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Spectrum: Autism Research News

Tag: audio research news

September 2020
Liquid medicine being poured from bottle onto spoon.

Bumetanide may benefit only a subset of autistic children

by  /  3 September 2020

Contrary to previous results, the blood pressure drug did not uniformly improve autism traits in a new clinical trial.

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August 2020
Two mice side-by-side.

Drug improves social behaviors, oxytocin signaling in autism mouse model

by  /  31 August 2020

Mice missing the autism gene NLGN3 have altered social behaviors and brain responses to the hormone oxytocin, both of which improve after treatment with a drug that helps regulate protein production.

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Two faces interacting socially while data is being recorded, illustration.

Facial expressions between autistic and typical people may be mismatched

by  /  28 August 2020

Conversations between an autistic and a typical person involve less smiling and more mismatched facial expressions than do interactions between two typical people.

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Series of micrographs showing neurons with Rett syndrome mutations lacking liquid compartments around DNA.

DNA droplets may be key to Rett syndrome, researchers say

by  /  27 August 2020

Mutations in the MECP2 gene, which are associated with autism and Rett syndrome, interfere with a cell’s ability to form droplets of DNA that silence gene expression.

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Review: ‘Love on the Spectrum’ is kind, but unrepresentative

by  /  18 August 2020

The Netflix series that follows 20-something autistic adults looking for love is well intentioned but fails to capture reality and is riddled with bad advice.

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Woman rolling a marijuana joint.

Researchers urge caution over study linking marijuana to autism

by  /  18 August 2020

Women who use marijuana while pregnant may be more likely to give birth to an autistic child. But investigators call for a cautious interpretation of the results.

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Micrograph of neurons in mouse brain.

Inside scientists’ quest to map, modulate social circuits in autism

by  /  17 August 2020

A growing number of studies are revealing circuits that may underlie social challenges in autism — and how to fine-tune them.

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New measures of social skills tap what monkeys see, do

by  /  14 August 2020

A pair of tools that gauge social abilities in rhesus macaques may help researchers study autism-like behaviors in monkeys.

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Illustration showing two hands plugging cables into different areas of the brain, eg. prefrontal cortex, motor cortex, etc.

Motor difficulties in autism, explained

by  /  13 August 2020

Most people with autism have motor difficulties, ranging from an atypical gait to problems with handwriting, but researchers still have much to learn about their causes and consequences.

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Genetic test showing repeats in DNA.

Probe of DNA ‘repeats’ reveals new potential autism genes

by  /  10 August 2020

Repeating bits of the genome may be responsible for nearly 3 percent of the genetic architecture of autism.

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