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Spectrum: Autism Research News

Tag: schizophrenia

August 2023
A grid of four brain scans showing excess cerebrospinal fluid.

Is excess brain fluid an early marker of autism?

by  /  17 August 2023

Brain scans of hundreds of infants suggest that up to 80 percent of those with autism have unusual amounts of cerebrospinal fluid. Researchers are studying how this might contribute to the condition.

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May 2023
Illustration of DNA methylation.

‘Polygenic risk scores’ for autism, explained

by  /  23 May 2023

These scores — composite measures of a person’s autism-linked common genetic variants — cannot predict an autism diagnosis but could help researchers better understand the condition’s underlying biology.

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January 2023
Lab images of cilia.

Autism and the cell’s antennae

by  /  4 January 2023

Many autism-linked genes are somehow tied to cilia, the tiny hair-like sensors that stud a cell’s surface. But the question remains whether, and how, cilia differences contribute to the condition.

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December 2022
Illustration of a pregnant woman seated next to a large diagram of the brain featuring chromosomes, bacteria and other microbes.

The link between maternal infection and autism, explained

by  /  13 December 2022

Having an infection during pregnancy is tied to a small increase in the chances of having an autistic child, but the connection may not be causal.

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September 2022
Conceptual illustration of a door leading from one area of the brain to another area of the brain.

Autism’s genetic heterogeneity evident in brain connectivity patterns

by  /  27 September 2022

The results highlight the importance of subgrouping study participants based on their underlying genetics, the researchers say.

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Noah Sasson, a thin white man, stands in a courtyard with his hands in his pockets.

Noah Sasson: Connecting with the autistic community

by  /  15 September 2022

Intentional interactions with autistic people led Sasson to refocus his research.

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August 2022
A large MRI scan of a human brain, with a grid of 15 smaller MRI scans to its left

Chromosome 22 mutations leave telltale marks on brain development in autistic people

by  /  24 August 2022

Many brain regions develop differently between people with 22q11.2 duplications and deletions, and those trajectories also vary with a person’s diagnosis.

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A pregnant woman and another figure are obscured by shadows.

Maternal genetics may confound studies of autism’s link to prenatal factors

by  /  2 August 2022

Women who carry genetic variants tied to autism have an elevated chance of experiencing pregnancy-related events linked to the condition in their children.

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July 2022
Concept illustration of DNA deletion: 2 DNA strands extend horizontally across a burnt orange background. The bottom is intact, while there are gaps in the top strand.

Deletions on chromosome 22 have ripple effects across genome

by  /  20 July 2022

Deletion of the 22q11.2 chromosomal region alters the expression of numerous autism- and schizophrenia-linked genes, most of which are not contained within the deleted region, a new study suggests.

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New resource maps gene expression, regulation in neuron subtypes

by  /  1 July 2022

The catalog could help researchers understand the effects of autism-linked DNA variants that fall outside genes.

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