maneuvering.
However, many scientists have been focusing on a cure for autism rather than studying how the brain functions. Emerging inspired happiness seems to arise when learning there is funding to find a cure for autism. There has to be caring in knowing marvelous autistic people are not less, just different. Dear beneficial families all belong to happier healing in benefiting from meaningful studies about brain function. Similarly, in the Wired Magazine article, Wolman also noted that in an original paper in 1943, Leo Kanner, a Baltimore psychiatrist, wrote that while many of the children he examined “were one time or another looked upon as feebleminded, they are all unquestionably endowed with good cognitive potentialities” (Wolman 157). Another researcher stated about the autistic brain, “There’s no money in the field for looking at differences. But if you talk about trying to fix a problem then the funding comes” (Wolman 157). Therefore, marvelous learning leads to inspiring cause to gain concrete evidence that having autism is not dysfunctional deepening a bitter wound.
Finally, the lavish meaning in having plasticity in our brains deepens the lives of many people to bring amending and hope. Earlier beliefs seem to be wrong, inspiring more marvelous research to cause scientists to make changes in their thinking. Norman Doidge’s book, The Brain that Changes Itself, states that the amazing brain can rewire and reform new connections in any circumstance including a healthy brain or damaged brain. One study is Barbara, her brain was asymmetrical making her brilliant but these exceptional abilities coexisted with areas of mental disabilities (Doidge 27). Capable learning to rewire the brain brought Barbara to learn to read a clock by doing extraneous card exercises. Continued success captured her to design more exercises for her other disabilities; her difficulties with space, her trouble with knowing where her limbs were, and her visual disabilities, and brought them up to average level (Doidge 36). Can general meaning develop in autism? Better cognitive skills in developing memory can improve autism symptoms. When using Fast ForWord, attention and language program, autistic children were showing improvements in mental processing and quickly moved them from severe language impairment to the normal range (Doidge 75). Marvelous studies are seeing people inspire to mentally make new connections in their brains. New connections among neurons preserve memories and make learning possible, but they also fortify brain functions. “Research has shown that a pianist, for example, through practice, develops neural pathways in the motor cortex that make subtle finger movements possible. Blind people who read Braille actually expand the region of the somatosensory cortex devoted to processing input from their reading finger. And children with dyslexia can strengthen connections in parts of the brain that enhance their ability to read. Teachers have long recognized that children with dyslexia can improve their reading ability, but imaging is just beginning to provide evidence of the changes in the brain that make this possible” (Valeo). Valiant studies are continuing to show us inspiring amazing meaning in having healing in brain connectivity.
In conclusion, mainstream teachings and studies about autism can create future cause to research neuroplasticity in the autistic brain. The malleability in the brain tenderly can help those with autism and make new connections to overcome some of autism’s challenges. There are unique inspiring studies and evidence to show how scientists are studying mapping in the brain and the results are surprisingly effecting nonverbal autism as well. Can mainstream scientists be poignant, valiant and take hold of real serious studies with neuroplasticity and the autistic mind to inspire healing and to see the true intelligence in every human being?
Works Cited
Books:
Doidge, Norman. The Brain That Changes Itself: Stories of Personal Triumph from the Frontiers of Brain Science. New York: Penguin, 2007. Print.
Internet Sources:
Deweerdt, Sarah. "Structure of Language Pathways Differs in Non-verbal Autism." Spectrum. Simons Foundation, 13 Nov. 2011. Web. 19 Jan. 2017. https://spectrumnews.org/news/structure-of-language-pathways-differs-in-non-verbal-autism/.
Fuchs, Eberhard, and Gabriele Flügge. "Adult Neuroplasticity: More Than 40 Years of Research." Neural Plasticity. Hindawi Publishing Corporation, 04 May 2014. Web. 19 Jan. 2017. https://www.hindawi.com/journals/np/2014/541870/.
Garland, Eric, and Matthew Owen Howard. "Neuroplasticity, Psychosocial Genomics, and the Biopsychosocial Paradigm in the 21st Century." Health & Social Work. U.S. National Library of Medicine, Aug. 2009. Web. 19 Jan. 2017. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2933650/.
Griswold, Ann. "Questions for NIMH Chief Joshua Gordon: Circuit Solutions for Autism." Medpage Today. MedpageToday, 14 Dec. 2016. Web. 19 Jan. 2017. http://www.medpagetoday.com/Neurology/Autism/62063.
Marsa, Linda. "Extraordinary Minds: The Link between Savantism and Autism." Spectrum. Simons Foundation, 27 Oct. 2016. Web. 1 Feb. 2017. https://spectrumnews.org/features/deep-dive/extraordinary-minds-the-link-between-savantism-and-autism/.
Valeo, Tom. "Dyslexia Studies Catch Neuroplasticity at Work." BrainWork. The Dana Foundation, Nov. 2008. Web. 19 Feb. 2017. http://www.dana.org/Publications/Brainwork/Details.aspx?id=43755.
"What Is Autism?" Autism Speaks. Autism Speaks Inc., 2017. Web. 19 Jan. 2017. https://www.autismspeaks.org/what-autism.
Magazines:
Woman, David. "Yeah, I'm Autistic. You Got a Problem with That?" Wired Mar. 2008: 154+. Print.
