Scientists win two-year reprieve from controversial new clinical trial policy
The U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) has delayed by two years a controversial new rule that required some basic researchers to register and report their studies as clinical trials. The...
View ArticleWhole-genome study lifts veil on inheritance patterns in autism
An analysis of whole-genome sequences from nearly 500 families has implicated 16 new genes in autism1. In all of these genes, some mutations are passed from neurotypical parents to their autistic...
View ArticleStandard screen misses majority of toddlers with autism
The most widely used screening tool for autism misses a large proportion of toddlers who are later diagnosed with the condition, according to a study published today in Pediatrics1. The test, called...
View ArticleChildren with congenital heart defects have increased odds of autism
Children who are born with heart problems are 32 percent more likely to have autism than their typical peers are, according to a large study1. Unexpectedly, milder defects are strongly linked to...
View ArticleMolecular signature may lead to blood test for autism
Researchers have identified a distinctive pattern of gene expression in the white blood cells of young autistic boys1. The discovery has not yet been validated in children whose autism status is...
View ArticleAutism’s genetic drivers may differ by sex
Autism may stem from a different — and larger — set of genetic mutations in women than it does in men, according to a new study1. The findings support a growing body of evidence suggesting that women...
View ArticleEnlarged amygdala linked to severe behavioral problems in autistic girls
Autistic children who have behavioral problems tend to have an enlarged right amygdala, a brain region that helps process emotions and detect threats. And in young girls with autism, the region’s size...
View Article‘Social brain’ activity may not differ in some autistic people
People with autism may have patterns of brain activity similar to those in typical people when interpreting social interactions, according to the largest study of its kind1. They also perform as well...
View ArticleGene linked to schizophrenia tied to autism-like behaviors
Mice with mutations in a gene called DLG2 are anxious and asocial; they also sleep poorly and overgroom themselves, according to a new study1. These characteristics resemble those seen in some people...
View ArticleAutistic children’s emotional problems may persist into young adulthood
A study that followed 126 autistic people in England from their preteen years to age 23 found little improvement in their behavioral and emotional problems1. Children with autism are more likely than...
View ArticlePreschoolers with autism get few hours of evidence-based therapies
A study of more than 800 autistic preschoolers across the United States and Canada shows that six months after diagnosis, these children get, on average, less than a quarter of the therapy hours that...
View ArticleAutism tests gauge traits equally well in girls and boys
Three widely used tests for assessing autism measure trait severity equally well in girls and boys, according to the largest study addressing this question to date1. The tests — the Autism Diagnostic...
View ArticleMotor difficulties in autism, explained
Most autistic people — 87 percent, according to the latest estimate — have some sort of motor difficulty, ranging from an atypical gait to problems with handwriting1. These issues are distinct from the...
View ArticleMutations in the noncoding genome contribute to autism
Spontaneous mutations in ‘noncoding’ regions of the genome are linked to autism, according to a new study. The work provides strong support for the idea that autism’s genetic roots lie not only in...
View ArticleBrain’s sensory processor may prompt memory problems in autism
Silencing several autism- or schizophrenia-linked genes in the thalami of mice increases neuronal excitability there and leads to memory problems reminiscent of those seen in people with these...
View ArticleGlial cells star in autism-linked gene expression analysis
Many of the genes linked to autism are active in the brain’s glial cells, according to a new study of gene expression, and two are active predominantly in glia rather than neurons. The results hint...
View ArticleArtificial intelligence system categorizes interactions between mice
New software uses artificial intelligence to automatically identify and quantify certain types of mouse social behavior from videos of mice interacting in a cage — even animals with cables implanted to...
View ArticleRethinking the origins of neurons: Q&A with Tomasz Nowakowski
Autism is thought to arise during prenatal development, when the brain is spinning its web of excitatory and inhibitory neurons, the main signal-generating cell types in the cerebral cortex. Though...
View ArticlePortrait of a research field: astrocytes in autism
Long cast in supporting roles in the brain, astrocytes are now emerging as primary players in certain characteristics of autism and related conditions. The post Portrait of a research field: astrocytes...
View ArticleHow star cells’ secretions may stunt neurons: Q&A with Nicola Allen
Non-neuronal brain cells called astrocytes secrete proteins that seem to hamper the growth of neurons in people with autism-related syndromes. These proteins could be new drug targets, Allen says. The...
View Article
