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Spectrum: Autism Research News

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Genes

Rare or common, inherited or spontaneous, mutations form the core of autism risk.

February 2012

Music reigns

by  /  21 February 2012

Brain imaging studies of people with autism show that specific areas respond more strongly to song than do those of controls. The opposite is true when listening to speech.

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Maternal anti-brain antibodies may play a role in autism

by , ,  /  21 February 2012

Maternal antibodies that attack fetal brain proteins could underlie some cases of autism, says immunologist Betty Diamond.

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Human neuron model tests function of autism-linked genes

by  /  16 February 2012

Simulating neuronal development in culture with cells derived from human brain tissue offers a new way to study the function of autism-linked genes, according to research published in the February issue of Molecular Psychiatry.

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Researchers chart 3D structure of fruit fly chromosomes

by  /  15 February 2012

A new study reveals the three-dimensional structure of fruit fly chromosomes, which groups together active and inactive genes. The results were published 3 February in Cell.

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Genetics: Autism, Tourette syndrome genes overlap

by  /  15 February 2012

Genes implicated in Tourette syndrome overlap with those involved in autism, according to an analysis of rare DNA duplications and deletions in people with the syndrome, published in the March issue of Biological Psychiatry.

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Molecular mechanisms: Excess MeCP2 leads to anxiety in mice

by  /  14 February 2012

Two genes may be responsible for autism symptoms in mice with extra copies of the Rett syndrome gene, according to a study published 8 January in Nature Genetics.

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SHANK2 study bolsters ‘multi-hit’ gene model of autism

by  /  13 February 2012

By screening the genomes of hundreds of people with autism and analyzing the effects of newly identified mutations in cultured neurons, researchers have clarified the disorder’s link to the SHANK2 gene.

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Lasting connections

by  /  10 February 2012

What makes humans so different from our primate cousins? The answer may lie in unique patterns of gene expression soon after birth, primarily in genes required to form the junctions between neurons.

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Clinical research: Mice model Rett syndrome’s heart symptoms

by  /  10 February 2012

Mice engineered to carry a Rett syndrome mutation only in neurons are prone to an irregular heartbeat that can lead to sudden death, according to a study published 14 December in Science Translational Medicine.

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Microscope reveals nanoscale detail in live mouse brains

by  /  8 February 2012

A new microscope allows researchers to capture the movement of tiny signal-receiving branches in the brains of adult mice at the nanoscale level. The results were published 3 February in Science.

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