Dr. Jeffrey Lewine Epileptiform Activity in the Autistic Brain: Cause, Consequence, or Comorbidity

The observation that almost 30% of children with autism develop clinical seizures by the time that they reach adolescence is one of the fundamental observations in support of the biological basis of autism. Yet, the relationships between clinical seizures, "sub-clinical" epileptiform activity, and autism are poorly understood. At present it is uncertain if epileptiform activity is simply co-morbid with autism, a consequence of the underlying neurobiological abnormalities of autism, or a possible cause of at least some specific features of autism. In this presentation I will explore the hypothesis that, in many cases, the autistic brain is hyper-excitable and prone to epileptiform discharges because of malfunctions in inhibitory GABA systems and/or excitatory glutamine systems. Through normal mechanisms of cortical plasticity and learning, these discharges become self-reinforcing and lead to epileptogenic neural circuits that are no longer able to support normal function and which, through axonal connections, disrupt normal processing in other networks. In some cases, the critically disruptive epileptiform activity may be triggered by other factors including abnormal signaling pathways, abnormal immunological responses, or environmental toxins....

Jeffrey Lewine, PhD was recently appointed as a professor of translational neuroscience at the MIND Research Network in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He is also the chief executive and scientific officer of the Center for Innovative Neuroscientific Technologies and Therapies, Inc., a not-for-profit organization devoted to the scientific evaluation of novel diagnostic and treatment approaches to neurological, psychiatric, and developmental disabilities. Prior to accepting these positions, he was the executive director of the Alexian Brothers Center for Brain Research and the Illinois Magnetoencephalography Center in Chicago. Dr. Lewine received his doctorate in neuroscience in 1988 from the University of Rochester. Following completion of his graduate training, he was named a Director's Fellow at Los Alamos National Laboratory where he worked on the development of advanced brain imaging technologies. Dr. Lewine has previously directed functional brain imaging programs in New Mexico, Utah, Kansas, and Illinois. He is a member of the College of Scientific Reviewers for the National Institutes of Health and a member of the executive boards for the American Clinical Magnetoencephalography Society and the International Society for the Advancement of Clinical MEG. Dr. Lewine is the coauthor of a textbook on functional brain imaging and he has authored more than 100 articles and book chapters. He has done research on a wide range of clinical conditions including autism, ADHD, depression, dyslexia, epilepsy, schizophrenia, post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury. His research on the relationship between epileptiform activity and autism has been funded, in part, by NARSAD, Cure Autism Now, the March of Dimes, the National Science Foundation, and the National Institutes of Health.

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