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TUESDAY, Feb. 22 (HealthDay News) -- By analyzing patterns in the brain's electrical activity, researchers feature they've been healthy to assess autism venture in children as teen as 6 months of age.

Researchers crooked up 79 babies older 6 to 24 months to an EEG, or electroencephalogram, which records electrical state in the brain. Forty-six of the infants had an older relation with an autism spectrum disorder, patch the other 33 had no kinsfolk history of autism.

Children who hit a relation with autism are much more likely to amend autism themselves, explained lead think author William Bosl, a neuroinformatics researcher at Children's Hospital Boston. Prior investigate has shown that about 20 percent of siblings of children with autism module also amend autism and another 40 to 50 percent module hit whatever characteristics of the disorder, much as continual behaviors or problems with social interaction, module or communication, but not the full-blown disorder.

While the children watched grouping blowing bubbles, researchers rhythmic the babies' mentality waves and analyzed the results using machine algorithms. The algorithms crapper notice impalpable patterns in the lines created by EEGs that the manlike eye might miss, Bosl explained.

When the babies were figure months old, researchers could prognosticate who was in the high-risk autism group -- that is, they had a relation with autism -- with nearly 80 percent accuracy.

"In this study, we hit condemned the prototypal step in showing that there is definitive aggregation in the electrical signals rhythmic by EEG to distinguish normal controls from infants at broad venture for developing autism," Bosl said.

When busted discover by gender, researchers institute other differences. For example, at figure months they were healthy to prognosticate which boys were in the high-risk group with nearby 100 percent accuracy. But quality for girls at that geezerhood was exclusive 60 percent, not statistically significant.

At six months of age, however, they could prognosticate the broad venture girls with about 80 percent accuracy, though they couldn't do the aforementioned for boys that young.

"It seems perhaps they are on a slightly assorted developmental trajectory," Bosl said.

The think is publicised online Feb. 22 in BMC Medicine.

EEGs manoeuvre mentality electrical state finished electrodes attached to the scalp. The profession has been around for awhile -- matured in the late 1920s, it has been used for more than 60 years to notice seizures in epileptics.

But it's the newer, artificial info profession and sophisticated machine algorithms that enabled the researchers to countenance more deeply into what the EEGs show, Bosl said.

"Artificial info gives us the ability to encounter patterns we might not encounter with our possess eyes," Bosl said. "One of the difficulties with a disorder same autism is that it's rattling heterogenous. A rattling high-functioning mortal with autism might not be so assorted from a so-called 'normal' mortal who is quirky. Defining the differences haw be somewhat subtle."

EEGs are also relatively inexpensive, painless and safe, Bosl said. And unlike MRIs, they require no sedation, so testing could be place to widespread use, he said.

"My hope is we would hit a simple artefact of state mentality state in every child and wager the patterns emerging that might track autism characteristics," Bosl said. "That would be staggeringly useful. We undergo early intervention is extremely important. Right now, for a lot of children, that means 3 years old. What we don't undergo yet is if you crapper intervene at 9 or 12 months and how effective that could be."

Dr. book Ewen, a neurologist and director of the clinical neurophysiology laboratory at the President Krieger Institute in Baltimore, said the think is substantially finished and looks promising, but needs to be replicated.

Also, the think predicted who was at broad venture of autism, but it's unknown if those babies actually went on to amend autism, he noted.

"If it crapper eventually be shown that this technique crapper reliably identify which children module indeed amend autism, then we module hit a valuable tool for primeval detection," Ewen said. "Early spotting continues to be of grave importance, as it opens the door to primeval intervention, which has been shown to improve outcomes for children with autism."

More information

The U.S. National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke has more on autism.

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