Autism News and Research

Latest Autism News and Research

Commonly used fungicides could cause gene expression changes in brain cells

Scientists at the UNC School of Medicine have found a class of commonly used fungicides that produce gene expression changes similar to those in people with autism and neurodegenerative conditions, including Alzheimer's disease and Huntington's disease.

31 Mar 2016

Remotely tracking patients' eye gaze could help identify children with ASD

A study to be published in the April 2016 issue of the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry reports that eye tracking can differentiate children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) from children without ASD but with other developmental problems (non-ASD).

31 Mar 2016

Understanding neuronal feedback could provide new insight into visual perception

Ever see something that isn't really there? Could your mind be playing tricks on you? The "tricks" might be your brain reacting to feedback between neurons in different parts of the visual system, according to a study published in the Journal of Neuroscience by Carnegie Mellon University Assistant Professor of Biological Sciences Sandra J. Kuhlman and colleagues.

31 Mar 2016

Lack of UBE3A gene causes Angelman syndrome

The gene UBE3A plays a critical role in early neurological development. If UBE3A is overexpressed - or if the enzymatic function of UBE3A protein is hyperactive - autism ensues. A lack of functional UBE3A causes Angelman syndrome (AS), a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by severe developmental delay, motor deficits, absence of speech, and, in most cases, epilepsy.

25 Mar 2016

Scientists unravel genetic basis of autism spectrum disorder

The types of gene mutations that contribute to autism are more diverse than previously thought, report researchers at University of California, San Diego School of Medicine in the March 24 online issue of The American Journal of Human Genetics. The findings, they say, represent a significant advance in efforts to unravel the genetic basis of autism spectrum disorder (ASD).

25 Mar 2016

Children with autism spectrum disorder need continued support

9 out of 10 preschool children with autism still have major difficulties within the autism field at school age, despite having received early intervention. A majority of the parents stated that the children do not receive sufficient support at school.

25 Mar 2016

Defective PTCHD1 gene in brain creates symptoms associated with autism and ADHD

Evidence is mounting that a gene called PTCHD1 helps the brain sort between important sights and sounds — and distractions. This gene is active in a brain region that attaches more attention to a conversation with your boss, for instance, than to an air conditioner buzzing in the background.

24 Mar 2016

Early diagnosis, effective treatments can benefit children with autism

April is Autism Awareness Month, an opportunity to promote autism awareness and acceptance for the tens of thousands who are facing an autism diagnosis. With one in 68 children living with autism in the U.S., the need for awareness and research is significant.

24 Mar 2016

FDA proposes to change regulation of ECT treatment

For decades, people with severe depression, bipolar disorder, and other major mental health conditions have gotten help from the treatment known as ECT, when nothing else helped them.

24 Mar 2016

Women with Alzheimer’s disease have poorer cognitive abilities than men

Women with Alzheimer’s have poorer cognitive abilities than men at the same stage of the disease, reveal academics from the University of Hertfordshire in a paper published in World Journal of Psychiatry today.

22 Mar 2016

Research sheds new light on genetic relationship between ASD and ASD-related traits in wider population

New light has been shed on the genetic relationship between autistic spectrum disorders (ASD) and ASD-related traits in the wider population, by a team of international researchers including academics from the University of Bristol, the Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT, and Massachusetts General Hospital.

22 Mar 2016

UT Southwestern researchers identify new role for protein linked to neurological disorders and cancers

Researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have identified a second role for a class of RNA-binding proteins, revealing new insights about neurological diseases and conditions associated with this protein such as autism, epilepsy, and certain types of cancer.

18 Mar 2016

UC San Diego researchers use CRISPR-Cas9 system to target RNA in living cells for first time ever

The genetic code stored in DNA determines everything from the color of our eyes to our susceptibility to disease. This has motivated scientists to sequence the human genome and develop ways to alter the genetic code, but many diseases are linked to a different fundamental molecule: RNA.

