In case you are a person that continues education by participating in one of the common continuing education programs, you have likely seen a variety of different teaching methods. Online classes are common, as are DVDs or CDs containing course material that you teach yourself at your own pace. Some people thrive on this type of learning. Others need just a little more human interaction to succeed. Luckily for them, there are continuing education options that provide more real interaction with professors or other students. Conference call services are among these options.

Self-paced learning materials have their benefits, but they don’t suit everyone. There are definite advantages to the conference call system for some people. Conference call services can save money and prove more convenient and easier to use.

No special technology is required for a conference call to begin with. Although there exist some Internet based conferencing program, a number of them use too much of a computer’s resources and are not a very good option for people with slow connections. Moreover, if the professor and his students use different operating systems they may face problems of compatibility. Conference call services do not need a lot of technological compatibility and allows everyone to take part in the call easily.

A conference call is also quite convenient. Students can join the call no matter where they are located, instead of having to find a computer or carry around a laptop. This in itself is a major improvement over the other systems, such as Internet conferencing, email exchanges, or discussion forums. With conference calls, continuing education students can better fit their schooling into their lifestyle.

In conclusion, conference call systems are convenient. Many telephone providers will offer special deals on conference calling. Others will allow you to set these calls up toll free, reducing the cost even more. Either way, it is much better than everyone meeting in person, which would quickly become prohibitively costy, but to mention one thing.

In the field of recurring education all these advantages make conference call services a demanding option to consider. Professors will appreciate the elasticity and ease of use when preparing lesson plans, and students will appreciate that they can participate in the sessions without stress. For both the parties it is a win-win solution that will serve your education program progressively.

There are many types of continuing education programs. Online classes and CD/DVDs are most common. There are also options that provide interaction between professor and student. Conference call services is one of these. Internet based programs require a computer and, preferably, a fast connection. A conference call only requires a telephone. A student can participate in a conference call from almost any location, making this method much more user-friendly. And, if necessary, many telephone service providers may offer special rates on conference calls. Conference calling continues education in a convenient, cost effective classroom.

- George Purdy

Training seminars are used by business organizations to develop the skills needed by their workforce and their management team. There are many kinds of seminars being offered. Some of these seminars help in developing the personality and team building skills of the participants. Others aim to develop the knowledge and competency of participants on a particular technology like Visual Basic Programming.

A usual seminar set-up requires a venue where business participants are gathered and are supervised by a training instructor. Seminar materials are projected on an LCD screen while the instructor elaborates on the subject matter presented. The training instructor typically has the experience on the topic being presented. But in some cases, the subject matter is too complicated for the instructor to handle alone. A more experienced resource person is usually present to provide expert inputs on the subject matter.

Should this resource person be physically unavailable, this is where conference calls can be used. By using the conference call services of the training organization, this experienced resource person can still participate in the seminar without being physically present. It is even possible to tap on the expertise of a number of people from different locations and even from different time zones with this communications capability.

An example of a more non-traditional training set-up would be a seminar for participants who are not at the same place. At a specified time and date, these participants will contact the training organization and participate in a conference call to receive the training. People with distant resources can also be invited to participate. With this decentralized training set-up, the training organization can reach a much wider audience with its message.

By conducting such seminars, the organisation must be careful about not demeaning it. The handout material must be distributed earlier so that the participants can familiarise themselves with the task at hand. A proper followup is also essential to get required feedback from the participants for implementation in the near future.

A training organization which utilizes conference call services, is able to attract and utilize knowledge from participants not only in its immediate vicinity, but from distant locales. Aside from this obvious benefit, it enables them to tap into a pool of experienced resource persons who they would otherwise be unable to reach. This set-up could, therefore, provide a more enriching learning experience for all.

Companies frequently use training seminars to develop the skills of both their workforce and their management team. A wide spectrum of skills, both technical and interpersonal, are available. The venue used by most expert training instructors often require a typical seminar setup that may not be physically available. In situations such as these, conference calls can be used. Conference call services are available for organizations to conduct training in a decentralized setting, allowing their trainers to reach a wider audience. These services also enables the training company to tap a wider range of trainers who would otherwise be unavailable at the location.

