Excess Synapses Found in Brains of People with Autism

[@stvbrsn]

Here’s a thought: Instead of looking for ways to synthetically induce the synaptic pruning process retroactively, why don’t we concentrate on methods for “training up” and using our surplus of synapses (and surplus of neurons themselves, according to other studies) to achieve previously unthinkable things? For example, one thing I’ve discovered about my hypersensitive neurology is that I don’t need a compass. Now that I’ve discovered this ability (I call it geoception or magnetocetption) I find it very easy to locate magnetic north at any time, day or night. I simply close my eyes and spin myself slowly in place... I sense the magnetic axis, then simply oscillate between the two poles to determine the stronger pull. I’m in the northern hemisphere, so the weak pull is south, strong pull is north. Easy, takes about 10 seconds.

[@NeuroDreamers]

That’s incredible and awesome!!

[@tammymilda2169]

I'll tell you why - because you're a f***ing human being not a robot. Nobody gives a damn about your superpower and you shouldn't either if it comes at the expense of meaningful proper human relationships as it usually does with autistic people.

[@jamesedmonds7519]

The whole video just comes across as ableist and badly researched which is surprising considering the source. Perhaps it's just old and they hadn't updated the vernacular yet but it just comes off as very autism speaks. Treating autism like a problem to be solved rather than a difference to work with is never going to be helpful for anyone.

[@chitea-q2u]

@@jamesedmonds7519absolutely

[@chitea-q2u]

👍🏽

[@like90]

As an autistic, I don't want to prune my synapses, I need them.

[@christinecrum7934]

This reminds me of Xmen 2 when they make a cure and some people are desperate for it and some people find it abhorrent. If the NTypical population had a better understanding of autism that would alleviate alot of asd problems too.

[@nolsoe94]

while the study's findings are extremely fascinating and exciting, i find the scientists wording, perspective and final goal to be deeply rooted in ablelism.

[@helenhorgan]

not just ableist its actually kind of violent, like shcok therapy or heavy antisphycotics, I'm sure you cant kill off parts of the brain as selectively as a complex mind really is. Plus like someone said above these kinds of hyper connected brains can do things more linear brains can't.

[@jessicameeks831]

I’m autistic and I like my synapses

[@lunaarcana3173]

Me too ❤

[@LisaCapron]

Same here!!!

[@silicon212]

Same.

[@ricklines8755]

Good for you. My autistic son lives in a group home with a non-verbal autistic roommate. Notice how the non-verbal autistic roommate isn't on here expressing his opinion? Because he can't.

[@usagi_t]

Wow, morons. You probably are not, or you just like the label and attention?

[@BeHisLikeness]

This is amazing!!!! I did my College Thesis paper on Autism and I told my professor that I thought Autistic people had some kind of lack of synaptic function. This was in 1982... This is totally amazing... Amazing because at the time NO ONE was talking about Synapses being related to Autistic behavior at all.

[@stvbrsn]

BeHisLikeness umm... that’s cool but you did not comment on the ironic fact that your 1982 thesis had it flipped. It’s not a lack, but evidently an overabundance of synaptic function that causes the potential manifestation of all the various ancillary and comorbid “dysfunctions.” But that’s only where the ironies begin! I put the word dysfunction in quotes above, because it is this Aspergian’s contention that if these capacities aren’t repressed (or traumatized into submission by the public school system) they can and will be harnessable, developed and weaponized. Was Nikola Tesla being “dysfunctional” when he visualized the mechanisms (and then ran mental tests on the models) necessary to make alternating current a reality? An event which in turn fundamentally revolutionized the way humans live on this planet? Contrarily, he was functioning several orders of magnitude higher than most people alive at that time, at least in terms of inventive thinking.

[@doofy28]

I feel that most people with autism are smarter than nurotypical except when they are in a room with other people. I think autism allows you to access the subconscious. When people distract me I become less smart due to not having access to subconscious possibly.

[@doofy28]

I see autism most in quiet very successful people.

[@juliadixon8465]

Lack? We have an excess of synapses, and those that are pruned are pruned indiscriminately. And if we're adults, we're kind of fucked.