18 Mar 2016

UW-Madison neuroscientist discover genetic machinery that causes maturation in young nerve cells

In one of the first studies to 'read' the genetic activity inside individual brain cells, University of Wisconsin-Madison neuroscientist Xinyu Zhao has identified the genetic machinery that causes maturation in a young nerve cell. The cells under study came from the hippocampus, a memory-related structure that is the only place in a mammal's brain where new neurons can form throughout life.

18 Mar 2016

Anti-anxiety drug reduces autistic features in Jacobsen syndrome mice

About half of children born with Jacobsen syndrome, a rare inherited disease, experience social and behavioral issues consistent with autism spectrum disorders. Researchers at University of California, San Diego School of Medicine and collaborators developed a mouse model of the disease that also exhibits autism-like social behaviors and used it to unravel the molecular mechanism that connects the genetic defects inherited in Jacobsen syndrome to effects on brain function.

16 Mar 2016

Humanoid robot can be used as a tool in therapy for improvement of children with autism

Children with autism have special difficulty in expressing emotions, usually have no social skills and face major problems when communicating. In order to help children with this problem learn to recognize facial expressions in themselves and in others, a group of researchers at the Tec de Monterrey, in Mexico, created a robot using artificial intelligence.

15 Mar 2016

Maternal bacterial infections affect fetal brain anatomy and cognitive functioning after birth

St. Jude Children's Research Hospital scientists have discovered how pieces of bacterial cell wall cross the placenta and enter developing neurons, altering fetal brain anatomy and cognitive functioning after birth. The study appears today in the scientific journal Cell Host & Microbe.

10 Mar 2016

Immune cells play vital role in rewiring connections between nerve cells

A new study out today in the journal Nature Communications shows that cells normally associated with protecting the brain from infection and injury also play an important role in rewiring the connections between nerve cells.

8 Mar 2016

Researchers find key brain receptor linked to depression, drug addiction and Alzheimer's disease

Researchers at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus have found that a key receptor in the brain, once thought to only strengthen synapses, can also weaken them, offering new insights into the mechanisms driving depression, drug addiction and even Alzheimer's disease.

3 Mar 2016

Stemina developing new screening method to diagnose autism

A University of Wisconsin-Madison spinoff is screening blood samples in an effort to develop a biologically based method to diagnose autism.

2 Mar 2016

Autism News and Research

Latest Autism News and Research

Commonly used fungicides could cause gene expression changes in brain cells

Remotely tracking patients' eye gaze could help identify children with ASD

Understanding neuronal feedback could provide new insight into visual perception

Lack of UBE3A gene causes Angelman syndrome

Scientists unravel genetic basis of autism spectrum disorder

Children with autism spectrum disorder need continued support

Defective PTCHD1 gene in brain creates symptoms associated with autism and ADHD

Early diagnosis, effective treatments can benefit children with autism

FDA proposes to change regulation of ECT treatment

Women with Alzheimer’s disease have poorer cognitive abilities than men

Research sheds new light on genetic relationship between ASD and ASD-related traits in wider population

UT Southwestern researchers identify new role for protein linked to neurological disorders and cancers

UC San Diego researchers use CRISPR-Cas9 system to target RNA in living cells for first time ever

UW-Madison neuroscientist discover genetic machinery that causes maturation in young nerve cells

Anti-anxiety drug reduces autistic features in Jacobsen syndrome mice

Humanoid robot can be used as a tool in therapy for improvement of children with autism

Maternal bacterial infections affect fetal brain anatomy and cognitive functioning after birth

Immune cells play vital role in rewiring connections between nerve cells

Researchers find key brain receptor linked to depression, drug addiction and Alzheimer's disease

Stemina developing new screening method to diagnose autism

This International Women’s Day, Meet the Scientist Changing Women’s Healthcare

Microphysiological systems in drug discovery

Considerations for taking ASO discovery programs into animal models

Autism News and Research

Latest Autism News and Research

This International Women’s Day, Meet the Scientist Changing Women’s Healthcare

Microphysiological systems in drug discovery

Considerations for taking ASO discovery programs into animal models

Newsletters you may be interested in