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Spectrum: Autism Research News

Author

Alla Katsnelson

Contributing Writer, Spectrum

Alla Katsnelson is a freelance writer based in Southampton, Massachusetts.

February 2024
A diagram of autism-linked genes.

Autism-linked proteins mingle with other molecules in overlapping networks

by  /  8 February 2024

A massive new set of interaction maps illuminates especially high convergence in protein networks related to autism and shows how mutations could disrupt those networks.

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June 2023
Research image of brain activity during conversation.

AI model helps decode brain activity underlying conversation

by  /  15 June 2023

A text-predicting chatbot parses text from conversations in a way that parallels brain-activity patterns associated with speech production and comprehension.

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February 2023
Research image of the protein CHD2.

Autism-linked chromatin regulators may moonlight as microtubule influencers

by  /  8 February 2023

Five autism-linked genes widely known as chromatin regulators appear to also shape the cell’s internal skeleton.

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December 2022
Figure showing an analysis of gene expression in cells across development.

Highly expressed genes may buffer against autism-linked mutations in girls

by  /  14 December 2022

Such high expression levels may account for the condition’s sex bias, a new preprint suggests — but not everyone agrees with that logic.

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October 2022
Laura Cancedda in Iama's lab.

Building a better drug

by  /  6 October 2022

Iama Therapeutics is hoping a new class of molecule will prove successful against an old target in autism.

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May 2022
An illustration of a colorful, psychedelic landscape featuring two people standing on a hill speaking to one another

Tripping over the potential of psychedelics for autism

by  /  31 May 2022

Drugs such as LSD act primarily on the serotonin system, which is implicated in autism — and some autistic people who experiment with psychoactive compounds report enhanced social connections, among other benefits. But researchers have more questions than answers.

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January 2022
Scans of mouse brain slices showing differences in oxytocin levels

Oxytocin alters brain activity to boost sociability in mice missing autism gene

by  /  20 January 2022

Infusions of the hormone oxytocin may make mice that model autism more social by normalizing their brain activity patterns.

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August 2021
Image shows two young girls, identical twins, covering their faces with leaves while facing each other.

Q&A with John Constantino: Solving the biomarker conundrum

by  /  3 August 2021

Biological factors that reflect autism’s roots may differ from those that influence how severe the condition is. Failure to make a distinction has stymied the search for biomarkers.

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May 2021
Researcher in red plaid shirt and blue nitrile gloves holds a lab mouse fitted with a fiber optic cannula, a needle-shaped glass piece that goes into the mouse's brain surrounded by a metal sleeve to which researchers attach a fiber optic patch cord.

How artificial intelligence is shaking up animal behavior studies in autism

by  /  24 May 2021

Next-generation machine-learning tools are poised to upend how scientists study behavior in animal models of autism — and not everyone is happy about it.

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January 2021
girl about to catch a ball

Autistic children may have trouble predicting movements

by  /  15 January 2021

Autistic children may have a harder time catching a ball than non-autistic children do, possibly because they are less able to predict its trajectory.

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