Is anxiety related to autism, and where is it in the brain?
Anxiety is common in people with autism – but is is different than other types of anxiety or similar? Is it part of the autism phenotype? When does it start and what triggers it? Two new studies which use a longitudinal design and examine the links between autism features, anxiety symptoms and brain development are summarized this week. It shows that the amygdala is important, that some features of anxiety are core to ASD and some are separate, and it is related to autism features like insistence on sameness. This has implications for how anxiety is diagnosed and treated in those with ASD. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35871413/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9116934/?report=printable