It may be possible to detect autism by studying the pupils in a child's eyes, according to research conducted at Kansas University and reported in the October issue of the Journal of Clinical and Experimental Neuropsychology.
KU psychology professor John Colombo and doctoral student Christa Anderson conducted a study in which they showed children, including a group of children with autism, various 4-inch images on a computer screen.
The researchers gauged each child's level of attention by measuring how much their pupils dilated or constricted. They found that children with autism spectrum disorder showed the strongest response to images of other faces, especially other children's faces.
Colombo is associate director for cognitive neuroscience at the Schiefelbusch Institute for Life Span Studies.
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tanzer (anonymous) says…
i have worked with several kids with autism and noticed that their pupils responded differently than others in the room, but never thought it was the autism - but rather the medications... interesting. i hope they publish this so i can check it out.
cjanders (anonymous) says…
We published these findings in the October issue of the Journal of Clinical and Experimental Neuropsychology.
None of the children were taking medications when the measures were taken, so we believe the responses are due to the presence of Autism Spectrum Disorder.
~Christa Anderson
bearded_gnome (anonymous) says…
very interesting findings! stands to completely change the theoretical understanding of autism and why it occurs.