Male mice pass stress signatures down to their pups
The pups of male mice exposed to stress show a muted response to stressful situations of their own, suggesting that environmental effects can last generations.
The pups of male mice exposed to stress show a muted response to stressful situations of their own, suggesting that environmental effects can last generations.
A new database that maps changes in gene expression in the prefrontal cortex shows that autism-linked genes are expressed differently than other genes through six stages of life.
The expression patterns of microRNAs vary less by brain region and age in people with autism than in controls. Researchers presented the unpublished findings Tuesday at the 2014 Society for Neuroscience annual meeting in Washington, D.C.
Having one too many copies of MeCP2, the Rett syndrome gene, may block the growth of neuronal branches by interfering with the production of small pieces of RNA, according to a study published 10 March in Developmental Cell.
A small fragment of RNA may regulate the expression of RORA, a gene implicated in many autism-related pathways, according to a study published 6 February in Scientific Reports.
Long pieces of RNA that do not code for protein have diverse and important roles in the cell and may contribute to autism risk, say Nikolaos Mellios and Mriganka Sur.
People with autism show differences from controls in the levels of microRNAs, small noncoding bits of RNA, in the social and sound-processing parts of the brain. Unpublished results from the postmortem study were presented Wednesday at the 2013 Society for Neuroscience annual meeting in San Diego.
A new network analysis of autism genes, published 11 June in Translational Psychiatry, highlights both the pitfalls and the promise of the approach, says Alan Packer.
The discovery of microRNAs that regulate gene expression has changed our view of cellular biochemistry. It may also change our perception of neuropsychiatric disorders such as autism, says Peng Jin.
Chromosomal duplications or deletions may influence autism-linked genes indirectly, by altering fragments of RNA that regulate gene expression, according to a study published 25 February in PLoS One.