Brain scan

I have had two scans that showed my head, one specific for a neurologist examination in 2022 and then another for ENT ears nose and throat examination in 2026. The first scan was interesting and showed increased areas of repetition in my brain that autistics can have also the repetition and mine tested as moderate in the ADOS test for repetition.

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“There are a few periventricular and subcortical white matter signal abnormalities bilaterally which are nonspecific but more than expected for patient of this age”.

This is the study that I read as well, those findings above are from my report of my MRI.

"Periventricular WMH volume was not associated with age but was associated with greater restricted repetitive behaviors on both parent-reported and clinician-rated assessment inventories. Thus, findings demonstrate that periventricular WMH volume is elevated in ASD and associated with a higher degree of repetitive behaviors and restricted interests. Although the etiology of focal WMH clusters is unknown, the absence of age effects suggests that they may reflect a static anomaly."

pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/.../

Yes, those studies are the "visible internal evidence" of the deep "cabling" (white matter) of autistic brains RachelO (NAS91931). 

These differences are directly linked to the need for repetitive behaviours, routines, and stimming.

It is the physical part of how the autistic brain handles data, not something one may override just because one is smart or clever.

My research as a very interested amateur on the topic indicates the 2015 paper that you kindly shared as the landmark paper that successfully isolated this "visible internal evidence".

Today the evidence is robust and growing for it - independent, multi-site global research teams have replicated and confirmed it.  Furthermore these structural differences have been tracked all the way back to infancy -reinforcing that this is high quality, biologically validated, and is a lifelong structural feature of the autistic brain rather than a degenerative change.

The MRI studies of the brain (which could be said to be like pictures of the copper cables in a computer) shows that the insulation is thicker and routed differently in the autistic brain since birth.

The FMRI studies show which parts of the brain are working, firing and communicating second by second.  The "spiky profile" revealed in such studies would show which local areas (like sensory processing) are firing really intensely together (over connectivity).  And that the distant areas (like the frontal lobe and social processing centres) are struggling to sync up their signals (under-connectivity). - like looking at a traffic report and seeing where the traffic is flowing really quickly and where the traffic jams are.

The functional MRIs prove that this different wiring forces the autistic brain to use massive amounts of energy just to process daily life.

Yes, those studies are the "visible internal evidence" of the deep "cabling" (white matter) of autistic brains RachelO (NAS91931). 

These differences are directly linked to the need for repetitive behaviours, routines, and stimming.

It is the physical part of how the autistic brain handles data, not something one may override just because one is smart or clever.

My research as a very interested amateur on the topic indicates the 2015 paper that you kindly shared as the landmark paper that successfully isolated this "visible internal evidence".

Today the evidence is robust and growing for it - independent, multi-site global research teams have replicated and confirmed it.  Furthermore these structural differences have been tracked all the way back to infancy -reinforcing that this is high quality, biologically validated, and is a lifelong structural feature of the autistic brain rather than a degenerative change.

The MRI studies of the brain (which could be said to be like pictures of the copper cables in a computer) shows that the insulation is thicker and routed differently in the autistic brain since birth.

The FMRI studies show which parts of the brain are working, firing and communicating second by second.  The "spiky profile" revealed in such studies would show which local areas (like sensory processing) are firing really intensely together (over connectivity).  And that the distant areas (like the frontal lobe and social processing centres) are struggling to sync up their signals (under-connectivity). - like looking at a traffic report and seeing where the traffic is flowing really quickly and where the traffic jams are.

The functional MRIs prove that this different wiring forces the autistic brain to use massive amounts of energy just to process daily life.