Aug 20, 2014 10:56 AM EDT By J Baulkman, UniversityHerald Reporter

People with autism are more likely to be sexually abused, and  "to learn about sex from television than from a teacher," according to a recent study Medical Daily reported.

Canadian researchers found that this group is at a higher risk of sexual victimization than adults without, due to lack of sex education, but with improved interventions that focus on sexual knowledge and skill building, the risk could be reduced.

"Our brains have an emotional-regulation network that exists to govern emotions and influence decision-making," Sam Dewitt, lead author of the study, said in a statement. "Antisocial or risk-seeking behavior may be associated with an imbalance in this network."

For the study, researchers looked at 36 adolescents between the ages of 12 and 17 years old. Eighteen risk-taking teens were age- and sex-matched to a group of 18 non-risk-taking teens. Participants were screened for risk-taking behaviors, such as drug and alcohol use, sexual promiscuity, and physical violence and underwent functional MRI scans to examine communication between brain regions associated with the emotional-regulation network. Interestingly, the risk-taking group showed significantly lower income compared to the non-risk taking group.

The research team found that risk-taking teens exhibit hyperconnectivity between the amygdala, a center responsible for emotional reactivity, and specific areas of the prefrontal cortex associated with emotion regulation and critical thinking skills. They also found increased activity between areas of the prefrontal cortex and the nucleus accumbens, a center for reward sensitivity that is often implicated in addiction research.

"Our findings are crucial in that they help identify potential brain biomarkers that, when taken into context with behavioral differences, may help identify which adolescents are at risk for dangerous and pathological behaviors in the future," Dewitt said.

The findings were recently published in the journal Psychiatry Research: Neuroimaging.

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