In defense of childhood disintegrative disorder
Childhood disintegrative disorder represents a distinct entity within the autism spectrum and it should remain a separate diagnostic category, says Kevin Pelphrey.
Childhood disintegrative disorder represents a distinct entity within the autism spectrum and it should remain a separate diagnostic category, says Kevin Pelphrey.
Mice with an extra copy of MeCP2, the Rett syndrome gene, have impaired signaling between neurons in the hippocampus, a brain region that plays an important role in memory, according to a study published 29 February in The Journal of Neuroscience.
A detailed brain imaging study of people with Williams syndrome, a developmental disorder characterized by a highly sociable personality, has found a series of structural, functional and connectivity deficits that converge on a part of the brain called the insula. The findings were published online 12 March in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Mutations in more than 100 autism-associated genes lead to shared neurobiological deficits in mice, including alterations in the shape of their brains and changes to the electrical properties of neurons, according to a study published 20 February in Molecular Autism.
Two mutations in an autism-associated gene, neurexin-1, may have combined to cause autism in one man, whereas family members with only one of the two mutations have other neurological disorders, according to a study published 15 February in the American Journal of Medical Genetics Part B.
Researchers have identified a new mechanism that may underlie a runaway cell signaling pathway in fragile X syndrome. The results were published 22 January in Nature Neuroscience.
Two genes may be responsible for autism symptoms in mice with extra copies of the Rett syndrome gene, according to a study published 8 January in Nature Genetics.
Can people with autism, who lack the ability to understand others’ thoughts and feelings, fall in love?
Researchers have identified 12 duplications or deletions of DNA regions that are transmitted along with autism in families with a history of the disorder. The results were published 7 October in PLoS One.
Toddlers with autism who have larger-than-normal heads are also taller and weigh more than controls, according to a study published in October in Archives of General Psychiatry.