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Spectrum: Autism Research News

Tag: hyperactivity

November 2012

Defining language deficits across autism spectrum

by ,  /  27 November 2012

We are on the verge of a seismic shift in the definition of autism spectrum disorders, says David Skuse. Under proposed guidelines for autism diagnosis, the canard that most people with the disorder cannot speak, or have such disordered language that they cannot sustain a conversation, has been abandoned.

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October 2012

Clinical research: Temperament marks infants with autism

by  /  24 October 2012

Babies later diagnosed with autism tend to have a heightened response to sights and sounds in their first year of life, and smile and cuddle less as toddlers than controls do, according to a paper published 24 August in the Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders.

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Transparent reports

by  /  19 October 2012

New standards for animal studies, including an emphasis on replicating results and the publication of negative findings, are vital for research progress, says Jacqueline Crawley.

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Probiotic curbs autism features in mouse model

by  /  16 October 2012

Treatment with a single bacterial species curbs anxiety and repetitive behaviors and boosts vocalizations in a mouse model of autism, according to a poster presented Monday at the 2012 Society for Neuroscience annual meeting in New Orleans.

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September 2012

Diagnosis eludes many girls with autism, study says

by  /  3 September 2012

Girls are less likely to be diagnosed with autism than boys are, unless they also have intellectual or behavioral problems, according to a study published 26 June in the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.

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August 2012

Executive confusion

by  /  21 August 2012

Among siblings of children with autism, those with better prefrontal cortex functioning — observable as relatively strong executive functions for their age — are better able to compensate for atypicalities in other brain systems early in life, and are therefore less likely to receive a diagnosis of autism later in their development, argues Mark H. Johnson.

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June 2012

SHANK2 mouse models show opposite brain signaling

by  /  25 June 2012

Two new strains of mice carrying different mutations in the SHANK2 gene show similar autism-like behaviors but opposing effects on brain signaling, according to two independent studies published 14 June in Nature.

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Microbial world

by  /  15 June 2012

New tools developed as part of the Human Microbiome Project could help researchers understand the role of microbes in autism.

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May 2012

Molecular mechanisms: SHANK2, SHANK3 mouse brains differ

by  /  16 May 2012

Mice lacking the autism-associated gene SHANK2 show autism-like behaviors similar to those seen in mice lacking SHANK3, another member of the same gene family. But SHANK2 and SHANK3 mice have distinct alterations at neuronal junctions, according to a report published 29 April in Nature.

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Better tools needed to assess clinical trials

by  /  14 May 2012

The past few years have seen an unprecedented number of clinical trials for experimental drugs to treat autism-related disorders, most notably for fragile X syndrome. But as the trials progress, scientists are calling for better methods to measure the drugs’ effectiveness.

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