NEUROBIOLOGY OF CHILDHOOD AUTISTIC SYNDRO MES

Childhood autism is characterized by social withdrawal, impairment in communication and bizarre responses to the environment. It has been fo r a long time considered that this syndrome and its difficulties in re lating to others can be imputed to conscious or inconscious errors of the mother. Epidemiological and neurobiological researches showing ass ociation of autistic syndromes with well known genetic and/or metaboli c diseases, as well as clinical works exhibiting very early symptoms s upport the hypothesis of a developmental disorder of the nervous syste m. Cartography and imagery cerebral examinations demonstrated difficul ties in the modulation of perceptive responses, in the stabilisation o f cross-modal associative responses and in the reactivity of the left hemisphere to auditive stimulations. Abnormalities in monoamines and e ndorphines metabolism were also observed. Recent studies comparing gro ups of autistic with groups of normal children showed some peculiariti es in a gene (Harvey-Ras) involved in the regulation of neurotransmiss ion and cells development. These preliminary results have no therapeut ical consequences. On the opposite, physiological data on cerebral fun ctioning can guide the <<exchange and development therapies>> educatio nal psychotherapies which contribute to the improvement of these child ren.