Three decades of research on anatomical changes in the brains of individuals with autism has yielded few if any consistent patterns. The field needs an overhaul of the methods used, researchers said at a symposium Wednesday at the 2013 Society for Neuroscience annual meeting in San Diego.
Brain regions that help people orient themselves in space and time may also guide their sense of intimacy and hierarchy with another person, according to findings presented Sunday at the 2013 Society for Neuroscience annual meeting in San Diego.
Researchers have coaxed human stem cells to develop into simplified mini-brains, with regions resembling discrete brain structures, they reported 19 September in Nature.
Oxytocin may enhance brain signaling by increasing the strength of the signals and minimizing background noise, according to a study published 4 August in Nature.
Depleting excess levels of a molecule involved in neuronal signaling prevents the cognitive and motor symptoms of Angelman syndrome in a mouse model of the disorder, according to a report published 15 August in Cell Reports.
The autism-linked protein MET is expressed at the junctions between neurons during early brain development in mice, suggesting that it helps establish the connections, according to a study published 21 June in The Journal of Comparative Neurology.
Genes near the chromosomal region implicated in Williams syndrome are involved in epilepsy and autism-like behaviors, according to a study published 12 June in the European Journal of Human Genetics.
About one in ten women who have a child with autism have immune molecules in their bloodstream that react with proteins in the brain, according to a study published 20 August in Molecular Psychiatry.
To understand the amygdala’s role in autism, researchers should study its connections with other brain structures and explore its role in development, says Ralph Adolphs.
Researchers have uncovered a new role for the protein missing in fragile X syndrome — it regulates the release of neurotransmitters, chemical messengers in the brain, according to a mouse study published 20 February in Neuron.