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Spectrum: Autism Research News

Tag: anxiety

November 2010

Prairie vole study finds new drug that boosts oxytocin

by  /  15 November 2010

A drug already in clinical trials as a tanning compound raises brain levels of oxytocin — a hormone and neurotransmitter involved in social bonding — researchers reported Sunday at the Society for Neuroscience annual meeting in San Diego. Higher levels of oxytocin can help animals recognize their mates and turn to a friend for help, according to two posters presented at the meeting.

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Mutant mouse pins PSD-95 in Williams syndrome

by  /  2 November 2010

Mice missing a large protein at the junction between neurons show motor impairments, anxiety and increased social behaviors, according to a study in the American Journal of Psychiatry. The protein, postsynaptic density-95 or PSD-95, is part of a key molecular bridge connecting other proteins linked to autism.

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October 2010

Cognition and behavior: SHANK1 mutant mice do not model autism

by  /  25 October 2010

SHANK1 — a member of a family of proteins linked to autism — does not cause autism-like social deficits when mutated in mice, according to a study published online in September in Brain Research.

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Crossover potential?

by  /  18 October 2010

“I don’t know anything about Williams syndrome”: That isn’t exactly how you’d expect a talk at a meeting on the syndrome to begin, but it happened more than once at a symposium on the disorder last week. Could scientific interchange between Williams syndrome and autism researchers benefit people with either condition?

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Speed trap

by  /  13 October 2010

New DNA tests for fragile X syndrome are quick, but also raise ethical questions: they pick up abnormalities in some babies who won’t develop symptoms until adulthood, if at all.

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August 2010

Studies explore amygdala problems in fragile X syndrome

by  /  31 August 2010

The amygdala, a brain region that regulates fear and anxiety, shows abnormal neuronal signaling in a mouse model of fragile X syndrome, according to two studies published this summer. These are the first to explore cellular defects in the region in fragile X.

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Venn diagnoses

by  /  25 August 2010

Three articles published in the past few weeks show that diagnostic categories marked off neatly on the page often bleed together messily in the clinic.

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July 2010

Vasopressin’s sexier side

by  /  14 July 2010

Researchers have pinpointed the brain circuits that underlie the vasopressin hormone’s role in regulating emotions.

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Chromosome 7 segment gives clues to complex social behavior

by  /  12 July 2010

Individuals carrying an extra copy of the genetic region that’s missing in Williams syndrome — which causes mental retardation and a hyper-friendly personality — have language impairments and other autism-like social difficulties, according to a wave of new research on this duplication syndrome.

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Synaptic defects link autism, schizophrenia

by  /  2 July 2010

Several independent groups have found previously unknown risk genes for autism, schizophrenia and mental retardation. The candidate genes have one thing in common: they encode proteins that are needed for the healthy function of synapses, the junctions between neurons.

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