Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI)  We specialize in
using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to reveal the
neural underpinnings of autism. Our studies have been conducted
with the participation of adults and adolescents with autism, as
well as infants and toddlers at risk for the disorder. In this
way we can discover how the brain changes across
development.                                                   
    In addition, we have used fMRI to study brain functional
development in typically developing infants and toddlers.
Results from our studies of normal development are foundational
to our understanding of the mechanisms that go awry in autism.
fMRI with infants illuminates how autism first emerges  Autism
spectrum disorders (ASDs) impact one out of every 150 children
born today. It is a disorder that affects how the brain grows
and works, yet the functional brain characteristics of autism
during the time when symptoms first appear, namely 12-36 months,
is almost completely unknown