[@TMacZ65]

If only someone had listened to you instead of dismissed, we might have had this understanding much sooner. I find that people with Autism are often dismissed from the conversation because they are Autistic. For example, when my daughter told her professor that she was autistic, he told her to quit school and go home. She got her degree, but was abused and discriminated against in her job on campus, and the issue was never resolved. She was forced to quit her job.

[@NeuroDreamers]

Why would you want to change our synapses? It’s what makes us geniuses

[@lunaarcana3173]

@Officer Zulu Or maybe it's the ableist society refusing to accommodate anyone who isn't neurotypical and abled bodied

[@Monster33336]

Not everyone is Einstein and many are seriously suffering.

[@jesselise1996]

Exactly!! Goodbye Einstein, Bill Gates, Mark Twain, Mozart 🙄

[@silicon212]

@@Monster33336 Are they suffering because of their autism, or are they suffering at the hands of the NTs that deem their condition a 'problem that needs a cure' and thus approach them in kind?

[@Jointknight]

@@jesselise1996 85+% can't operate in the world at level to get real jobs or even communicate or are non-verbal, excsue me it I don't see that as a super power.

[@johncounsel2485]

The other aspect of this research that interests me is the possibility that this explains the correlation between Autism and Neurofibromatosis Type 1, which tend to go hand-in-hand.

[@mixtlupus]

Are we any closer to a simple test for Aspergers/Autism as I'm finding it impossible to get tested here in the UK as the NHS don't care about adults with issues like this and referrals get rejected because I'm too old and they don't want to waste "their money" ("our money" as the UK's NHS is publicly owned and paid for).

[@wcsxwcsx]

I've had the exact same experience here in the U.S. Shrinks don't care, and they'll stop you with bureaucracy.

[@cecilecavallaro4924]

I have felt like this was the cause my whole life. This was what I used as my description of what it felt like. My jaw dropped when I heard that my intuition about autism was confirmed. I literally had my mind tell me that I had too many synapses. Like I actually had the thought just pop into my head before I ever knew what synapses or pruning was. I just knew intuitively this is what it was. I am shocked!

[@Hamishamishamishamish]

This is the one characteristic of autism that is never talked about as the driving force of most of the exhibited symptoms

[@nutelina]

So these synapses connect to other neurons right? Is it possible that these are like old memories eg. old pathways. Some autistic people tend to have photographic memory but cannot structure their lives. Too much information?

[@doofy28]

correct imo. We are stupid superbrains.

[@GeorgetownDCNative]

@@doofy28 Totally understand ☺️

[@TMacZ65]

these are neural memories that trigger meltdowns. They're in the form of images, feelings, sensations. That's why Autism is also called "sensory." The senses are actually over sensitized because of the inability to regulate what's felt.

[@nutelina]

@@TMacZ65 Since this is a very old video I don't remember what it is about exactly but would note that GABA inhibits and could provide benefits for people who are overwhelmed or can't sleep. There's also a drug called Clonazepam which is for epilepsy but people use it to sleep better. Also inhibits neurotransmitters and should up-regulate GABA production if I'm not mistaken.

[@TMacZ65]

A protein is lacking that prunes synapses. Can lead to disassociation and the cruel/wrong dx of schizophrenia, as well as dementia and other undesirable comorbidities.

[@lovelydolltime8006]

So, this video is basically saying that my brain is superior to the foolish neurotypical brain? More neurons means more brain power, hence leading to higher levels of cognitive thought processes and laser focus, which is what we need in our society.

[@chitea-q2u]

I’d rather like to keep my synapses, thank you- I won’t be taking any medication to kill what makes me, me. No thanks maybe training the connections is a better way to go.

[@malmo8363]

Since THC induces autophagy, could cannabinoids be used as a therapeutic agent?

[@AcolyteOfLucifer]

Yes

[@wcsxwcsx]

I've been trying some CBD oil. No effect so far.

[@doofy28]

I stay constantly high. Marijuana takes the focus to even more extreme levels and keeps me from freaking less.

[@towzone]

Remember the movie “Limitless”? That is autism. We should be looking for ways to make people extraordinary, not typical.

[@usagi_t]

Body can't handle that, it is a total burnout.

