Unfortunately, there are only 100 MEG machines in the world and two in the U.S. And in a time of global economic slowdown, MEG is an expensive technology, with a price tag of $2 million for the machine alone.
There have been previous reports of MEG in autism, but the research was quite speculative and related autism to its overlap with epilepsy phenotypes, he said.
Future studies may also investigate differences in brain activity between the alpha, beta, and gamma power bands—a phenomenon that has recently been observed in patients with Parkinson's. In the current study, the only significant difference between bands was abnormal patterns of predominantly lower-intensity gamma oscillation in the superior temporal gyrus of children with autism, Dr. Roberts said.
The study was sponsored by the National Institutes of Health and the Nancy Lurie Marks Family Foundation. The investigators reported no conflicts of interest.
To watch a video interview of Dr. Roberts, go to: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yoBQ3G3WhiA
Children with autism had pronounced response delays in the midfrequency ranges that are key to human speech. RADIOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF NORTH AMERICA