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Autistic brain differences noted

PITTSBURGH, Nov. 30 (UPI) -- U.S. researchers have discovered people with autism remember letters of the alphabet in a part of the brain that ordinarily processes shapes.

The finding supports a theory by scientists that autism results from a failure of the various parts of the brain to work together. In autism, the theory holds, these distinct brain areas tend to work independently of each other. The theory accounts for observations that while many people with autism excel at tasks involving details, they have difficulty with more complex information.

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The study was conducted by researchers in the Collaborative Program of Excellence in Autism at the University of Pittsburgh and Carnegie Mellon University.

Using magnetic resonance imaging, researchers measured the brain patterns of 14 autistic individuals versus a control group in simple memory tasks. The MRI scans revealed different brain activation patterns between the two groups.

The study was published Tuesday in the online journal Neuroimage.

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