Slashdot Mirror
Researchers Identify Genetic Systems Disrupted In Autistic Brain
hessian sends this excerpt from Medical Xpress "Autism has a strong genetic basis, but so far efforts to identify the responsible genes have had mixed results. The reason for this is that autism is influenced by many different genes, and different genes are involved in different individuals, making it hard to find the common genetic ground between patients. Now, research conducted at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem has shown that despite this fact, the different genes involved in autism tend to be involved in specific processes in the brain. This can explain, on the one hand, similarities in the behavioral symptoms of different autistics, but also the large spectrum of behaviors observed in different autistic individuals."
People with autism lack empathy, and don't understand human emotions properly. It confuses them, and can put them in awkward positions as they rack their brain trying to guess what a non-autistic person would have done in similar circumstances.
Just wanted to mention, non-autistic people have the same lack of empathy toward autistic. And you'll also find a lot of empathy among those on the spectrum. (Seems to be especially strong among females on the spectrum, from what I've seen.) A lack of understanding of how that empathy is portrayed by autistics has resulted in a strong believe that there is a lack of empathy.