Spectrum: Autism Research News

The Autism Birth Cohort, based on data from 100,000 Norwegian children and their families, aims to uncover genetic and environmental factors contributing to the disorder.

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and autism may have more in common than childhood onset and a few similar symptoms. New research suggests the conditions share genetic roots.

The proposed connection between premature birth and autism may be more complicated than it seems, according to a new report. Early birth may not cause classically defined autism but, rather, may predispose children to autism-like symptoms that are part of a larger syndrome, the researchers say.

Deleting MeCP2, the gene that’s mutated in Rett syndrome, alters both the size and function of neurons in the mouse brain — at least in one brain region, the locus ceruleus — according to a 30 September report in the Journal of Neuroscience.

A report in the October issue of Nature Neuroscience says the amygdala — the brain region that controls emotions, as well as the way individuals interpret and respond to social situations and recognize possible threats — governs the preference for personal space.

Small, common variations in MeCP2 can subtly affect brain structure even in normal individuals, according to a study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Small chromosomal changes found in about one percent of children with autism may manifest themselves as different neurological or psychiatric conditions in other individuals, according to a new study by Canadian researchers.

A team of British researchers has garnered some of the first genetic evidence supporting their theory that sex hormones play a role in the development of autism.

The gene underlying Rett syndrome has a surprisingly large role in controlling the activity of other genes, according to two recent papers.

Children with autism struggle to understand social and emotional cues from other peopleʼs actions or words: that is one of autismʼs cardinal features, in fact.