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Published online 5 December 2006 | Nature | doi:10.1038/news061204-4
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Fear centre is shrunken in severely autistic brains
A hyperactive amygdala may cause its own self-destruction.
The more severe the social dysfunction of an autistic patient, the smaller the part of their brain that governs fear-response, according to a new study. The results have scientists wondering whether some of the symptoms of severe autism are due to the brain becoming so overworked that it attacks its own cells.
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