The iStart Model: Understanding brain mechanisms in autism
iSTART is a new model of the brain developed by Dr. Stephen Grossberg, Professor of Mathematics, Psychology, and Biomedical Engineering at Boston University and Dr. Don Seidman, a pediatrician with the DuPage Medical Group in Elmhurst, Illinois. iStart stands for Imbalanced Spectrally Timed Adaptive Resonance Theory and (according to a press released published today) describes how brain mechanisms that control “normal emotional, timing and motor processes may become imbalanced and lead to symptoms of autism,” such as “abnormal emotional reactions” and “problems with cognitive-emotional learning” and attention.
Dr. Grossberg’s and Dr. Seidman’s “Neural Dynamics of Autistic Behaviors: Cognitive, Emotional, and Timing Substrates” appears in in the July issue of the journal Psychological Review, which is published by the American Psychological Association. A summary of their research can be read here.
Related Stories
POSTED IN: Neuroscience, Psychology, Science
4 opinions for The iStart Model: Understanding brain mechanisms in autism
Robin
Nov 30, 2007 at 10:57 pm
It is hard for people to understand a person like Heather who just wants to be normal, but can’t.
I have a 12yr old girl with Austim and it has been hard on her. Already girls are mean and she has trouble understanding how one day a girl is your friend and the next they won’t even talk to you.
She hurts inside every day. Trying so hard to just fit in. She has trouble understanding her own feels and has a very hard time understanding others feelings. My little girl still feels like nobody likes her for who she is.
Robin
Nov 30, 2007 at 10:59 pm
It is hard for people to understand a person like Heather who just wants to be normal, but can’t.
I have a 12yr old girl with Austim and it has been hard on her. Already girls are mean and she has trouble understanding how one day a girl is your friend and the next they won’t even talk to you.
She hurts inside every day. Trying so hard to just to fit in. She has trouble understanding her own feels and has a very hard time understanding others feelings. My little girl still feels like nobody likes her for who she is.
Kristina Chew, PhD
Dec 1, 2007 at 1:03 am
Robin, thank you for writing about your daughter—-is she able to express these things to you in language? I’m just asking because my own son (he is 10) is not able to speak well enough to explain such feelings, but I think that he really feels the same—-that he is aware of being different and the it is hard.
Robin
Dec 15, 2007 at 1:17 pm
The last two years she has tried to tell me more about how she is feeling inside. I just keep trying to have her tell me what she thinks is going on inside her. Sometimes I think she does not know how to sort out her thoughts. When she tells me they come out is short bursts. Like after her 12th birthday party and all the girls were gone. She started crying and when I asked her what was wrong she said, “I am tried of hurting inside all the time. I wish that was never born.” This broke my heart and I cried. I always tell her she is my angel and I am very happy to have her just the way she is and I wouldn’t want to live without her. She is what I live for, she has givin me strength. I got her a little dog for her birthday and now Bella the new little dog is counting on her to take care of. Now she has a reason to go on and care for Bella.
She seems to be happier now. I told her that I never wanted to hear her say again those words “I wish I was never born.” Everyone has a reason that they are here.
Have an opinion? Leave a comment: