News Archive
Complications during pregnancy may contribute to autism risk
High blood pressure or abnormal bleeding during pregnancy, as well as complications such as cesarean delivery or preterm birth, may all increase the risk of autism, two new studies suggest.
Mutant flies reveal key gene interactions within autism deletion
The absence of several interacting genes underlies the developmental problems seen in people missing a segment of chromosome 16, a new study in fruit flies suggests.
Study revives serotonin as target for autism treatments
Boosting levels of the chemical messenger serotonin makes mice that model autism more social, according to a study published today in Nature.
Signs of anxiety in infancy may foreshadow autism
Fearfulness and shyness in babies and toddlers predict features of autism at age 7, according to a new study.
Blocking key enzyme eases memory problems, anxiety in autism mice
Blocking an enzyme called ERK prevents some unusual behaviors and brain structure in mice missing a segment of chromosome 16.
Reward-system differences may underlie multiple autism features
The brain’s system for sensing pleasure and reward shows unusual activation patterns in people with autism, according to an analysis of 13 imaging studies.
Conditions that accompany autism, explained
More than half of people on the spectrum have four or more other conditions. The types of co-occurring conditions and how they manifest varies from one autistic person to the next.
Gene editing via nanoparticles may treat autism syndromes
Scientists have for the first time successfully delivered the gene-editing tool CRISPR into mouse brains and altered their behavior.
Rat squeaks may reveal autism gene’s role in communication
Rats with a mutation in CACNA1C, a gene linked to autism, make fewer happy squeaks while playing than controls do, and ignore other rats’ requests to play, a new study suggests.
Autism mutation alters balance of gut bacteria in mice
Mice with a mutation in a top autism gene called SHANK3 have altered levels of certain gut bacteria, a new study shows.
Mutations in autism gene may trigger milder effects than does its loss
People with mutations in SHANK3 have intellectual disability and other features of Phelan-McDermid syndrome, the condition most closely associated with this gene.
Some autism traits may show up later in girls than in boys
Girls with autism traits have fewer problems with social communication than boys do early on, but their skills worsen by adolescence, a new study suggests.
Autism brains show widespread alterations in structure
The brains of people with autism show a variety of structural differences from those of controls, according to a large imaging study.
To get an autism diagnosis, girls need worse social skills than boys
Girls with an autism diagnosis have more severe impairments in social communication than boys with the diagnosis, according to a large population-based study.
Use of certain social strategies linked to anxiety in autism
Children with autism often have trouble understanding others’ thoughts, and some may compensate for this by creating scripts and using other learned strategies to navigate social si
Pages
