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Spectrum: Autism Research News

Tag: sensory perception

November 2023
Illustrated portrait of Ardem Patapoutian.

Sensing touch, the immigrant life and Ardem Patapoutian

by  /  1 November 2023

The Nobel Prize winner talks about PIEZO 1 and 2, proprioception and the viral photo of him and his son from the 2021 Nobel Prize announcement.

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October 2023
A person stands in front of a neatly organized dresser drawer

Teasing apart insistence on sameness with Mirko Uljarević

by  /  30 October 2023

The hallmark autism trait has multiple facets, Uljarević and his colleagues have found.

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September 2023
Two mice touching.

‘Social touch’ responses in mice gauged with unprecedented control

by  /  19 September 2023

A new tool could help decipher the brain circuits underlying aversion to social touch, which is common in people with autism.

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August 2023
Black-and-white illustrated portrait of Jonathan Green.

‘Emergent and transactional’: How Jonathan Green is rethinking autism and interventions

by  /  28 August 2023

The experienced clinician discusses writing his recent paper, and its reception in the field.

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June 2023
A dentist examines a young girl’s teeth.

Easing sensory sensitivities in the clinic: Q&A with Leah Stein Duker

by  /  30 June 2023

Dentist or doctor visits can overwhelm autistic children with sensory sensitivities. Occupational therapy can help, Stein Duker says.

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Illustration of hybrid objects: part light bulb, part lab vial, some in blue and some in red to signify null and replicated results.

Null and Noteworthy: Modified MRI; father findings

by  /  22 June 2023

This month’s newsletter tackles null findings from an attempted replication of a “revolutionary” MRI approach and an analysis of family genetics.

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April 2023
Research video of a zebrafish larva (zoomed in on the gut) being given glucose.

On the periphery: Thinking ‘outside the brain’ offers new ideas about autism

by  /  13 April 2023

Neuronal alterations outside the brain may help to explain a host of the condition’s characteristic traits, including sensory changes, gut problems and motor differences.

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March 2023
Mother and child rhesus macaque monkeys.

Serotonin initiates earliest social bonds

by  /  2 March 2023

Mice and rats, for example, gravitate toward their mother’s bedding over bedding that is clean or smells of a different dam.

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January 2023
Several scientists standing under a spotlight greet scientists who are entering the spotlight.

Autistic psychiatrists are an asset to medicine — but we need to better support them

by  /  18 January 2023

Autistic psychiatrists report experiencing prejudice, stigmatization and career barriers during their training and day-to-day practice. Workplaces can make some simple adjustments to better support them and enhance equality and inclusivity.

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December 2022
Gavin Rumbaugh stands on a beach with his family: his wife, dog and child.

Beyond the bench: Finding balance with Gavin Rumbaugh

by  /  15 December 2022

Rumbaugh, who studies how the autism-linked gene SYNGAP1 shapes brain development, describes how he has embraced coastal living and which aspects of his career he wouldn’t do over.

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