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Spectrum: Autism Research News

Tag: autism

January 2011

Mouse model mirrors social quirks of Williams syndrome

by  /  13 January 2011

Mice lacking one copy of a gene associated with Williams syndrome share the hyper-sociability of people with the disorder, according to a paper published online 3 December in Autism Research.

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Cognition and behavior: Gaze different in autism, Asperger’s

by  /  12 January 2011

Teenagers with autism are less efficient at rapidly shifting their eye gaze — an indicator of motor ability — compared with either typically developing controls or adolescents with Asperger syndrome, according to a study published in November in Cerebellum.

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Mellow yellow

by  /  11 January 2011

Jaundice in newborns is common and usually harmless, but can lead to serious complications, including epilepsy, cerebral palsy and perhaps autism, according to a new study.

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Some siblings of children with autism only share traits

by  /  10 January 2011

The goal of studying siblings of children with autism is to identify an early diagnostic marker for the disorder. What researchers are finding instead are distinct traits shared by family members who remain healthy.

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Mind games

by  /  7 January 2011

As more drugs enter clinical trials for fragile X syndrome and soon, hopefully, for autism, the placebo effect will become an important consideration.

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IQ scores not a good measure of function in autism

by  /  6 January 2011

Most studies define high-functioning children as those with an IQ above 70 or 80, but this is problematic for a number of reasons, say some scientists. The assumption underlying the use of high IQ as a synonym for high functioning is suspect because social and communicative abilities may have a far greater impact on an individual’s daily interactions.

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Cognition and behavior: Children with autism heed irrelevant images

by  /  5 January 2011

Children with autism are less interested in watching an activity, such as a parent and child putting together a puzzle, compared with typically developing controls, according to a study published in November in Brain Research.

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High-tech national project set to trace brain’s connections

by  /  4 January 2011

Over the next five years, dozens of researchers funded by the $40 million ‘NIH Human Connectome Project’ will map the circuits of the human brain, tracing neural pathways and learning how different regions work together in synchrony.

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Genetics: Spontaneous mutations lead to mental retardation

by  /  3 January 2011

Spontaneous mutations that change a single DNA base account for a large proportion of cases of unexplained mental retardation, according to a study published in the December Nature Genetics.

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December 2010

The culture of gender

by  /  29 December 2010

Delusions of Gender takes issue with sexism disguised as scientific fact. I think the book is a provocative cautionary tale for autism researchers.

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