News
- Study reveals differences in brain structure for older autistic adults
A recent study continues to add to the body of evidence that the brain structure of autistic individuals is different from the structure of neurotypical individuals. - Developing a neural network to overcome the biggest enemy of MRI scans: movement
Movement is the arch nemesis of MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) scans. This type of imaging has become an important tool for studying the brain and disorders related to the brain. - NIH Awards $10 Million to researchers at UW-Madison and the University of Utah for landmark study on aging in autistic adults
Recent studies suggest that older adults with ASD may have shorter life expectancies and more physical and mental health difficulties than the general population. A new, landmark longitudinal study of aging and autism hopes to better understand how differences in aging may impact the health outcomes of individuals with ASD. - Understanding autism from the minute to the masses: Autism research at the Waisman Center
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is an intricate and complicated diagnosis. The spectrum of presentations and severity is as expansive as the theorized causes. Autism’s complexity and breadth of impacts on a person’s life means that it has a multitude of facets to investigate. - The beginnings and evolution of brain imaging at the Waisman Center
The development of brain imaging techniques has helped us understand emotion, intellectual and developmental disabilities, and neurodegenerative diseases in ways we could not before. - UW-Madison is key site on landmark study focused on early childhood brain development and the impact of substance abuse and stress in infants and young children
The University of Wisconsin-Madison will be one of 25 sites to study early brain and behavior development and the impact of early exposure to substances – such as opioids – and social stressors in infants and young children. - The social brain: A beautiful mind
What images come to mind when you hear the phrase social brain? Do you think of children running around on a playground laughing together? Do you think of problem solving or imagine colorful brain scans? Do you think of autism? These are the questions that inspired a breadth of autism research that was recently evaluated by a team of Waisman scientists and compiled into a new literature review. - UW-Madison brain scan studies seek to pinpoint signs of Alzheimer’s
The article is a part of a series on Alzheimer’s called “Fading away: Wisconsin’s dementia crisis,” which chronicles the doubling rate of dementia patients in Wisconsin. - Mental health in pregnancy may affect development of newborns’ brains
Waisman investigators and researchers explore potential connections between a woman’s mental health symptoms and white matter development in the brain of her child at one month after birth. - Researchers track critical developments in the young brain
Much like electricity traveling down wires, nerve impulses in our brain travel along nerve fibers. And just as wires need insulation to function well, nerve fibers, too, rely on a kind of insulation called myelin, a fatty substance that protects them and increases the speed at which nerve impulses travel.
