BEGIN:VCALENDAR
PRODID:-//Columba Systems Ltd//NONSGML CPNG/SpringViewer/ICal Output/3.3-
 M3//EN
VERSION:2.0
CALSCALE:GREGORIAN
METHOD:PUBLISH
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTAMP:20150508T082826Z
DTSTART:20150601T150000Z
DTEND:20150601T160000Z
SUMMARY:Moving Towards Understanding and Improving Outcomes for Children 
 with Autism 
UID:{http://www.columbasystems.com/customers/uom/gpp/eventid/}iz-i9fcaa38
 -nm1xik
DESCRIPTION:'''Host:''' [http://www.autism.manchester.ac.uk/ autism@Manch
 ester]\n\n'''Speaker:''' \n\nStewart Mostofsky\, Kennedy Krieger Institu
 te\, Baltimore\, USA\n\nDr. Stewart Mostofsky is a research scientist an
 d director of the Centre for Neurodevelopmental and Imaging Research at 
 Kennedy Krieger Institute. He is also a professor of neurology at the Jo
 hns Hopkins University School of Medicine. He received his medical degre
 e in 1990 through the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute-Albany Medical Co
 llege six-year program\, where he won the Jack Spitalny Prize for except
 ional achievement in pediatrics. He went on to an internship and residen
 cies in pediatrics and pediatric neurology at the University of Minnesot
 a. \n\nDr. Mostofsky first came to Kennedy Krieger Institute in 1995 for
  a fellowship in the Department of Developmental Cognitive Neurology\, a
 nd stayed on as a pediatric neurologist\, with subspecialty training and
  experience in behavioral neurology as it applies to the study of childh
 ood developmental disorders. Dr. Mostofsky’s research with children with
  autism is focused on careful examination of the motor function\, as inc
 reased insight into the brain mechanisms underlying the disorder might b
 e gained from careful consideration of the motor signs associated with a
 utism.\n\n'''About the event:''' \n\nInternal action models refer to sen
 sory-motor programs that form the brain basis for a wide range of skille
 d behavior and for understanding others’ actions. Development of these a
 ction models\, particularly those reliant on visual cues from the extern
 al world\, depends on connectivity between distant brain regions. Studie
 s of children with autism reveal anomalous patterns of motor learning an
 d impaired execution of skilled motor gestures. These findings robustly 
 correlate with measures of social and communicative function\, suggestin
 g that anomalous action model formation may contribute to impaired devel
 opment of social and communicative\, as well as motor\, capacity in auti
 sm.  \n\nMotor signs can be measured with a high degree of precision and
  the neurologic basis of motor function is well mapped out so that devia
 tions observed in autism can readily be understood at the brain level.  
 This line of study can therefore lead to important advances in understan
 ding the neural basis of autism and\, more critically\, can be used to g
 uide effective therapies targeted at improving social\, communicative\, 
 and motor function.  Here we will present findings revealing: \n\n*That 
 children with autism show a distinctly anomalous pattern of motor learni
 ng\, with a bias towards reliance on proprioceptive\, rather than visual
 \, feedback\n*That this anomalous pattern of motor learning is associate
 d with the severity of motor skill deficits\, as well as social skill de
 ficits that define the core features of autism\, and \n*That children wi
 th autism show decreased intrinsic visual-motor connectivity in function
 al MRI that is associated with the core features of autism \n\nBuilding 
 on these findings\, we will discuss work in progress for using movement-
 based interventions to improve outcomes for children with ASD.\n\n'''Reg
 istration:''' \n\nTo register for this event\, please email [mailto:emma
 .gowen@manchester.ac.uk emma.gowen@manchester.ac.uk]
STATUS:TENTATIVE
TRANSP:TRANSPARENT
CLASS:PUBLIC
LOCATION:C5.1\, Ellen Wilkinson Building\, Manchester
END:VEVENT
END:VCALENDAR