Skip to main content

Spectrum: Autism Research News

Tag: mouse models

February 2011

Cognition and behavior: Serotonin pathway affects mouse behavior

by  /  22 February 2011

Mice that lack the gene for integrin β3, or ITGB3 — which regulates the levels of serotonin in the blood — groom themselves frequently and show less interest in stranger mice compared with controls, according to a study published in February in Autism Research as part of a special issue on mouse models in autism.

Comments

Genetic background alters behavior of fragile X mice

by  /  21 February 2011

Six strains of mice lacking a gene associated with fragile X syndrome show radically different behaviors though they share the same mutation, researchers reported in January in Autism Research.

Comments

Molecular mechanisms: Mice model milder form of fragile X

by  /  16 February 2011

A partial mutation that leads to a milder form of fragile X syndrome causes deficits in learning and memory in mice, and alters the connections between their neurons, according to a study published in January in Neurobiology of Disease.

Comments

Lost in translation

by  /  8 February 2011

The National Institutes of Health is adding a new $1 billion institute for early-stage drug development. But the agency’s plan to fund it by closing the National Center for Research Resources is causing some consternation.

Comments
January 2011

Brain-wave patterns bolster mouse models of autism

by  /  25 January 2011

Mice exposed to an epilepsy drug show several features of autism, including abnormal social interactions, repetitive behaviors and patterns of super-fast brain waves, called gamma oscillations, according to a study published 15 December in Biological Psychiatry.

Comments

New drug rescues function in fragile X syndrome

by  /  20 January 2011

A new drug appears to relieve symptoms of fragile X syndrome by blocking the over-production of a key protein in a subset of people with the disorder, according to a 6 January study in Science Translational Medicine.

Comments

Genetics: DNA duplications have far-reaching effects

by  /  17 January 2011

Copy number variations, or CNVs — duplications or deletions of DNA segments — can influence the expression of unrelated genes on the same chromosome, according to a study published in November in PLOS Biology.

Comments

Researchers debut autism mouse model lacking SHANK3

by  /  17 January 2011

Scientists have created mice that carry mutations in SHANK3, one of the strongest candidate genes for autism. The animals have behavioral and neurobiological features reminiscent of autism, researchers reported 17 December in Molecular Autism.

Comments

Mouse model mirrors social quirks of Williams syndrome

by  /  13 January 2011

Mice lacking one copy of a gene associated with Williams syndrome share the hyper-sociability of people with the disorder, according to a paper published online 3 December in Autism Research.

Comments
December 2010

Molecular mechanisms: Imaging technique reveals brain’s diversity

by  /  14 December 2010

A new technique called array tomography allows researchers to visualize individual synapses, the complex junctions between neurons, in the mouse brain. Researchers have also identified several markers that highlight the incredible diversity of synapse types.

Comments