Manuel Casanova

Manuel Casanova
Born Manuel Casanova
Nationality American
Fields Childhood Neurotherapeutics
Institutions University of South Carolina Greenville
Alma mater Johns Hopkins
Known for SmartState Chair in Childhood neurotherapeutics
Website
Official website

Manuel F. Casanova is the SmartState Endowed Chair in Childhood Neurotherapeutics and a professor of Biomedical Sciences at the University of South Carolina School of Medicine Greenville at Greenville Health System. He is a former Gottfried and Gisela Kolb Endowed Chair in Outpatient Psychiatry and a Professor of Anatomical Sciences and Neurobiology at the University of Louisville.[1]

Dr. Casanova has four daughters: Cristina, Sabrina, Belinda, and Melina. He has a personal blog titled "Cortical Chauvinism".[2]

Education and early career

Casanova earned his medical degree from the University of Puerto Rico. He then completed clinical and research fellowships at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, including three years in neuropathology, where he was in-charge of pediatric neuropathology, which was when his interest in developmental disorders of the brain arose. He subsequently helped establish two brain banks, the Johns Hopkins Brain Resource Center and the Brain Bank Unit of the Clinical Brains Disorders Branch at the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH).

Casanova spent several years as a deputy medical examiner for Washington, D.C., where he gained experience with the postmortem examination of sudden infant death syndrome and child abuse, which was when he began publishing extensively on postmortem techniques, including neuronal morphometry immunocytochemistry, neurochemistry, and autoradiography. He also worked as a consultant and was staff neuropathologist at Sinai Hospital in Maryland, the North Charles Hospital, and the D.C. General Hospital. He is also a former lieutenant commander in the US Public Health Service. After serving as a professor of psychiatry and neurology at the Medical College of Georgia, he subsequently joined the University of Louisville faculty.[1]

Research

Casanova's recent research projects have examined brain abnormalities in patients with language disturbances, including autism, dyslexia and Asperger syndrome. His interest has gradually come to focus on abnormalities of cortical neurocircuitry, in particular on the cell minicolumn, a vertical conglomerate of eighty to one hundred neurons that have in common a latency of response to stimulation.[3] Using computerized imaging analysis, he has established the anatomical validity of the cell minicolumn. Casanova has reported interhemispheric differences in the morphometry of minicolumns that could provide explanations for the speciation of hominids. Localized in Brodmann area 22—part of Wernicke’s language region—the morphometric difference may play a role both in the development of language and in related disorders.[2]

His neuromorphology research, conducted in collaboration with other researchers from around the globe, has found there are drastic differences in the brains of autistic individuals. The studies that he conducted show that minicolumns (or 'brain strands') of autism spectrum individuals have more cells, but they are narrower and more densely packed, which he says can limit the brain's ability to send messages.[4] Casanova claimed this helps explain symptoms since "there's not enough juice to actually power very long connections in the brain".[5]

Recognition

His expertise in the field of postmortem techniques was recognized by honorary appointments as a Scientific Expert for the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology and as a Professorial Lecturer for the Department of Forensic Science at George Washington University.[6]

Conflicts with Neurodiversity

Dr. Casanova has claimed that some members of the Neurodiversity movement compare his research to genocide. He has received disparaging phone calls and emails, and even death threats. Additionally, he communicates online about neurodiversity and shares research with Jonathan Mitchell, an autistic author and blogger.[7] Casanova also claims that Neurodiversity advocates base their views on anecdotal evidence, denying the existence of significant problems associated with Autism. He says that they are a minority of the spectrum speaking for the majority.[8] In a journal article, Casanova criticized neurodiversity advocates for ignoring the roles of Leo Kanner and Bernard Rimland in advocating for accommodations, claiming that this is because those individuals also wanted medical treatments for autism.[9]

Publications

References

  1. 1 2 Casanova, Manuel. "Clinical Professors". Clemson University. Retrieved 18 April 2016.
  2. 1 2 Casanova, Manuel. "Manuel F. Casanova, M.D.". Minicolumn. Casanova and Switala. Retrieved 6 January 2016.
  3. ↑ Denworth, Lydia (24 September 2015). "Brain Stimulation Holds Promise in Autism Treatment". Newsweek. Retrieved 8 January 2016.
  4. ↑ Casanova, M F.; Buxhoeveden, DP; Switala, AE; Roy, E (12 February 2002). "Minicolumnar pathology in autism.". Neurology. 58 (3): 428–32. doi:10.1212/wnl.58.3.428. PMID 11839843.
  5. ↑ Lyle, Lori. "UofL Neuroscientist So Close To Autism Breakthrough He's Helping Fund Research". WAVE3. Retrieved 18 April 2016.
  6. ↑ "Manuel Casanova". Autism Speaks. Retrieved 8 January 2016.
  7. ↑ Hayasaki, Erika. "The Debate Over an Autism Cure Turns Hostile". Newsweek. Retrieved 18 April 2016.
  8. ↑ Casanova, Manuel. "The Neurodiversity Movement: Lack of Trust". Cortical Chauvinism. Retrieved 18 April 2016.
  9. ↑ Casanova, Manuel; Casanova, Emily (2016). "Leo Kanner, the Anti-Psychiatry Movement and Neurodiversity.". Siberian Journal of Special Education. 1–2 (16-17): 6–9. Retrieved 18 April 2016.

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 11/14/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.