In a high-tech MRI scan, the wiring that makes Temple Grandin’s brain unique shows up in vibrant colors.

Thinking in Pictures, as her 1996 book described.

Grandin, a well-known author who has autism, has four times the typical number of connections in a brain area that controls the visual system. That may explain why she goes through life

She also has far fewer brain connections than most people in an area that links what we hear with what we say – perhaps typical for people on the autism spectrum who often struggle to communicate.
In a new book, The Autistic Brain, out this week, Grandin explains what she’s learned in recent years about her brain and the brains of others with autism.

“I wanted to talk about the different kinds of minds,” she says.
She offers an in-depth description of the High Definition Fiber Tracking that allowed her to see where the connectivity of her brain differs from most people’s.

These insights into how her brain works weren’t surprises, she says – “they validated things a good teacher would pick up in the classroom.”
But if discovered in a small child, they might be very important for targeting therapy to that child’s specific needs, said Walter Schneider, the University of Pittsburgh psychologist who ran the scans of Grandin’s brain.
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