According to American experts, whilst media coverage may indicate that researchers are concentrated on how environmental factors - especially childhood vaccines - contribute to autism, brain and behavior research are the main focus of autism studies.
The results of the research indicate that the media is not reporting on the full extent of study into autism, claim the group of specialists from the Stanford University School of Medicine.
Research not reflected
Their research revealed that 41 per cent of study funding and published scientific papers on autism featured brain and behavior research. Nevertheless, these kinds of initiatives were mentioned in only 11 per cent of newspaper articles in Canada, the United Kingdom and the United States.
On the contrary, 48 per cent of newspaper reports and 13% per cent of published studies concentrated on prospective environmental causes of autism, particularly the childhood MMR vaccine for measles, mumps and rubella. The MMR vaccine had been associated with autism in a now widely refuted research.
"What is extremely fascinating is that media very often reported being very skeptical of the MMR evidence, as was scientific literature," research senior author Judy Ills, an associate professor of paediatrics, said in a prepared statement.
Not the whole picture
Whilst most media announces accurately reflected scientific thinking, they did not cover the full scope of study concerning autism, including the genetics, treatment and epidemiology, Ills explained.
The research is published in the February issue of Nature Reviews Neuroscience.
The results emphasize the necessity for the investigators to talk with the public about their work, Ills stated.
