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Spectrum: Autism Research News

Tag: autism

October 2012

Acetylcholine drug alleviates autism-like behaviors in mice

by  /  16 October 2012

A drug that mimics the neurotransmitter acetylcholine relieves repetitive behaviors in a mouse model of autism, according to a poster presented Monday at the Society for Neuroscience annual meeting in New Orleans.

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A call for open-science approaches in autism research

by  /  16 October 2012

Sharing data and tools is universally efficient, but the study of autism in particular presents challenges that can benefit from an open-science framework, says Randy Buckner.

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Clinical research: Maternal depression linked to mild autism

by  /  16 October 2012

Women who have a history of bipolar disorder or depression are more likely to have a child with Asperger syndrome than classic autism, according to a study published in the 2012 issue of Autism Research and Treatment.

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Children with autism get lost in time, imaging study says

by  /  15 October 2012

Children with autism recruit different brain regions than controls do when estimating how much time has gone by, according to unpublished research presented Monday at the 2012 Society for Neuroscience annual meeting in New Orleans.

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A white mouse against a blue background.

Catalog of mice cries aids quest to find their meaning

by  /  15 October 2012

One research team is cataloging the vocalizations of 1,000 different mice, and a second group is creating a tool that will allow researchers to distinguish calls made by several mice as they interact, according to two posters presented Sunday at the 2012 Society for Neuroscience annual meeting in New Orleans.

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Mice with autism-linked deletion show unexpected deficits

by  /  15 October 2012

Mice lacking one copy of the autism-linked 16p11.2 chromosomal region are thin, deaf and show repetitive behaviors. They also have altered proportions of neurons in their brains, particularly those that express the chemical messenger dopamine. The unpublished results were presented Sunday at the 2012 Society for Neuroscience annual meeting in New Orleans.

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Researchers question meaning of ‘resting state’ in autism

by  /  15 October 2012

Many researchers have reported atypical brain connectivity in people with autism lying passively in a brain scanner. But those differences may be the result of what participants are thinking about, rather than of an underlying neural defect, according to a poster presented Sunday at the 2012 Society for Neuroscience annual meeting in New Orleans.

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Handwriting study points to motor, memory problems in autism

by  /  15 October 2012

The wobbly handwriting of many children with autism may reflect differences in their brains’ motor and working memory systems, according to a poster presented Monday at the 2012 Society for Neuroscience annual meeting in New Orleans.

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Mouse studies point out limits of Rett syndrome treatment

by  /  15 October 2012

Mouse studies of a promising treatment for Rett syndrome, already in clinical trials, offer a note of caution about the drug’s potential. Preliminary findings from the research, presented Sunday at the Society for Neuroscience annual meeting in New Orleans, show why mouse work remains important even after clinical trials are underway.

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Video: Unrolling the motor deficit in autism

by  /  15 October 2012

In a video interview at the 2012 Society for Neuroscience annual meeting in New Orleans, Stewart Mostofsky discusses the links between social and motor skills.

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