In the confines of an MRI room, a child listens to his favorite songs while waiting for the doctors to complete medical tests. What he doesn’t know is that this procedure can deliver loads of information, possibly changing the course of his life and others diagnosed with autism.
For more than 20 years, researchers have struggled with the science behind the developmental disorder that, among several behavioral traits, makes it difficult for autistic individuals to interact or communicate with others.
One of the major obstacles to advancing autism research has been the inability to standardize data sets collected from patients worldwide—until last fall. Leaders in the autism research field joined together to form the Autism Brain Imaging Data Exchange (ABIDE) program.
Recognized for its collaborative approach and strong research record, Carnegie Mellon’s Cognitive Neuroscience Lab was among the first research groups selected to be part of the consortium. Others include the International Neuroimaging Data-Sharing Initiative, Child Mind Institute, Child Study Center at NYU Langone Medical Center, and the Kennedy Krieger Institute. The consortium is working with more than 1,100 autism and control data sets from a group of 16 international research labs.
It’s the hope of the scientific community that results from ABIDE’s exchange program will help researchers better understand the condition and develop treatments.
“There are so many dimensions to autism. It’s like a Rubik’s Cube, and difficult to see and understand all the different facets at once,” says Marlene Behrmann, professor of psychology and director of CMU’s Cognitive Neuroscience Lab. She and her colleagues believe that earlier autism diagnosis, made possible by the analyses enabled by the ABIDE consortium, will lead to better care.
—Lisa Kay Davis (DC’09)
Related Links:
Autism Connections
Leading Autism
