The so-called ‘spiny mouse’ species has a gestational period twice as long as that of typical laboratory mice. This makes them good models for studying the link between prenatal exposure and autism risk, according to a study published 29 August in Brain, Behavior and Immunity.
Deleting an enzyme that regulates protein synthesis reverses some of the molecular and behavioral deficits in a mouse model of fragile X syndrome, according to research published 2 October in Neuron.
Mutations in the CDKL5 gene lead to developmental delay starting at birth, seizures that begin before 3 months of age, and subtly atypical facial features, according to a study published 8 August in the European Journal of Human Genetics.
Mice lacking EN2, an autism-linked gene, have a range of behavioral problems, including social deficits, problems with learning and memory, and motor abnormalities, according to a study published 19 July in PLoS One.
Studying the well-characterized Williams syndrome could help researchers understand autism and discover new therapeutic targets, says Andreas Meyer-Lindenberg.
Researchers have used a motion-capture system to show that children with autism do not rely on one side of the body more than the other when walking. Their findings were published in the 2012 issue of Autism Research Treatment.
Characteristic symptoms of Phelan-McDermid syndrome — a disorder caused by the loss of the 22q13.3 chromosomal region — may include bipolar disorder and a sudden loss of skills during adulthood, according a study published in June in Molecular Syndromology.
Women who have intelligence quotients in the normal range may nevertheless have fragile X syndrome, often described as the most common inherited form of mental retardation, according to a case study published 27 June in Molecular Autism.
Researchers have homed in on the brain region thought to be responsible for the autism-like symptoms that can accompany Dravet syndrome, a rare epilepsy disorder, according to research published Wednesday in Nature.
Deleting the Rett syndrome gene from mature mouse brains leads to the same neurological and behavioral symptoms as deleting it during a key developmental stage, according to a study published 18 July in the Journal of Neuroscience.