9 years ago
1
Can autism be measured by a sniff?
Imagine the way you might smell a rose. You'd take a nice big sniff to breathe in the sweet but subtle floral scent. Upon walking into a public restroom, you'd likely do just the opposite -- abruptly limiting the flow of air through your nose. Now, researchers have found that people with autism spectrum disorder don't make this natural adjustment like other people do.
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http://www.sciencedaily.com
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As the article mentions, this has potential to be one piece in a diagnostic battery, and it requires further testing with disorders that show some overlap with autism. It's certainly not something we should be using for diagnosis by itself, especially because autism is likely a collection of "autisms" and this pattern is probably not true in all cases. Still, interesting findings!