- George H. Purdy

We all recall the commercial that was run by Timex when we were younger, it takes a lickin’ and keep on tickin’. While this is still true, the term has been shortened for our modern short attention span audience. The new sales slogan is Keep On. Keep on Moving, Keep on Pushing, Keep on Daring, Keep on Stretching, Keep on Growing. These are not your fathers or mothers Timex anymore, although you can still get some of the traditional styles and looks, todays Timex Watches are as sleek and functional as any other watch brand out there on the market. We will take a look at what Timex has to offer and some of the categories and lines of Timex Watches available on the market.

Timex Men’s Watches Timex has a complete line of Men’s Watches. The Fashion and Dress line, the Sports and Outdoors line, the Health and Fitness line, The Expedition line and the Men’s Ironman line. The Health and Fitness line has the Speed and Distance GPS watch that utilizes the renowned GPS technology, the Speed Distance System utilizes a network of global positioning satellites to precisely track how far and how fast you are running, biking, rowing or skiing. Anytime. Anywhere in the world. The Timex Men’s Watches Health and Fitness line also has a complete selection of Heart Rate monitors. The Expedition line has the Adventure Tech Watches, the Timex Digital Compass, the Metal Tech outdoor watch with the Quick-Date feature and the Traditional expedition watch, designed for active, outdoor lifestyles–as well as the rigors of harsh urban landscapes–mid-sized Timex Traditional Expedition watches.

Timex Women’s Watches The Timex Ladies line of watches runs the full gamet from Dress & Fashion to Sports & Outdoors along with the Women’s Iroman Line. Some of the best-sellers include the Cavatina watches that are Sleek Fashion Watches that are perfect for Day or Evening Wear or the Easy Readers with Large, Easy to read numbers and faces with classic designs. One of the favorite, classics is the Timex Womens Red Indiglo Night Light T2G101 womens watch. This particular watch has a red leather band, a small dressy dial that shows all 12 numbers large enough for you to see without swinting, and a special feature that just makes the entire package come together. When you press the button to activate the Indiglo night-lite, the watch face illuminates in a beautiful red color, tying in perfectly with the band. Other color indiglo timex women’s watches are Green, Burnt Orange and Purple.

Whether you are talking about the Traditional Timex Ironman 30-Lap Watch or the updated Combo Dress Ironman Watches, the constant that describes exactly the dependability that you know you are getting is the Ironman name. Accept no imitations or limitations. Stylish enough for the weekend warrior, technical enough for the extreme athlete. Most Timex Ironman Watches feature Extra Large multiple line digital displays show you all of the critical data that you need at a glance, especially when you are on the move and at night. Water Resistancy. Last we checked, swimming is a key component of the Ironman Triathlon experience. This make the abilities of the watch to be water resistant all the more important. Indiglo night-light. How could a watch be called a Timex without it featuring the Trademark Timex INDIGLO night-light feature. This feature has been gracing Timex Watches since 1992 and has helped many a jogger to track their time on those late night or early morning training sessions.

Remember, you don’t have to be a triathlete to appreciate the Timex Watches.

Robert Earl is the head timekeeper of LotsofWatches.com. LotsofWatches.com carries the line of Nike Watches, featuring the Nike Imara Collection of Women’s Watches at LoW Prices.

- Robert Earl

Nestled in the quiet confines of terrains of bliss, calm and relaxation, the citizens of Germany are abruptly being awakened, shaken and shocked by a most disturbing creature, origins unknown.

Consider the family of four who had packed their suitcases, trunks brimming with beer and two, teenage kids, each a boy, about fourteen and fifteen years old, who decided to get away from the rustle and bustle for a 2 day road trip. All scenarios resulted with the regular expectations as they had numerous times before when they made the same journey, in pursuit of fresh air, rolling landscapes and anywhere the ring of a phone could not get to them.

