Spectrum: Autism Research News

Research roundup

• Zebrafish startle in response to a simulated predator approach and habituate to repeated trials; fish missing the FMR1 gene — a model of fragile X syndrome — show muted behavioral habituation and neuronal changes in the visual and motor systems. Nature Communications
• Autistic women and other-gender adults have more service needs and experience more service barriers than autistic men. Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders
• A translation of G.E. Sukhareva’s 1930 article on “schizoid children” has been published alongside a commentary. Spectrum covered Sukhareva’s contributions to the field of autism research in depth in 2018. European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry
• A neurodevelopmental syndrome characterized by developmental delay and intellectual disability has been linked to several gene variants in histone H4. Mutations in another histone, H3.3, are linked to a degenerative neurodevelopmental condition, according to a 2020 study that Spectrum covered. American Journal of Human Genetics
• A review of studies substantiates the association between polycystic ovary syndrome in women and either autism or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in their children. The European Journal of Contraception & Reproductive Health Care
• Whole-genome sequencing of 23 autistic people and their consanguineous families identified variants in known and novel genes linked to autism. npj Genomic Medicine
• Altered mitochondrial function seems to cause the cognitive and motor impairments seen in mice missing one copy of FOXP1, a model of a syndrome linked to autism, developmental delay and intellectual disability. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

Science and society

• Several Australian researchers and clinicians are working to improve the use of assistive communication devices for minimally verbal autistic people. ABC News
• Most Black Americans experience racism when visiting a healthcare provider, which often leads to interruptions in care, according to a survey. VeryWell Health
• A museum of autism history is set to open in a mall in East Lansing, Michigan. US News & World Report
• Two influential neuroscientists, Uta and Chris Frith, have co-authored a nonfiction graphic novel, “Two Heads,” with their son Alex. Spectrum profiled the couple and their long partnership in 2014. I News
• The American Medical Association, in partnership with Manatt Health, has published a report on telemedicine and other tech tools that may boost behavioral health care. Healthcare IT News
• American health care has not made much progress delivering equitable treatment to Black people in the 20 years since the Institute of Medicine’s report “Unequal Treatment” or in the 37 years since the Heckler Report. STAT

Cite this article: https://doi.org/10.53053/LITP4339