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Article for: The Davis Enterprise
Date: April 16, 2004
Author: Tom Wickersham
Contact: Tom Wickersham

BRAINS FUNCTION DIFFERENTLY, SAYS AUTISM SCIENTIST

The UC Davis M.I.N.D. Institute was launched in 1998 as an interdisciplinary organization designed primarily to study autism. One of the institute's researchers will present recent findings at a free talk Tuesday.

Assistant professor of psychology at UC Davis, Susan Rivera uses neuroimaging to take "snapshots" of the brain in action.

"There now exists a considerable body of research about brain abnormalities in persons with autism in comparison to unaffected individuals," Rivera said.

On Tuesday, Rivera will be speaking at 7:30 p.m. at the Davis Branch Library as part of Explorit Science Center's Cutting Edge of Science Lecture Series. Her lecture, "Brain Differences in Children with Autism: What We Are Learning from Neuroimaging," will provide an overview of autism and highlight the many important discoveries that the brain imaging research has uncovered.

Autism, which typically appears during the first three years of life, is a developmental disability that impacts the normal development of the brain in the areas of social interaction and communications skills. Recent reports have indicated that the number of children diagnosed with autism is on the rise.

"My research is basic research into the way that the autistic brain functions differently from the typically developing brain," Rivera said.

To investigate these differences, Rivera uses functional magnetic resonance imaging. Subjects, lying down, are rolled into the machine to take specific images of the brain. "This is a method whereby we acquire detailed images of localized changes in brain blood flow," she noted.

Her studies have shown that not only are children with autism using their brains differently, but brain sizes and shapes are different.

Author of several publications and articles and a member of the UC Davis staff since 2001, Rivera is the recipient of numerous awards and honors, including a UCD faculty research grant in 2004.

As one of Explorit's goals is to encourage young people to pursue careers in science, Explorit is delighted to have a scientist who is passionate about her work speak to the public. Rivera was inspired during her years as an undergraduate to explore science.

"I saw how rewarding it could be to spend your life learning and exploring topics which you find interesting," she explained.

Explorit's Cutting Edge of Science Lectures are sponsored by Novozymes Biotech and are hosted by the Davis Branch Library.

Founded in 1982, Explorit Science Center engages children and adults throughout the greater Sacramento area with a variety of hands-on science programs. Programs travel to school and community sites in the region and are offered at the family-friendly center in Davis.

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Explorit Science Center is at 3141 5th Street in East Davis. The current exhibition "Networks in Nature: The Original World Wide Web" runs through June 6. Public hours are Saturday and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and Tuesday through Friday from 2 to 4:30 p.m. For more information, visit www.explorit.org or call Explorit at (530) 756-0191.