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Spectrum: Autism Research News

Tag: motor skills

March 2010

Studies challenge link between premature birth and autism

by  /  8 March 2010

The proposed connection between premature birth and autism may be more complicated than it seems, according to a new report. Early birth may not cause classically defined autism but, rather, may predispose children to autism-like symptoms that are part of a larger syndrome, the researchers say.

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January 2010

Early intervention yields big benefits for children with autism

by  /  20 January 2010

An early intervention method called the Early Start Denver Model can help children with autism improve their language and behavioral skills, and raise their intelligence quotients, according to a study published in Pediatrics.

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December 2009

Autism shares features with cerebellar syndromes

by  /  3 December 2009

There are clinical, anatomical and genetic overlaps between autism and certain rare developmental disorders of the cerebellum, and these disorders may help scientists understand autism, according to several studies published in the past year.

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October 2009

Enriched environment improves symptoms of Rett

by  /  23 October 2009

Giving mouse models of Rett syndrome access to toys, wheels and contact with other mice rescues motor skill and other deficits characteristic of the disorder, according to results presented in a poster session Wednesday at the Society for Neuroscience meeting in Chicago.

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Gene on chromosome 22 leads to autism mouse model

by  /  22 October 2009

Mice lacking a gene located in the chromosomal region 22q13 — which has been linked to autism — have motor learning and social deficits reminiscent of the disorder, according to unpublished findings presented in a poster session yesterday at the Society for Neuroscience meeting in Chicago.

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June 2009

Study identifies brain signatures of motor deficits in autism

by  /  9 June 2009

Children with autism rely on conscious planning, rather than habit, to control their movements, according to the first brain imaging study to examine motor performance in the disorder.

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November 2008

Beyond mirror neurons

by  /  20 November 2008

High-functioning children with autism may understand another personʼs intention when, for example, that person reaches for a glass of water ― a simple, goal-directed task ― without help from the mirror neuron system, according to research reported Tuesday at the Society for Neuroscience meeting.

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A simple behavioral test for mice

by  /  17 November 2008

Researchers at the Society for Neuroscience today described a new test for animal behavior that doesn’t interfere with normal mouse behavior, doesn’t require human interaction, and makes it simple to take long-term measurements: the ‘licking testʼ.

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March 2008

Restless sleep marks autism disorders

by  /  27 March 2008

For parents of children with autism, bedtime can be a boondoggle.

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January 2008

The 1999 Rett syndrome paper

by  /  3 January 2008

Huda Zoghbi and her colleagues painstakingly sequenced the candidate genes for Rett syndrome, culminating in the 1999 Nature Genetics report that pinpointed six de novo mutations in the MeCP2 gene as the cause of the disorder.

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