All things seemed just as it should be. Their car pressed into each corner of a stretching hillside, screeching the tires every now and then. The teens were soundly asleep with visions of who knows what, but since one had drool dripping from the shadow of his lips, one might guess their thoughts were of enjoyment and pleasures not yet experienced.

Helen, the mom, too was in a intense slumber, perhaps caused by the jarring white noise of the engine of the car surging itself up yet another car-eating hill.

It is only thanks to the evidently, hidden camera, ironically perfectly positioned to capture what was to unfold. Maybe, a coincidence being the same time Kfee energy drink was to be introduced to the country. But, what was clearly meant to be a television commercial representing a peaceful setting was unfortunately thrust into the soon to be legendary scary German energy drink commercial , perhaps 180 degrees in the opposite direction of all original intentions.

Not a single soul could have predicted it, and unless there were eyewitness reports, citizens of Germany may not be panically pacing, laying awake and up at all hours completely baffled and stunned by what was filmed. Although there is photographic proof, to date, German authorities have kept quiet about what has transpired that day. Maybe to purposely keep it under the rug, or act like it never was captured on film, but one thing is for sure, the rest of the world will never be the same again. The invasion has begun.

Leading a most envious life, Dave is the dude who likes to drink energy drinks and has been captivating a growing audience every time an energy drink is pressed to his lips. To note, others are invited, while the adventures continue.

- Thor Daniels

Anyone who has spoken to a hiring manager might have heard the common remark that it is very difficult to find good people. Lack of good skilled people is not the reason for this situation. Even though there are plenty of highly skilled and qualified people, they are not available in the job market just for the simple reason that they are happy doing their jobs in their respective organizations. A good reason for this is that they were brought to the level of performing at higher levels through competent business and management coaching, even though they weren’t at this level from the beginning of their career.

Many CEO’s have a Harvard MBA, but below the CEO level a large percentage of management started out at the bottom working their way up. There is no real truth to the idea that one begins at the bottom and stays there for their career. It is widely recognized that competent training management, often referred to as “on the job training,” is one of the primary ways companies increase the value of their in-house talent. This is because that value does not leave the company.

When workers see that a company invests in them, through conferences, seminars, and other forms of training management, they see that they are working for a company that cares about them. This is one of the main reasons that they don’t go on the market, looking for another company that probably won’t treat them too.

Another dirty secret is that training management works well for companies whose employees don’t know exactly what they’re worth. Unlike employees holding a Harvard MBA, those with training management do not have a piece of paper that suddenly makes them too expensive to hire. At the same time, though, they are often just as motivated, perhaps even more so, after taking on the paid job training than someone who has just slugged through academia. This is one of the many reasons companies are eager for training management.

Another function of a company is change management, just as important as training management. Would that the market never moved! That once we designed a product, we could keep selling it forever. But the fact is that change is a constant part of our world, and even a product as venerable as Coke gets a redesign from time to time - not to mention the ad campaigns. Through continuous management, a company is able to keep its workforce very new.

Diplomas last forever, but changes occur continuously in the world of business. But even Harvard sees change occur all around it and must adapt. Change management helps your company stay current in an ever-changing world. Such management helps your business in the lead in the marketplace and help you develop employees to be the best they can be.

There are not many skilled people available in the job market because they are happy where they are. A major reason for this is that they did not necessarily start out as highly skilled and qualified as they have become, but were elevated to that level through constant and competent business and management coaching. When workers see that a company invests in them, through conferences, seminars, and other forms of training management, they see that they are working for a company that cares about them. Through effective change management, a company is able to keep its workforce very new and motivated all the time.

- George Purdy

Today’s most vocal business leaders are emphasizing that “the world is flat,” that labor moves freely, and that the lowest price, whether it’s from Atlanta or Argentina, always wins. Million dollar orders can be placed online without so much as speaking to a live person, and the “faces” of corporate communications are increasingly those of models or paid spokespersons rather than real business leaders.

