Skip to main content

Spectrum: Autism Research News

News Archive

June 2011

Clinical research: Photographs reveal unusual physical features

by  /  21 June 2011

Photographs that reveal minor physical abnormalities often seen in children with autism or other developmental disabilities could be useful as a first screen for autism, according to a study published 24 May in Autism.

Comments

Rett protein needed for adult brain function

by  /  20 June 2011

A new study calls into question the assumption that Rett syndrome is exclusively a neurodevelopmental disorder caused by the lack of a critical protein in utero.

Comments

Molecular mechanisms: Autism linked to small hypothalamus

by  /  17 June 2011

Children with autism have less brain matter than normal in a region that synthesizes the social hormones oxytocin and vasopressin, according to a study published 29 April in Biological Psychiatry.

Comments

Diagnostic brain scans: hope or hype?

by  /  16 June 2011

In the past year, several studies have suggested that brain scans will soon help clinicians diagnose autism. But many experts say these scans are far from — and may never be — ready for use as diagnostic tests.

Comments

Cognition and behavior: IQ predicts sensitivity to human movement

by  /  15 June 2011

Adults with autism who have high intelligence quotients (IQ) are better at identifying the direction of biological motion than are those with lower IQ scores, according to a study published 3 May in the Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders.

Comments

Genetics: RNA not always a faithful copy of DNA

by  /  14 June 2011

Researchers have upended a central tenet of biology by showing that there are more than 10,000 sites in the human genome where RNA sequences do not match the DNA sequences from which they are transcribed. The findings were published 19 May in Science.

Comments

Protein networks link different forms of autism, study says

by  /  13 June 2011

Researchers have identified hundreds of previously unknown connections between proteins involved in autism spectrum disorders, according to a report published last week in Science Translational Medicine.

Comments

Clinical research: Mainstreaming helps children with autism

by  /  10 June 2011

Early interventions for preschoolers who have autism are effective when included alongside standard curricula in mainstream settings, according to two studies published in April.

Comments

Studies find high rate of rare new mutations in autism

by  /  8 June 2011

Three new studies analyzing genetic data from families in which just one child has autism have found the strongest evidence yet that rare new mutations contribute to the disorder.

Comments

Molecular mechanisms: Metabolic changes increase risk of autism

by  /  8 June 2011

Children with autism have fewer DNA modifications that regulate gene expression compared with healthy siblings and controls, and show evidence of DNA damage, according to a study published 26 April in the Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders.

Comments