Receptors, transcripts and proteins: In this week’s roundup, we share new autism research exploring changes in excitatory neurotransmission, altered RNA transcripts and disrupted synaptic networks. In one paper, researchers imaged metabotropic glutamate receptors in autistic people and found “pervasive lower availability across multiple brain regions.” A second study linked functional protein variants to coding mutations […]
A gene therapy that compensates for a missing copy of SYNGAP1, a gene strongly associated with autism, diminishes hyperactivity and brain activity linked to epilepsy, according to a new study in mice. The therapy also normalizes brain-wave patterns linked to learning, memory, attention and sensory processing. “This is the first published study to use a […]
Bouton bust: SYNGAP1 helps neurons eliminate old synapses and form new ones after a new experience (left and center left) – a process that is attenuated in mice lacking a copy of the gene (center right and right). Courtesy Gavin Rumbaugh In fact, according to a new study in mice, partial loss of the autism-linked […]
