Spectrum: Autism Research News

Research roundup

• In children with tuberous sclerosis complex, those who develop severe epilepsy by age 2 are the most likely to have intellectual disability. Developmental Medicine and Child Neurology
• A number of genes on 16p11.2, a chromosomal region linked to autism, work together to affect facial bone structure in people, rats and zebrafish. Cell Reports
• Between the ages of 9 and 12, multiple regions of children’s brains show changes associated with self-regulation. The Journal of Neuroscience
• Children who have asthma along with anxiety or depression go to the emergency room more often than those who have asthma alone. Pediatrics
• The genetics underlying psychotic experiences in the general population overlaps with the genetics of psychiatric conditions such as schizophrenia, depression and autism. JAMA Psychiatry
• Researchers have created images of functional neural networks emerging in zebrafish embryos. Cell
• Using artificial intelligence and brain imaging during an emotional task may help identify people for whom antidepressants are likely to work. Nature Human Behaviour
• Transgender and nonbinary autistic children show more signs of anxiety and depression than transgender and binary children without autism. Journal of Clinical Medicine
• Virtual avatars that provide instructions and feedback may improve learning in children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking
• Researchers have shown how understanding words in context happens in the brain. PNAS
• The evidence linking antidepressant use with suicide risk is weak; the same is true for the link between women’s use of the drugs and having an autistic child. JAMA Psychiatry

Science and society

• Greta Thunberg’s autism serves her incredible climate activism, with such attributes as persistence, bluntness and distaste for hypocrisy, author Steve Silberman writes. Vox
• An autistic student needed a quiet place to work: A Bellingham, Washington, school put his desk in an unused bathroom. The New York Times
• A commercial form of cannabidiol, Epidyolex, has been approved as a treatment for epilepsy in the United Kingdom, but the National Health Service has refrained from recommending it. BBC
• ReproducibiliTea, a journal club focusing on open-source science, has spread to 27 universities in eight countries since it started last year. Nature
• Physician-scientists are crucial to advancing clinical care, but fewer medical students are choosing that path. The New York Times
• A neuroscientist argues that it is time to quit the nature-versus-nurture debate on observed differences between males and females. Aeon
• A gene variant that protects against HIV infection does not affect mortality; a paper that reported it does contained errors. STAT
• A parent of a nonverbal autistic child is weary of the stories about successful autistic people and sensory-friendly spaces. The Guardian
• Scientists are attempting to make universal-donor cells that can regenerate diseased organs but that skirt problems with immune rejection. Knowable
• A cannabis compound is in clinical trials as a possible treatment for irritability and repetitive behaviors in autism. CNN

Autism and the arts

• An autistic artist in Palos Verdes, California, is illustrating a book of poems by her mentor. Palos Verdes Peninsula News
• A photographer has won the 2019 Wellcome Photography Prize for her project, a series of portraits of her autistic brother. British Journal of Photography

Funding news

• Two research centers have received nearly $30 million to improve the quality of the reference human genome sequence. National Human Genome Research Institute