Spectrum: Autism Research News

Research roundup

• Neurofeedback can help autistic people make lasting changes to how they respond to facial expressions, according to a small study. Autism
• Self-reports of sensory sensitivities, which are common in autism, do not align with scores on sensory detection tasks, suggesting that these measures capture qualitatively different aspects of sensory perception. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders
• Non-autistic students’ attitudes toward their autistic peers can influence inclusion efforts; a new screening tool may help evaluate school anti-stigma programs. Autism
• Human cells with a deletion in the 16p11.2 chromosomal region have different gene-expression profiles than those with an intact region, providing clues to the brain changes that occur in people with this deletion, including many with autism. Neuroscience Research
• Young autistic children who use more gestures than their peers may benefit the most from early interventions focused on social-communication skills. Autism
• Caregiver ratings work well to assess autism and treatment effects in children but not in adults; a group of clinicians reviews how adult assessments might be improved. International Journal of Psychiatry in Clinical Practice
• MicroRNAs may eventually serve as biomarkers for neurodevelopmental conditions such as autism. Journal of Molecular Neuroscience
• Families with autistic children frequently miss out on services and incur care-related debt, according to a study of nearly 200 families in Ireland. Health Policy
• Three mouse models of three neurodevelopmental conditions, including two autism-related ones — 16p11.2 deletion syndrome and fragile X syndrome — show three distinct metabolic profiles. eNeuro
• The gender and socioeconomic status of 5-month-old infants seem to influence behavior on a visual attention task frequently used in autism research. Infant Behavior and Development
• Preschoolers whose parents used more pointing gestures when they were younger have stronger vocabularies than those whose parents pointed less, according to a study of autistic and non-autistic children. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders
• Rats that were exposed to their mothers’ allergic inflammation during gestation show atypical brain cells and social behaviors. Brain, Behavior, and Immunity

Science and society

• The search engine Google Scholar now checks whether papers behind a paywall comply with funders’ mandates for open access. Nature
• Some researchers have announced they will no longer submit papers to JAMA, after the journal’s podcast host declared that there is no systemic racism in medicine. BuzzFeed News
• Reminder: The Autism Science Foundation plans to hold its annual Day of Learning virtually on 22 April at no cost. Autism Science Foundation
• Children who go to the emergency room with psychiatric issues experience longer delays in getting specialized care than they did 15 years ago. STAT
• A new database tracks the age at which people with intellectual disabilities die. agingcenters.org