"By analyzing patterns in the brains electrical activity researchers say theyve been able to assess autism risk in children as young as  months of age. Researchers hooked up  babies aged  to  months to an EEG or electroencephalogram which records electrical activity in the brain. Fortysix of the infants had an older sibling with an autism spectrum disorder while the other  had no family history of autism. Children who have a sibling with autism are much more likely to develop autism themselves explained lead study author William Bosl a neuroinformatics researcher at Childrens Hospital Boston. Prior research has shown that about  percent of siblings of children with autism will also develop autism and another  to  percent will have some characteristics of the disorder such as repetitive behaviors or problems with social interaction language or communication but not the fullblown disorder. While the children watched people blowing bubbles researchers measured the babies brain waves and analyzed the results using computer algorithms. The algorithms can detect subtle patterns in the lines created by EEGs that the human eye might miss Bosl explained. When the babies were nine months old researchers could predict who was in the highrisk autism group  that is they had a sibling with autism  with nearly  percent accuracy. In this study we have taken the first step in showing that there is definitive information in the electrical signals measured by EEG to distinguish normal controls from infants at high risk for developing autism Bosl said. When broken out by gender researchers found other differences. For example at nine months they were able to predict which boys were in the highrisk group with near  percent accuracy. But accuracy for girls at that age was only  percent not statistically significant. At six months of age however they could predict the high risk girls with about  percent accuracy though they couldnt do the same for boys that young. It seems perhaps they are on a slightly different developmental trajectory Bosl said. The study is published online Feb.  in BMC Medicine. EEGs measure brain electrical activity through electrodes attached to the scalp. The technology has been around for awhile  developed in the late s it has been used for more than  years to detect seizures in epileptics. But its the newer artificial intelligence technology and sophisticated computer algorithms that enabled the researchers to look more deeply into what the EEGs show Bosl said. Artificial intelligence gives us the ability to find patterns we might not find with our own eyes Bosl said. One of the difficulties with a disorder like autism is that its very heterogenous. A very highfunctioning person with autism might not be so different from a socalled normal person who is quirky. Defining the differences may be somewhat subtle. EEGs are also relatively inexpensive painless and safe Bosl said. And unlike MRIs they require no sedation so testing could be put to widespread use he said. My hope is we would have a simple way of measuring brain activity in every child and see the patterns emerging that might track autism characteristics Bosl said. That would be tremendously useful. We know early intervention is extremely important. Right now for a lot of children that means  years old. What we dont know yet is if you can intervene at  or  months and how effective that could be. Dr. Joshua Ewen a neurologist and director of the clinical neurophysiology laboratory at the Kennedy Krieger Institute in Baltimore said the study is well done and looks promising but needs to be replicated. Also the study predicted who was at high risk of autism but its unknown if those babies actually went on to develop autism he noted. If it can eventually be shown that this technique can reliably identify which children will indeed develop autism then we will have a valuable tool for early detection Ewen said. Early detection continues to be of critical importance as it opens the door to early intervention which has been shown to improve outcomes for children with autism. More information The U.S. National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke http_autism.htm has more on autism. SOURCES William Bosl Ph.D. neuroinformatics researcher Childrens Hospital Boston Joshua Ewen M.D. neurologist and director clinical neurophysiology laboratory Kennedy Krieger Institute Baltimore Feb.   BMC Medicine."