Autism and the Brain: part two

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(Cross posted at Say Anything: Reader Blogs.)

Here's part two. (See part one and part three.)
Other Brain Structures and Functions

Cerebellum
Controls Fine Movement Coordination
Balance and Equilibrium
Muscle Tone
The cerebellum is located just above the brainstem, beneath the occipital lobes at the base of the skull.

Corpus Callosum
Connects the Left and Right Hemispheres
The corpus callosum is a thick band of fibers located between the cerebral hemispheres.

Brain stem
Alertness, Arousal, Breathing, Blood Pressure, Contains Most of the Crainal Nerves, Digestion, Heart Rate, Other Autonomic Functions, Relays Information Between the Peripheral Nerves and Spinal Cord to the Upper Parts of the Brain. It is located at the juncture of the cerebrum and the spinal column. It consists of the midbrain, medulla oblongata, and the pons.

Basal ganglia
Controls Cognition
Movement Coordination
Voluntary Movement
The basal ganglia is located deep within the cerebral hemispheres in the telencephalon region of the brain. It consists of the corpus stratium, subthalamic nucleus and the substantia nigra.



Sources and Resources

(Inclusion in this list does not indicate endorsement.)


Brain
A Guide to Brain Anatomy, Function and Symptoms
Guide to Brain Anatomy, Function and Symptoms: The Cerebellum And The Brain Stem
Anatomy of the Brain
Brain Function: Language
Brain Functions and Map
Broca/Wernicke image
Broca's Area, Wernicke's Area, And Other Language Processing Areas In The Brain (1)
Broca's Area, Wernicke's Area, And Other Language Processing Areas In The Brain (2)
Functional Divisions of the Cerebral Cortex
Glossary of Brain Regions
Glossary of Neurology Terms
Hypothalamus
Limbic System
What is the Cerebellum?

Autism
Autism and the Cerebellum: A Neurophysiological Basis for Intervention
Autism Fact Sheet (NINDS)
Autism Fact Sheet (Child Development Institute)
Autism For Kids
Autism Spectrum Disorders (Pervasive Developmental Disorders) (NIMH)
Autistic Brain Has Difficulty Coordinating
"A growing number of scientists believe autism may be caused by a lack of coordination in the brain.
'Some people think that autism is a disruption of social function,' says Marcel Just of Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh. 'But I think it's much more widespread. It's a disruption of many kinds of behaviors that require good cortical coordination.'"
Clue to autism revealed
"Researchers at the UC Davis MIND Institute have found that the areas of the brain responsible for emotion and memory are abnormally large in boys with autism."
Current Research on Autism (Child Development Institute)

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