“Brain cells in autistic children have too many branches.”
In normal children, during the first six years, brain cells branch out extensively in preparation for learning various skills. These branches of brain cells require a lot of energy. The brain has 86 billion brain cells (neurons). This is why children eat and sleep a lot.
Eating foods or snacks that are harmful to the brain (sweets, fast food, ice cream, fried foods), having relatives who smoke, or staying up late can greatly slow development.
During this period, if you let children be involved in certain activities, they will absorb knowledge very quickly. For example, playing the piano, playing the guitar, drawing, learning languages, etc. This is why geniuses often have a history of being involved in something since before the age of 6. Because the brain is like a sponge, ready to absorb everything, both good and bad.
Therefore, in the first six years of a child’s life (especially 0-3 years old), if they are only allowed to watch TV or YouTube without being trained to talk and play with other people, the child will have problems with communication and speaking. And if left untreated for a long time, it will become increasingly difficult to cure.
As children grow older, these branches become more than necessary. The brain will start the “Pruning” process to cut off unused branches. Because these branches consume too much energy. Brain cells in the frequently used skill areas will remain, grow larger, and become stronger. Skills that are not used will gradually disappear. This principle is called “Use it or lose it” to make the brain as energy-efficient and cost-effective as possible. This is called brain efficiency.
In autistic children
Left-normal children / Right autistic children have too many branches.
The image shows small dots along the branches of brain cells. These dots are the connections between other brain cells. They are called synapses. When viewed with the naked eye, the image on the right, which is of an autistic child, has more dots than the image on the left, which is of a normal child.
In the brains of autistic children, the pruning process is less than in normal children. This causes nearby brain cells to communicate more than necessary (short range overconnectivity), and less over long distances (long range connectivity).
- Short-range overconnectivity in autism: Causes repetitive behaviors, such as hand flapping or staring at objects. Makes it difficult for children to control their behavior.
- Long-range connectivity in autism: Important for intelligence and learning. Reduced in autism, leading to slower learning.
nTMS:
- Stimulates the brain to improve long-range connectivity.
- Can help children with autism learn faster.
- Improves learning speed by 200-5,000%.