Are people skills even relevant, at a time when posting a job opening online will get you applications from around the world? The answer is a resounding “yes”: at the end of the day, someone is still designing the products, the web sites, and the marketing material.

That person deserves the best possible environment to perform his or her job, even if- especially if- that person comes from some other country; immigrants and guest workers are members of your company just like your other employees. They bring their own special strengths and weaknesses, and require close attention and mental coaching to maximize their productivity. Mental coaching is the best way to ensure that anyone from any background is truly part of your team, which is the most important part of human resource management today.

Mental coaches might be most associated with professional sports, outdoor sales-people, or CEOs. For example, Dr. John F. Murray developed the “Mental Performance Index” for American football and helped Vincent Spadea overcome a losing streak that was one of the longest in tennis history. However, the truth is that mental coaching is relevant from the highest to the lowest rung of the corporate ladder.

In the end, if someone is worth spending tens of thousands of dollars to hire and train, doesn’t it make sense allow the Human Resources department the freedom to bring out the most in him or her? If sports teams can hire mental coaches to increase their performance, so can corporate teams. Even if the labor they’re coaching is fresh off the web.

While the world can well be flat, it is still populated with human beings, and human beings don’t perform at their peak potential without training and smart management. Companies are made up of people — something that is as true during the reign of Bill Gates as it was during that of Rockefeller, despite the Internet.

These days a job opening posted online easily fetches applications from around the world. A person needs a proper work environment, especially if that person was born and raised elsewhere. Immigrants and guest workers are integral members of the corporate world. Their special issues and hardships need close attention to bring out the most in them, and that requires mental coaching. This is an excellent way of bringing someone from a different culture into a team 100%, and is one of the most important functions of human resource management. The mental coaches help to maximize the value of employees. Such coaching is relevant for employees at every level.

- George Purdy

2008 Society for Neuroscience Annual Meeting Explores Therapeutic Possibilities for Autism and Related Disorders

The premiere research event for everything brain-related takes place once a year in the late Fall. This year Washington, D.C. played host to more than 30,000 neuroscientists from around the world, including many Autism Speaks grantees, for the five day Society for Neuroscience meeting November 15-19. Exciting developments in the neurosciences and other related scientific fields were presented; below are the highlights that pertain to autism:

Exploring a Link Between Autism and the Immune System

For the last few years the link between the nervous and immune systems in autism has been an expanding field of exploration. At this year’s Society for Neuroscience (SFN) meeting, the connection was explored in much greater detail. Previously researchers have shown that activation of the maternal immune system during pregnancy, by infection or inflammation, results in altered offspring behaviors reminiscent of autism. AS-funded research results from the laboratory of Nicholas Ponzio, Ph.D., UMDNJ, extended the findings on the impact of maternal immune activation in a new direction. Whereas previous research has focused on the effects that maternal immune activation have upon the offspring’s brain development, Dr. Ponzio presented preliminary data showing that in utero exposure to immune stimuli also impacts development of the offspring’s own immune system. Specifically he found that their peripheral blood cells were skewed more toward Th1 or Th17 responses, both of which are known to be involved in the pathogenesis of autoimmune diseases, and thus might contribute to immune abnormalities.

Using a different model system and focusing on the brain, John Panos, Ph.D., from Western Michigan University, examined the overall effect of pro-inflammatory cytokines (mediators of immune responses) on the development of the glutamate neurotransmitter system. His team found that direct administration of particular cytokines immediately after birth leads to unusual locomotor behaviors in adults challenged with phencyclidine (an anesthetic). Most interestingly, the responses differed between males and females, reminiscent of autism’s overall gender bias. AS-grantee Kimberly McAllister, Ph.D. (UCDavis) is undertaking a finer-grained analysis to look at the direct effect of cytokines on synapses. Using an in vitro cell culture model of brain development, her lab found that the same pro-inflammatory cytokines previously determined to be elevated in brains of individuals with autism can, indeed, directly affect development of glutamate-containing synapses. In her exciting preliminary experiments presented at the meeting, IGF-1, TNF?, TGF?, and MCP-1, all were found to increase the density of glutamate synapses. Once again, this hints at the profound but previously unknown impact that immune molecules may have on brain development. This avenue of research perhaps represents the most rapidly expanding new area of autism research.

