Early diagnosis of autism - New brain research

Recently, in the Cell Press journal Current Biology, researchers presented preliminary evidence that suggests that direct brain measures might help to predict the future development of autism symptoms in infants as young as six months.  This research team looked at 6-10 month old babies at risk of developing autism because they had an older sibling with autism. Using passive sensors placed on the scalp, they measured brain activity while the babies viewed faces that switched from looking at them to looking away.  Researchers suggest that "the brains of babies of infants who will go on to develop autism already process social information in a different way".  Read more about this research study here.