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Spectrum: Autism Research News

Tag: prefrontal cortex

December 2018

Massive analysis refines map of autism’s genetic roots

by  /  19 December 2018

The largest genetic analysis of postmortem brain tissue to date has yielded maps of when and where genes related to autism are turned on and off throughout life.

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August 2018
Rhesus macaque making a funny face.

Three distinct brain systems underlie monkey social skills

by  /  10 August 2018

A new map shows three brain networks that govern social communication in rhesus macaques.

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June 2018

Mice missing top autism gene have overconnected brains

by  /  11 June 2018

Mice with one inactivated copy of CHD8, a top autism gene, show an unusually high degree of synchrony in neural activity between brain regions.

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Autism brains show widespread alterations in structure

by  /  4 June 2018

The brains of people with autism show a variety of structural differences from those of controls.

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May 2018
Week of MayMay
7th
2018

Dividing autism; novel messengers; million-dollar mark and more

by  /  11 May 2018

A researcher proposes splitting autism into subtypes, mitochondria make neurotransmitters, and highly successful grantees may face a funding cap.

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April 2018
Two mice against black background

Altered brain waves may underlie social problems in autism mice

by  /  16 April 2018

Boosting the activity of a class of neurons that dampen brain signals eases social problems in a mouse model of autism.

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March 2018
Mouse in a lab or maze hops around sniffing here and there

Why studying autism in mice may be doomed to fail

by  /  21 March 2018

After more than a decade of effort, scientists are questioning whether mouse models of autism can ever capture the social deficits seen in people with the condition.

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August 2017

Flash of light shifts social behavior in autism mice

by  /  2 August 2017

Turning on a set of neurons that dampen brain activity improves social behavior in a mouse model of autism; turning off neurons that excite brain activity does the same thing.

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February 2017

Rats with mutant SHANK genes show autism-like behaviors

by  /  16 February 2017

Researchers have engineered two new rats with mutations in a family of genes that function at neuronal junctions, they reported today at the 2014 International Meeting for Autism Research in Atlanta.

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January 2017

Autism brains bear telltale pattern of chemical tags

by  /  12 January 2017

The brains of many people with autism may exhibit a characteristic arrangement of chemical groups on the proteins that DNA coils around.

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