Tracking Down the Biology of Environmental Factors

Sergiu Pasca and colleagues from Iuliu Hatieganu University of Medicine and Pharmacy (Romania) and University of Szeged (Hungary) reported on the activity of an enzyme believed to help counteract the toxic effects of organophosphates in a population of Romanian children with autism. The enzyme, called paraoxonase, is believed to protect against oxidative damage of lipids and was less active in children with autism. The gene that codes for the variant called Paraoxonase 1 (PON1) has previously been reported to show aberrant variations in some individuals with autism. Although these authors did not find correlations between gene mutations and enzymatic activity, the demonstration of lower function of PON1 may suggest a weakened ability to tolerate organophosphates in individuals with autism.

Also of specific interest to autism, a group of investigators from the NY Institute for Basic Research presented initial results on a mouse model of animals exposed during infancy to the triad of chemicals found to be very elevated in the drinking water of Brick Township, NJ, an area of the country with an unusually high autism prevalence. Although animals exposed to the same concentrations found in Brick Township showed no obvious effects, animals given extremely high doses (10-100 times the Brick Township concentrations) did begin to show behavioral phenotypes. The results appeared significant only for the male mice, indicating that males are more susceptible to these toxic exposures, and the investigators are now pursuing which biochemical pathways have been disrupted by the Brick Township chemicals.

In a series of novel presentations, the laboratory of Richard Lin, Ph.D., University of Mississippi, described new findings regarding how in utero exposure to a common medication, citalopram, one of the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRI), can profoundly affect brain development in previously unexplored ways. Because imaging studies have documented abnormal white matter in children with autism, the group is currently focusing on the effects of citalopram on oligodendrocytes, the cells that compose the brain white matter. Other environmental factors discussed during the meeting include the cell biological effects of ethanol and heavy metals upon glutathione synthesis by Richard Deth, Ph.D., Northeastern University, and the mechanisms of cell death caused by long-term, low-dose methylmercury exposure by the laboratory of AS Board member, Manny DiCicco-Bloom, M.D., Ph.D., UNMDJ.

Finally, in research published earlier this year, Gregory Barnes, M.D. (Vanderbilt University) reported that mice deficient in the protein neuropilin 2 (NPN2) have decreased counts of inhibitory interneurons in the hippocampus and are susceptible to seizure. At this year’s meeting Dr. Barnes recapitulated the results in mice deficient in the molecule SEMA 3F, which is the ligand, or molecular partner, for NPN2. Because the SEMA 3F gene is susceptible to inactivation by methylmercury, these studies may also support a role for environmental factors regulating the development of inhibitory circuitry. Inhibitory circuitry is extremely important in nervous system function and, due to the frequency of seizures, believed to be relevant to the development of autism.

Unique Model Systems for Autism

Several sessions of the five day meeting focused on animal models of autism. One of the most novel models presented was the disruption of neuroligin gene activity in the worm C. elegans. The neuroligin genes, involved in synapse function, are associated with a subset of individuals with autism and are therefore being heavily investigated for what they may reveal about the biology of autism. Humans and mice have several neuroligin genes, making it difficult to dissect out their specific functions or how loss of the gene products leads to behavioral defects. The worm, on the other hand, has a single neuroligin gene and, in comparison, an extremely simple nervous system that is easily manipulated experimentally. For these reasons it has become a model system of choice for many geneticists and behaviorists. Using a grant from Autism Speaks awarded to create a worm that lacks neuroligin activity, Jim Rand, Ph.D. (University of Oklahoma) now reports that the animals, which look and act roughly normal, have very specific sensory abnormalities including differences in integrating sensory information and sensitivity to thermal stimuli. Moreover, in a surprising and potentially very exciting convergence, Dr. Rand found that these worms that have been engineered to be deficient in a synapse protein are also hypersensitive to oxidative stress and appear to be in a more oxidated state. These unexpected results may ultimately unite the metabolic and functional connectivity theories of biological dysfunction in autism, two theories that have been until now pursued in isolation.

