Myriad contributions: Two new papers describe secondary influences on the autism-like traits that arise from CHD8 gene variants in mice. In the first study, comparing mice with heterozygous versus homozygous CHD8 variants revealed a gene dosage effect on behavior, brain structure and neural activity. The investigators also saw less sex specificity in the homozygous mice. […]
research roundup Deletion of the autism-linked gene CHD8 in progenitor cells destined to be excitatory neurons in the cerebellum causes motor problems and behavioral changes in mice. Journal of Genetics and Genomics Childhood infections may contribute to diagnoses of autism or intellectual disability, according to a study of a Swedish register-based cohort of about half […]
