"Converging evidence from magnetic resonance imaging, head circumference and post-mortem studies suggests that brain volume enlargement is a characteristic feature of autism, with its onset most likely occurring in the latter part of the first year of life," the authors of the study wrote.
"The amygdala plays a critical role in early-stage processing of facial expression and in alerting cortical areas to the emotional significance of an event," the authors write.
While it offers no explanation for the enlarged amygdala or any hope for remedies to contain the growth, having a physical characteristic with which to properly identify/diagnose autism is a very good thing.
Let's hope that similar research finds physical characteristics for other abused and over-diagnosed conditions such as ADD and ADHD.
Related: Has anyone seen any follow-up research on the size differences of hypothalamus connection of homosexual men?
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