In the past years, thanks in large part to Autism Speaks’ Autism Genetic Resource Exchange (AGRE) and Autism Genome Project, several genetic risk factors have been linked to individuals with autism. Sometimes these changes cause deletions of genes but sometimes they only result in changes of a single letter in a specific gene (called a “point mutation”). For example, as described above, in rare cases people with autism have a very specific point mutation in the Neuroligin-3 gene. AS grantee Craig Powell, M.D., Ph.D. (UT Southwestern) created mice in which the original Neuroligin-3 gene was replaced by the mutated form of the gene. The resulting mice looked normal but had specific changes in their neuronal connectivity – the amount of inhibitory transmission at their synapses in the somatosensory cortex was increased by 50%. These mice also exhibited some subtly impaired social behaviors and enhanced spatial learning abilities, consistent with a model for autism. In a surprising twist though, mice with a complete deletion of the gene showed none of the phenotypes that the mice with the point mutation did. This suggests that the protein made by the gene with the autism point mutation acts detrimentally by gaining some unknown new function rather than just by losing all of its normal function. This information leads to very different implications for how to construct a potential treatment and demonstrates the extreme importance of the type of nuanced information that can be derived from model systems.

Highlighting Exciting New Therapeutic Possibilities for Autism

The above findings were presented in a mini-symposium chaired by Dr. Powell on mouse models and treatment strategies. Clearly a highlight of the meeting, several hundred researchers in attendance heard thrilling stories of new treatment strategies for neurodevelopmental disorders associated with autism. For example, it has been found that a reduction of a specific glutamate receptor (mGluR5) in mice can reverse most of the phenotypes of mice lacking the gene that causes Fragile X; an mGluR5 antagonist is already in development as a potential therapeutic for the disorder. Moreover, a mouse model for Angelman syndrome showed improvement by manipulations that modified a single specific biochemical pathway, and phenotypes in mice with a mutation in the Rett syndrome gene were rescued by an inhibitor of histone deacetylase complexes (HDAC). Adding to this exciting development, in a separate session researchers from Dublin, Ireland showed that they could successfully use HDAC inhibition to reverse some social defects in the valproic acid model of autism.

Hope for treatment in another human neurodevelopment disorder, Tuberous Sclerosis (TS) was presented by the laboratory of Alcino Silva, Ph.D (UCLA). TS is caused by mutations in either the Tsc1 and Tsc2 genes. Mice carrying one mutant copy of the Tsc2 gene show cognitive impairments in learning and memory. In a series of important experiments, the researchers identified that the mutation causes a particular biochemical signaling pathway, known as mTOR signaling, to be excessively activated. Armed with this knowledge, the investigators found that simple administration of a drug known to shut down this signaling pathway reversed the learning deficits in these mice. In different mutant mice whose nerve cells carry two defective copies of the other TS gene, Tsc1, the same drug improved survival, decreased brain enlargement and improved neurological findings.

Hormones and Autism

The “extreme male brain” theory of autism hypothesizes that the social and communication deficits in autism are caused by an elevated exposure of the fetus to testosterone, the male sex hormone. Researchers from the laboratory of Flavio Keller, M.D., ( Università Campus Biomedico di Roma) sought to use an animal model of autism to test whether changing the ratio of sex hormones in infancy can indeed impact behavior. To directly test the theory, they used a genetic model of autism in which one copy of the reelin gene, important for the development of the cerebellum, is deleted. Reelin mice display a number of subtle deficits that are anatomically related to those found in autism, and which differ in presentation between male and female mice. The researchers administered the sex hormone estradiol to neonatal reelin mice and found this corrected a variety of different behaviors, including perseverative behaviors in male reelin mice. These observations support the notion that an imbalance in estrogen/testosterone levels may be etiological for behaviors observed in autism and, more importantly, that the activities and signaling pathways of these hormones can be targeted therapeutically.

