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Spectrum: Autism Research News

Tag: neural circuits

September 2012

Postmortem brains crucial for autism research

by ,  /  4 September 2012

Postmortem brains from individuals with autism allow researchers to look at patterns of gene expression in different cell types, and to understand the interplay among neurons and neural circuits, says Dan Arking.

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August 2012
Brain waves against a solid white background

Epilepsy drug reverses autism-like symptoms in mice

by  /  27 August 2012

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.

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July 2012

Targeting brain microcircuits may help treat autism

by  /  10 July 2012

Understanding the function of neuronal circuits, specifically microcircuits in the prefrontal cortex and elsewhere in the brain, will play a major role in translating research findings into new autism treatments, says Vikaas Sohal.

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Researchers debut ‘virtual microscope’ for mouse brain

by  /  4 July 2012

Researchers have released the first set of data from the Mouse Brain Architecture Project, which uses light microscopy to trace neuronal circuits in the mouse brain.

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Molecular mechanisms: Fragile X clumps function at synapses

by  /  3 July 2012

FMRP, the protein missing in people with fragile X syndrome, localizes in clusters of proteins at neuronal junctions that relay sensory and motor information, according to a study published 23 April in The Journal of Comparative Neurology.

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June 2012

Whole-brain circuits light up in fish brains

by  /  20 June 2012

A new approach allows researchers to visualize individual neurons in the small, clear brains of larval zebrafish as they interact with their surroundings, according to a study published 9 May in Nature.

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April 2012

Massive effort planned to map visual brain in mice

by  /  16 April 2012

A ten-year initiative announced last month by the Allen Institute for Brain Science aims to catalog the development, structure and function of neural circuits in the brain at an unprecedented level of detail.

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Molecular mechanisms: Autism gene modulates connectivity

by  /  10 April 2012

Neurons lacking PTEN, an autism-associated gene also involved in cancer, are hyperconnected to both near and distant brain cells, according to a study published 1 February in The Journal of Neuroscience.

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Researchers map gene expression in the monkey brain

by  /  4 April 2012

Researchers have used gene expression data to create a map of the layers within the neocortex, a brain region involved in sensory perception, motor control and language, of rhesus macaques. The results were published 22 March in Neuron.

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March 2012

Big neuroscience

by  /  23 March 2012

Two large-scale neuroscience projects aim to integrate many different types of information about the brain into cohesive models and to share resources with the research community. 

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