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Spectrum: Autism Research News

Tag: inhibitory signaling

May 2023
Photograph of white pills and blister pack on blue pastel colored background.

Trials of arbaclofen for autism yield mixed results

by  /  5 May 2023

Autistic children taking the drug showed improvements in some behaviors but not in their social skills.

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March 2023
Research image of cultured neurons.

Cannabis compound rebalances signaling to quell seizures in mice

by  /  22 March 2023

Cannabidiol (CBD) blocks the action of a molecule that drives an overexcitability feedback loop in a rodent model of epilepsy.

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February 2023
Illustration of a sheet of red and white pills, with the red pills arranged in the form of a question mark.

Going on Trial: Orphan drugs; CBD; bumetanide

by  /  28 February 2023

This month’s newsletter takes a close look at the orphan drug program in the United States, several cannabis-based therapies and a secondary analysis of bumetanide, among other new developments in autism-related drug trials.

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Illustration of hybrid objects: part light bulb, part lab vial, some in blue and some in red to signify null and replicated results.

Null and Noteworthy: Busting biomarkers; going after GABA; reproducibility illusion

by  /  16 February 2023

In this edition of Null and Noteworthy, scientists find little to be excited about in research on biomarkers for neurodevelopmental conditions.

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January 2023
Research image showing the impact of a gene mutation on a synapse.

Tweaks to autism-linked pathway tilt circuits’ signaling balance

by  /  31 January 2023

Altered expression of TSC2 and the mTOR pathway reshape the formation of certain synapses between inhibitory and excitatory neurons in mice.

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Figure shows cultured human kidney cells and cultured rat cortical neurons responding to light exposure.

Unconventional optogenetics technique spurs long-lasting changes in neuronal activity

by  /  9 January 2023

Conventional optogenetic manipulations to excite or inhibit neurons stop when the light switches off. A new approach makes the changes last.

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December 2022
Composite image of inhibitory and excitatory neurons.

One-rosette technique grows well-organized organoids

by  /  2 December 2022

The method yields complex organoids that more closely mimic embryonic brain development than do those cultured in other ways.

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November 2022
Two white mice socialize.

Autism genes converge on disruptions in social brain circuit

by  /  17 November 2022

The circuit linking the prefrontal cortex and part of the thalamus is impaired in mice raised in social isolation and in mice with mutations in the FMR1 or TSC2 genes.

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Single astrocyte on black background.

Mouse studies cast astrocytes as stars of sensory perception

by  /  13 November 2022

Data from two separate research teams suggest the cells are key to sensory hypersensitivity in fragile X syndrome.

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October 2022
Laura Cancedda in Iama's lab.

Building a better drug

by  /  6 October 2022

Iama Therapeutics is hoping a new class of molecule will prove successful against an old target in autism.

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