Using another type of animal model, the prairie vole, to investigate if social behaviors are amenable to treatment, AS-grantee Larry Young, Ph.D. (Emory University) is also examining another hormone system that has been implicated in autism. His group hypothesized that d-cycloserine (DCS), a drug known to enhance human cognition, may act synergistically with oxytocin, the “trust” hormone, to promote partner bonding in this species. When they injected DCS into the brain region where oxytocin acts, they found that it did promote social bonding and partner preference in the female voles. Future studies will determine how the drug acts, perhaps in partnership with oxytocin, and may represent a possible therapy for the social cognitive deficits observed in autism. Such investigations are important because they show that, complex as they are, behaviors reminiscent of autism may be susceptible to simple pharmacological intervention.

Perception, Brain Circuitry and Motor Planning

Perception involves the cognitive processing of sensory information. It has long been known that many individuals with autism experience either heightened or dampened sensory sensitivity, though little science was available to explain these experiences. This year, altered perception in individuals with autism was the subject of many of different studies.

AS-grantee Mark Tommerdahl, Ph.D., and his laboratory at UNC Chapel Hill reported observing a surprising response to repeated vibratory stimulation applied to the skin. People with autism showed less adaptation to previous stimulation than typical control subjects. Adaptation is a sensory phenomenon that serves to adjust the dynamic range of sensation to be appropriate for the current environment. For example, people typically adapt to the sensation of their own clothing, making them relatively unaware of the continued presence of clothing, however any new stimulation, such as a brush on the arm from someone walking by, would be immediately sensed. The new findings may suggest that people with autism continue responding to “background” activity that typical sensory systems discount, putting them into a constant heightened sensory alert. Current models of sensory adaptation suggest that this phenomenon is related to alterations in the inhibitory circuitry, which fits well with many of the changes in synaptic activity seen in animal models. The tests that Dr. Tommerdahl developed are very fast and non-invasive, so they could easily be used to detect improvements in these inhibitory circuits following treatments.

Mark Wallace, M.D., and his group at Vanderbilt University found that individuals with autism were taking longer time periods to integrate multisensory stimuli than do individuals without autisn, possibly contributing to difficulties in processing multimodal social communication. Encouragingly, they showed that perceptual training can shorten the window of integration and that the training effects can generalize to other aspects of multisensory integration. If these experiments hold true, they could offer an important entry point into improving some of the perceptual problems in individuals with autism.

Finally, there was also very interesting progress in understanding the apparent problems of children with autism in activating the mirror neuron network. The mirror neuron network is thought to be important for imitating and learning new motor skills. Now, Giacomo Rizzolatti, M.D., and his group from Parma, Italy provided evidence suggesting that although the mirror neuron system is functional in children with autism for individual movements such as reaching and grasping, the deficit is in understanding the intention and planning of motor actions - rather than taking into account the final goal of a multistep action, children with autism appear to be processing each step of a complicated motor sequence one step at a time. This work was highlighted as part of one of the major lectures presented to thousands of the researchers at the conference, generating much discussion over how this illuminates many of the great challenges faced by individuals with autism every day.

Final Emerging Theme from the 2008 SFN Meeting

Altogether these research advances demonstrate the ostensible “treatability” of the component features of autism despite varying etiologies proposed (genetic, immunologic, endocrinologic, perceptional). Such results, which have emerged only in the last two years, are rapidly redirecting researchers to an entire new field of research that is energizing the movement for autism treatment. The results also suggest that the complexity of autism will not require one “cure-all” strategy but an arsenal of therapies that is adaptable to the underlying biology of the presenting symptoms in each individual.

Source: children