Spectrum: Autism Research News

Research roundup

• Autistic people show less synchrony of neural activity during face-to-face conversation than non-autistic people. Autism Research
• Inhibitory interneurons seem to mediate heat-induced seizures in mice with mutations in the autism-linked SCN1A gene. eNeuro
• Rhesus macaques with low sociability have high rates of traumatic injury — which may reflect bullying. Autism Research
• Genetic analysis of traits associated with psychiatric diagnoses may reveal relationships between conditions such as autism and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. The Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry
• Most genetic variants observed in a sample of people with intellectual disability in Finland occur spontaneously, consistent with findings in other populations. Human Genetics
• Autistic adults with depression — especially women and those with fewer depressive symptoms — generally say their current treatment is helpful, according to a survey. Autism Research
• Over the past 120 years, the percentage of U.S. physicians who are Black has increased only from 1.3 percent to 5.4 percent. Journal of General Internal Medicine
• Some psychiatrists argue that ‘sluggish cognitive tempo’ should be an official diagnosis, distinct from a form of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. STAT
• Some 5- to 6-year-olds with autism have atypical brain wave activity while engaged in an executive control task. Biological Psychiatry: Cognitive Neuroscience and Neuroimaging
• A relationship between affective touch and temporal lobe activity appears to be largely absent in autistic adolescents. Translational Psychiatry

Science and society

• Black people and other people of color are often excluded from workplace efforts to hire neurodiverse employees. Forbes
• The Biden administration has lifted restrictions on fetal tissue research, which includes studies on a broad range of medical conditions. The New York Times
  

  Ban revoked: Researchers are now allowed to use fetal tissue in experiments.

  Patrick Semansky / Associated Press

• Two members of the U.S.-based National Academy of Sciences face possible expulsion because of documented sexual harassment behavior. Science
• An autism advocate says learning that she carried a known genetic variant associated with autism felt profound. CNN