University of Colo. Gets $358 Million Endow for Autism-Related Research
[By Dave Curtin and Tom McGhee in the Denver Post.]
The University of Colorado today will announce what it says is the
largest gift ever to a public university, with the money to fund new
technology that will help people with special needs and mental retardation
to learn and live better lives.
The money will aid people with disabilities such as Down syndrome and
autism.
William T. Coleman III, chairman and founder of electronic-commerce
software provider BEA Systems, based in San Jose, Calif., and his wife,
Claudia, have been working closely with CU on the project for months,
according to the Coleman project Web site.
"This is the largest gift to an American public university," CU
spokesman Bob Nero said.
CU wouldn't disclose the amount of the gift on Monday, and the
Colemans couldn't be reached. The largest previous gift to a public
university is an estimated $240 million bequest in stocks, land and assets
to the University of California at San Francisco, but the full amount has
yet to be received.
The next-largest gift to a public school is $125 million each to
Louisiana State University and the Universities of Nebraska and Utah,
according to the Chronicle of Higher Education.
CU's endowment is $358 million. The university's annual budget is $1.2
billion.
The Colemans have a niece with Down syndrome and understand the
benefits and promise that new technology can offer, according to a CU Web
site detailing university planning for the project. They've been meeting
with CU researchers since at least 1999 and are reportedly impressed with
the school's advances in cognitive science. Technology available today
includes a hand-held computer memory aid with "vobreakfast" or "pack a
lunch," voice-activated computers and computer-assisted communication and
learning tools.
But much of the technology has severe limitations, and new technology
is possible for people with disabilities such as cerebral palsy, Tourette's
syndrome, autism, Down syndrome, obsessive-compulsive disorder,
attention-deficit disorder and others, CU researchers say.
The gift will fund a variety of CU research centers including the
Center for Lifelong Learning and Design, the Institute of Cognitive Science,
the computer science department and the college of engineering.
Coleman's BEA Systems has offices in Denver and Boulder. Coleman is
considered a major player in the New Economy. He founded Sun Microsystems
and his BEA shares are worth $650 million.
Coleman graduated from the U.S. Air Force Academy with a computer
science degree and began his military career as chief of satellite
operations in the office of the secretary of the Air Force. He earned a
master's degree in computer science and computer engineering from Stanford
University. His father, William T. Coleman Jr., was secretary of
transportation in the Ford Administration. Copyright 2001 The Denver Post.
* * *
Temporal Lobe Dysfunction in Childhood Autism: A PET Study
1: Am J Psychiatry 2000 Dec;157(12):1988-93 Zilbovicius M, Boddaert N, Belin
P, Poline JB, Remy P, Mangin JF, Thivard L, Barthelemy C, Samson Y
OBJECTIVE: The nature of the underlying brain dysfunction of childhood
autism, a life-long severe developmental disorder, is not well understood.
Although researchers using functional brain imaging have attempted to
contribute to this debate, previous studies have failed to report consistent
localized neocortical brain dysfunction. The authors reasoned that early
methods may have been insensitive to such dysfunction, which may now be
detectable with improved technology.
METHOD: To test this hypothesis, regional cerebral blood flow was
measured with positron emission tomography (PET) in 21 children with primary
autism and in 10 nonautistic children with idiopathic mental retardation.
Autistic and comparison groups were similar in average age and developmental
quotients. The authors first searched for focal brain dysfunction in the
autistic group by using a voxel-based whole brain analysis and then assessed
the sensitivity of the method to detect the abnormality in individual
children. An extension study was then performed in an additional group of 12
autistic children.
RESULTS: The first autistic group had a highly significant
hypoperfusion in both temporal lobes centered in associative auditory and
adjacent multimodal cortex, which was detected in 76% of autistic children.
Virtually identical results were found in the second autistic group in the
extension study.
CONCLUSIONS: PET and voxel-based image analysis revealed a localized
dysfunction of the temporal lobes in school-aged children with idiopathic
autism. Further studies will clarify the relationships between these
temporal abnormalities and the perceptive, cognitive, and emotional
developmental abnormalities characteristic of this disorder.
PMID: 11097965, UI: 20551009
* * *
Limbic Circuitry in Patients with Autism Spectrum Disorders Studied
Limbic circuitry in patients with autism spectrum disorders studied with
positron emission tomography and magnetic resonance imaging.
1: Am J Psychiatry 2000 Dec;157(12):1994-2001 Haznedar MM, Buchsbaum MS, Wei
TC, Hof PR, Cartwright C, Bienstock CA, Hollander E
OBJECTIVE: Cytoarchitectonic changes in the anterior cingulate cortex,
hippocampus, subiculum, entorhinal cortex, amygdala, mammillary bodies, and
septum were reported in a postmortem study of autism. Previously, the
authors found smaller cingulate volume and decreased metabolism of the
cingulate in seven autistic patients. In this study, they measured the
volume and glucose metabolism of the amygdala, hippocampus, and cingulate
gyrus in an expanded group of 17 patients with autism spectrum disorders
(autism [N=10] or Asperger's disorder [N=7]) and 17 age- and sex-matched
healthy volunteers.
METHOD: Subjects performed a serial verbal learning test during
(18)F-deoxyglucose uptake. The amygdala, hippocampus, and cingulate gyrus
were outlined on magnetic resonance imaging scans, volumes of the structures
were applied to matching coregistered positron emission tomography scans,
and three-dimensional significance probability mapping was performed.
RESULTS: Significant metabolic reductions in both the anterior and
posterior cingulate gyri were visualized in the patients with autism
spectrum disorders. Both Asperger's and autism patients had relative glucose
hypometabolism in the anterior and posterior cingulate as confirmed by
analysis of variance; regional differences were also found with
three-dimensional significance probability mapping. No group differences
were found in either the metabolism or the volume of the amygdala or the
hippocampus. However, patients with autism spectrum disorders showed reduced
volume of the right anterior cingulate gyrus, specifically in Brodmann's
area 24'.
CONCLUSIONS: Compared with age- and sex-matched healthy volunteers,
patients with autism spectrum disorders showed significantly decreased
metabolism in both the anterior and posterior cingulate gyri.
PMID: 11097966, UI: 20551010
Author: Dave Curtin and Tom McGhee
Source: Curtin and McGhee in the Denver Post
