Some who lack autism diagnosis carry variants tied to the condition
The variants are associated with slight differences in measures of intelligence, income and employment, but the relationship may not be causal.
The variants are associated with slight differences in measures of intelligence, income and employment, but the relationship may not be causal.
This month’s newsletter tackles null findings from an attempted replication of a “revolutionary” MRI approach and an analysis of family genetics.
The rare variants are also linked to ADHD and Tourette syndrome, two other conditions that disproportionately affect boys and men.
Troves of sequencing data reveal genes tied to autism through different variant types, providing a more complete picture of the condition’s genetic roots and new clues to its heterogeneity.
The mutations occur spontaneously in noncoding stretches of DNA that control gene expression.
The vast stretches of DNA that don’t code for proteins could fill key knowledge gaps about autism genetics. But making sense of it all won’t be easy.
Siblings of autistic females are more likely to have autism than siblings of autistic males are, and mothers of autistic children carry more common, autism-linked variants than fathers do.
Different combinations of common, rare, inherited and spontaneous mutations may explain why traits vary so widely among autistic people.
The gene, YTHDF2, may be one of several that contribute to an autism subtype marked by an unusually big brain.
Common and rare variants in or near autism-associated genes can have opposite effects on cognition.