[@lunaarcana3173]

Hey, maybe we don't WANT you to destroy parts of our perfectly amazing brains. Maybe you should support us and ask the autistic adults what they want not the children of vulnerable autistic children

[@wcclarence2147]

Speak for yourself please. Not my son

[@TMacZ65]

Because adults with Autism don't remember what happened to them during their formative years, asking Autistic adults what they want often cannot be delivered. Early intervention allows for the child with autism to self-regulate better instead of living their entire lives in survival mode. Adults with Autism should want to address the comorbidities of Autism, and get them addressed. Because it's the chronic autoimmune inflammatory responses, diseases, disorders and syndromes that wreak so much havoc on their general health and well being, leading to not being taken seriously.

[@DizzehxxMitizzeh42]

@@TMacZ65 Uhh... I can remember what happened during my formative years just fine?? Not sure where you got the idea that we can't remember what happened during childhood. Maybe true for some of us (probably due to trauma), but certainly not for all of us.

[@TMacZ65]

@@DizzehxxMitizzeh42 the formative years are between 0-6. No one remembers everything that happened during their formative years, but the nervous system affected with autism, does have memory in the form of imagery, smells, feelings of disconnect that is then triggered throughout life.

[@DizzehxxMitizzeh42]

@@TMacZ65 please do not patronize me by trying to tell me about my own life, memories, or experiences. My nervous system isn't "affected with" autism. I _am_ autistic, and I have an _autistic_ nervous system. You have no idea what my memories or experiences of that time in my life are like, so please do not assume you do.

[@jamesedmonds7519]

This whole video comes across as just wrong. Calling autism a disease in itself is incorrect and you'd think this fella would know better. As for wanting to "cure" autism. I don't know a single autistic person that would want to be cured.

[@ZashVi-vt5de]

There are many people with autism that would love a cure including me, just because you dont know any of them doesnt mean they should be stopped. If a cure was found (hopefully one day) then those that want it can take it and those that do not want it simply not take it.

[@jamesedmonds7519]

@ZashVi-vt5de I'm in huge autism communities and not one of the people in them agrees with you. In the past "cures" and treatment for autism has consisted of harming autistic people. There will be no cure. It's a neurodevelopmental condition, our brains are wired differently, our difficulties are a result of us having to live in a world that we never evolved to live in. Autistic people are the great human innovators though. It's likely that the first humans out of Africa were autistic, it's likely that Einstein and Darwin were autistic. Without autistic brains, humanity would still be sat in dark caves gossiping. You think that your autism is a negative trait because you've been conditioned to believe that it's wrong rather than a natural variant of the human brain. Autistic genes date back 10s of thousands of years. It's likely that Homo neanderthalensis could be autistic. Genes do not survive for long periods of time and across multiple species if they are not conducive to survival.

[@ZashVi-vt5de]

@@jamesedmonds7519 Those autistic communities tend to be one certain demographic of people, plus those on those communities tend to be very high functioning. if you made a worldwide survey of every ASD person in every country/culture then you would find more people would want a cure than not. And no problems with autism are not due to society mainly, gastro issues, sensory, brain fog, executive dysfunction are internal problems nothing to do with others. As i said before if a cure or good treatment is found those that want it can take it and those that want to stay this way simply not take it. so there is no one or the other situation.

[@jesselise1996]

Autism doesn't need treatment 😢

[@saumpaulinaaaaaaa]

Of course it needs… you’re just thinking about the beautiful parts of the autism, but think about those individuals who bang their heads on the floor, or poke their eyes yes until they get blind, or hit their parents…

[@wcclarence2147]

​@@saumpaulinaaaaaaathey dont care about that. They only care about peoples feelings about themselves. Its an incredibly dangerous level of over acceptance.

[@ExistenceUniversity]

@@saumpaulinaaaaaaa Sounds like mistreating the autistic person rather than an issue when allowed to be themselves

[@acevarshaman]

I agree, I work as a support worker for neurodivergent youth. I myself am a 17 y/o autistic/ADHD person. The right support and culture enables these kids and myself to be able to get a lot of really amazing things done and they it and are comfortable while doing it.

[@NicosMind]

Hot Asian woman. Looking forward to seeing more