Mice with mutations in the autism-linked gene WDFY3 have enlarged brains reminiscent of those seen in some children with autism, according to a study published 8 September in Nature Communications.
Mutations in TBR1, a candidate gene for autism, compromise its functions and its ability to bind its partners — including FOXP2. Alan Packer explores the gene’s emerging link to language.
Drugs that activate the silent copy of the X chromosome in women may be able to undo the damage from mutations in genes located there. The study, published 2 September in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, offers hope for treating Rett syndrome and other disorders linked to the chromosome.
As the number of autism rodent models climbs, it is a good time for the field to step back and consider the best practices for assessing autism-like symptoms in rodents, says Jacqueline Crawley.
Methyl tags on DNA are distributed differently in postmortem brains from people with autism than in control brains, and mouse pups can inherit altered methylation from their older fathers, report two new studies.
The brains of children with autism do not prune unneeded connections between neurons as they age, leaving them with too many of these neuronal links, according to a study published 21 August in Neuron.
Geneticist James Noonan explains how the complex function of CHD8, the leading candidate for autism risk, points to a way to unravel the mechanisms underlying autism.
Drugs designed to treat Angelman syndrome may alleviate symptoms only if given during a ‘critical period’ early in development. That’s the upshot from unpublished results presented yesterday at a conference in Boston.
Light-transmitting cables implanted deep in mouse brains reveal connections between brain regions that control social interactions, according to a study published 19 June in Cell.
Mice modeling autism have trouble integrating different kinds of sensory information such as sight, sound and touch. A study published 31 July in Neuron reports that an imbalance between signals that calm neurons and those that excite them leads to these sensory problems.