BEGIN:VCALENDAR
VERSION:2.0
PRODID:-//Talks.cam//talks.cam.ac.uk//
X-WR-CALNAME:Talks.cam
BEGIN:VEVENT
SUMMARY:From precision medicine for autism to precision support for neurod
 ivergent people: Why we need to consider dynamic interactions between brai
 n\, body and the social environment to better understand each other. - Eva
  Loth\, King's College London
DTSTART:20240320T113000Z
DTEND:20240320T123000Z
UID:TALK213385@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Simon Braschi
DESCRIPTION:Over the past decade\, two approaches have substantially influ
 enced the direction of autism research: precision medicine in psychiatry a
 nd the neurodiversity paradigm.\nPrecision medicine aims to improve early 
 detection\, diagnosis and prognosis\, as well as develop mechanism-based t
 herapies tailored to individual needs/ characteristics using biomarkers.  
 EU-AIMS and AIMS-2-TRIALS are two linked European consortia that have been
  at the forefront of this global effort.\nIn this talk\, I will share some
  reflections on progress and challenges. Significant advancements include 
 larger\, comprehensively characterised cohorts from infancy to adulthood\,
  new methods to make predictions about individuals and identify subgroups 
 and increased methodological rigour.  However\, in our studies\, we did no
 t identify single modality markers that have sufficient accuracy for any c
 linical application.   This may be due to both methodological factors\, in
 cluding granularity and reliability of measures\, and conceptual factors\,
  such as the predominant reductionist approach\, which seeks to parse comp
 lex issues into simpler\, more tractable units. By studying particular pro
 cesses in isolation (e.g.\, social or sensory processes) we often neglect 
 their interactions\, while the focus on individual-level markers has led u
 s to divorce the (autistic) person from their social environment.  \n \nIn
  parallel\, the neurodiversity paradigm has highlighted the need to shift 
 away from deficit models to understanding diversity in perception\, cognit
 ion and experiences. It emphasised the role of social and contextual facto
 rs in strengths and disabilities and advocated for active involvement of a
 utistic people as research collaborators in defining priorities and conduc
 t of research.\n \nDrawing upon insights from system biology\, development
 al psychology and social sciences I outline an integrative approach. It ai
 ms to understand the dynamic interaction between biological (brain\, body)
  and social mechanisms (stress\, stigma\, protective factors) to gain a fu
 ller understanding of strengths and difficulties of neurodivergent people 
 in different conditions and contexts.  \n
LOCATION:https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81268825017?pwd=dndNSE9selNDTktIUGNNejZ
 KZDFVUT09 
END:VEVENT
END:VCALENDAR