Skip to main content

Spectrum: Autism Research News

Author

Katie Moisse

Contributing editor

Katie Moisse is contributing editor and former news editor at Spectrum.  She teaches science communication at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. She has a Ph.D. in neuropathology from the University of Western Ontario and an M.S. in journalism from Columbia University.

Contact Info

[email protected]

May 2017

Altered circuit may underlie repetitive behaviors in autism

by  /  13 May 2017

A brain circuit that controls movement is altered in people with autism, a postmortem brain study suggests.

Comments

Anxious children’s head movement may mar brain-imaging results

by  /  13 May 2017

Children with autism who are highly anxious tend to move their heads during brain scans and so may be excluded from important studies.

Comments

Brain scans of babies reveal how nerve tracts mature

by  /  13 May 2017

Bundles of nerve fibers that bridge brain areas develop rapidly during the first six months of life. Fibers that connect language regions mature more slowly than those linking motor regions.

Comments

Many children with autism get significantly smarter over time

by  /  13 May 2017

Between the ages of 2 and 8, intelligence increases in half of children with autism. In some of these children, intellectual disability gives way to average intelligence.

Comments

Review of medical records reveals pitfalls of autism screen

by  /  12 May 2017

The vast majority of children flagged for autism on a widely used screening test are never diagnosed with the condition, and some children who are not picked up are diagnosed years later.

Comments

Movie-based test helps parents recognize autism in infants

by  /  12 May 2017

A video-based screening tool can flag infants who are later diagnosed with autism as early as 6 months.

Comments
Week of MayMay
1st
2017

Funding future; vaccine politics; health connections

by ,  /  5 May 2017

The National Institutes of Health receives a $2 billion boost, politicians who propagate anti-vaccine views are fueling outbreaks, and a new report highlights preventable conditions associated with autism.

Comments
April 2017
Week of AprilApr
24th
2017

Senate support; brain boom; spectrum of support

by  /  28 April 2017

Scott Gottlieb is poised to become chief of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, neuroscience research has blossomed over the past decade, and new grants support adults with autism.

Comments
Week of AprilApr
17th
2017

Marching forward; aging workforce; sounding off

by  /  21 April 2017

The March for Science is finally here, the scientific workforce is aging at an alarming rate, and a pint-size podcaster tackles serious science.

Comments
Week of AprilApr
3rd
2017

Preprint peek-a-boo; vexing vacancy; CRISPR conundrum

by  /  7 April 2017

Cell Press announces its new preprint server, Donald Trump has yet to name a science advisor, and new gene-editing tools are calling an old finding into question.

Comments