WHAT DETAILED PICTURES OF THE BRAIN REVEAL ABOUT WHERE AUTISM IS AND HOW TO TREAT IT

UCLA's Bookheimer to Highlight Current MRI Research on Mirror Neurons

April 5, 2007

(SACRAMENTO, Calif.) — The UC Davis M.I.N.D. Institute will host lectures by Susan Bookheimer, professor of psychiatry and psychology at UCLA, on Wednesday, April 11, at the UC Davis M.I.N.D. Institute, 2825 50th St., Sacramento.

Bookheimer will speak twice. During a 4 p.m. academic presentation, she will discuss a series of functional neuroimaging studies from her laboratory that point to dysfunction in the mirror neuron system — believed to be important to imitation and language acquisition — as the basis for several social communication deficits in autism. At a 6 p.m. community-interest lecture, she will review recent findings in brain structure and function in autism and suggest ways that brain imaging can help guide future studies of intervention in autism. Both presentations are free and open to the public; no reservations are needed.

Bookheimer is a clinical neuropsychologist whose work spans both basic research and clinical practice. She has been active in pediatric imaging since the inception of functional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in the early 1990s, and she has focused on imaging related to developmental disorders for over ten years. Bookheimer has worked in the UCLA Center for Autism on various brain imaging projects, including as principal investigator of the UCLA Collaborative Programs of Excellence in Autism imaging project — “Functional MRI of Social Communication in Autism.” In addition, she is principal investigator of the imaging core for the UCLA Autism Center's grant on attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and for a new Autism Centers of Excellence program. Bookheimer serves on the Scientific Advisory Board for the HELP Group, which runs the largest school for children with autism in the country; the NIMH Council Work Group on MRI Research Practices; and the NIH Working Group on Pediatric Imaging.

Bookheimer is the seventh of nine distinguished lecturers in the M.I.N.D. Institute's 2006-07 series. Upcoming speakers are Leonard Abbeduto, University of Wisconsin (May 9, visit co-sponsored by the UC Davis School of Education); and Tony Charman, University College London (June 13).

For more information about this and future lectures, visit the UC Davis M.I.N.D. Institute Web site or call (916) 703-0280. Many previous distinguished lectures are available for viewing on the M.I.N.D. Institute Web site. Visit www.mindinstitute.org, then click on “M.I.N.D. videos.”

The UC Davis M.I.N.D. (Medical Investigation of Neurodevelopmental Disorders) Institute is a unique collaborative center for research into the causes and treatments of neurodevelopmental disorders, including autism, fragile X syndrome, Tourette syndrome and learning disabilities.