Starting over: A child who fled Ukraine with her family attends school in Romania. The war in Ukraine has displaced millions of children, including those with autism, who now need services in unfamiliar countries. Two months ago, a two-story peach-colored building with a playground housed a kindergarten for 30 autistic children in Kyiv, Ukraine. But […]
Early overgrowth: In their first few weeks of development, organoids with two intact copies of CHD8 (top) developed excitatory neurons more slowly than organoids missing a copy of the gene (bottom). Editor’s Note This article was originally published 11 January 2021, based on preliminary findings presented at the Society for Neuroscience annual meeting. The results […]
Anna Penn associate professorColumbia University A decade ago, Anna Penn received a call from a Scientific American reporter who wanted to know what to call the area of research that probes connections between the placenta and disorders of the brain. “Neuroplacentology,” Penn said, providing a word of her own invention. it has since become the […]
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 […]
Illustration by Laurenne Boglio Welcome to the first monthly edition of Null and Noteworthy. We’ve doubled the newsletter’s frequency to deliver more notable null results and replications direct to your inbox. Thanks, as always, for your feedback, and please continue to send your thoughts, ideas, interesting studies and cat photos to laura@spectrumnews.org. Let’s dive in. […]
Many autistic people with a serious or life-threatening condition do not seek medical care, according to a new study. The most common health-care barriers include difficulties in communicating with physicians or making appointments by telephone. “For me, as a physician, to realize that patients are sitting at home with medically serious conditions, unable to access […]
Cell save: Deleting one copy of TSC1 in only Purkinje cells (red) reduces activity in those cells and alters social behavior in mice; a brief treatment with rapamycin seems to block these effects.Courtesy of Peter Tsai Briefly suppressing an overactive signaling pathway in juvenile mice that have an autism-linked mutation blocks them from developing some […]
Ben Rein Post doctoral researcherStanford University neuroscientist Ben Rein never intended to get into science communication. But simple frustration drove him to it after a shopping trip in early April of 2020, he says. Rein saw so many people wearing face masks improperly that he decided to use the video-sharing app TikTok to record a […]
Social skills: Tendencies to engage in groom soliciting, solitary play or sitting alone are highly heritable among macaques. Courtesy of Emory University / Marie Collantes Some aspects of rhesus macaques’ social behavior are strongly shaped by genetics, with differences tied to variants in autism-linked genes, according to a new study. The findings may shed light […]
Illustration by Laurenne Boglio Tweets in the autism research sphere during the first week of March have come in like a lion, roaring — over gaps in clinical care for autistic people, gaps in understanding and gaps in evidence. Mary Doherty, founder of Autistic Doctors International and a consultant anesthetist at Our Lady’s Hospital in […]
Pop-up: A medical alert system notifies physicians when patients are eligible to enroll in a research study for autism. Lorenzo Capunata/Getty Images An algorithm that scans electronic health records and alerts doctors to a patient’s eligibility for SPARK, a large genetic study of autism, led to a fourfold increase in enrollment in the project, according […]
research roundup Next-generation sequencing methods appear to yield more gene variants linked to neurodevelopmental conditions than does chromosomal microarray. Orphanet Journal of Rare Diseases Focusing on determinants of health in autism, rather than on biological mechanisms or clinical medicine, may better identify and address gaps in research and improve the lives of autistic people. AutismResearch […]
