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Spectrum: Autism Research News

Tag: technology

February 2013

How do we design more nimble diagnostics?

by  /  18 February 2013

How can we design cheaper, faster diagnostics that are as reliable as the gold-standard tools?

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Researchers carve out map of rodent brain

by  /  13 February 2013

Researchers have divided the rat brain into 26 structures that are present from birth to adulthood and that can be seen using brain imaging, according to a study published 15 February in Neuroimage.

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Flexible brain

by  /  8 February 2013

Transcranial magnetic stimulation may provide a noninvasive approach to studying how connections in the human brain change in response to new information, and how that process is altered in autism, says Lindsay Oberman.

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Robots could fill in for autism therapists

by  /  6 February 2013

Robots may be able to help treat children with autism when qualified therapists aren’t available, according to a study published 3 December in IEEE Translational Neural Systems Rehabilitation Engingeering.

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January 2013
A 3D digital rendering of a human face in profile.

Conversation with avatar teaches social skills

by  /  2 January 2013

In a virtual reality game intended to improve social skills in teenagers with autism, the players must ask computer avatars the right questions while seeming engaged in the conversation. The game was described 27 September in IEEE Transactions on Neural Systems and Rehabilitation Engineering.

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December 2012

Coloring book

by  /  10 December 2012

Sebastian Seung invites an online community of citizen scientists to revolutionize neuroscience by mapping connections between the brain’s neurons.

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Perspective: Imaging autism

by  /  6 December 2012

Several studies in the past two years have claimed that brain scans can diagnose autism, but this assertion is deeply flawed, says Nicholas Lange.

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Study allays fears about usefulness of induced stem cells

by  /  6 December 2012

Some of the genetic variability seen in stem cells derived from skin arises from differences in the skin cells themselves, according to a study published 18 November in Nature. The findings have implications for both stem cell research and our understanding of human biology.

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November 2012

Virtual brain suggests neural connections form randomly

by  /  7 November 2012

Researchers are assembling a virtual reconstruction of the brain by piecing together simulations of thousands of neurons, they reported 16 October in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. They used this model to show that most junctions between neurons form randomly and not as the result of chemical signals.

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October 2012

Autism Speaks launches scheme to develop drugs, devices

by  /  25 October 2012

The research and advocacy organization Autism Speaks plans to launch a nonprofit arm that will fund companies to develop treatments for the disorder, Robert Ring, head of translational research for the organization, announced yesterday at the Autism Consortium Research Symposium in Boston.

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