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Spectrum: Autism Research News

Tag: motor skills

March 2011

Clinical research: Toe walking in toddlers signals autism

by  /  1 March 2011

Children who walk on their toes are more likely to have autism than other forms of developmental delay, according to a study published in January in The Journal of Child Neurology.

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February 2011

Search for Asperger syndrome genes unearths links to autism

by  /  10 February 2011

A genome-wide association study has identified risk factors for Asperger syndrome, some of which overlap with chromosomal regions implicated in autism, according to a study in the December issue of Autism Research.

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Molecular mechanisms: Men with fragile X have enlarged brains

by  /  9 February 2011

Men with fragile X syndrome have larger brains overall than controls do, but less matter in regions involved in language and social interaction.

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Clinical research: Study questions symptoms of Angelman syndrome

by  /  8 February 2011

One of the first large-scale, ongoing studies documenting the symptoms of Angelman syndrome — a neurological disorder with features similar to autism — is calling into question some of the so-called characteristic symptoms of the syndrome.

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Clinical research: Socially based intervention improves autism

by  /  4 February 2011

A new intervention that teaches toddlers skills in a real-world environment — a playgroup rather than a one-on-one interaction with a researcher, for instance — more than doubles their ability to imitate others, according to a January study in The Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry.

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January 2011

Cognition and behavior: Gaze different in autism, Asperger’s

by  /  12 January 2011

Teenagers with autism are less efficient at rapidly shifting their eye gaze — an indicator of motor ability — compared with either typically developing controls or adolescents with Asperger syndrome, according to a study published in November in Cerebellum.

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December 2010

Jumping genes implicated in Rett syndrome

by  /  27 December 2010

The neurons of people with Rett syndrome contain an overabundance of retrotransposons — DNA sequences that copy and insert themselves into new spots throughout the genome — during early development, according to a study published 18 November in Nature.

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Robots spark social play in children with autism

by  /  23 December 2010

Children with autism play eagerly with robots — and their social interactions with people improve as a result.

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New technology advances studies of gait in autism

by  /  16 December 2010

A three-dimensional motion-capture system developed for film animation has found subtle differences in hip and ankle movement in children with autism compared with typically developing controls.

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Scientists create mouse models of chromosome 16 defects

by  /  13 December 2010

Two independent groups have created mice that have deletions or duplications in a large section of chromosome 16. Each team has produced an animal with a different set of features, some of which — such as large head size and repetitive behaviors — are reminiscent of people with autism.

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