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Spectrum: Autism Research News

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Signs & Symptoms

Autism’s core symptoms accompany a constellation of subtle signs that scientists are just beginning to unmask.

December 2010

Calming neurons may ease apnea in Rett syndrome

by  /  9 December 2010

A controversial new approach that quiets the activity of certain neurons in the brain alleviates breathing difficulties in a mouse model of Rett syndrome, according to a study published 4 October in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

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Curious clusters

by  /  8 December 2010

A new Swedish study finds that the number of children with autism in Somali communities is on the rise, but it’s not clear whether the cause is biological or social.

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Molecular mechanisms: Lithium treats adult fragile X symptoms

by  /  8 December 2010

Treating adult mice with lithium restores the ability of neurons in fragile X mice to fine-tune their signaling, according to a study published online in November in Brain Research.

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Molecular mechanisms: Autism brains have altered neurons

by  /  7 December 2010

Changes in the bodies of neurons may account for communication deficits in the brains of people with autism, according to a study published 3 November in The Journal of Neuroscience.

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Flow of water in the brain fingers autism

by  /  6 December 2010

An analysis of brain scans correctly distinguishes between people with autism and controls more than 90 percent of the time, according to a study published today in Autism Research.

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Defects in mitochondria linked to autism

by  /  3 December 2010

Cells drawn from a small sample of children with autism show defects in the functioning of their mitochondria — structures that produce energy to power cellular functions — according to a study published this week in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

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Molecular mechanisms: New pathway for fragile X treatment

by  /  2 December 2010

Inhibiting the ERK1/2 pathway — which regulates the synthesis of other proteins — can rescue some of the effects of fragile X syndrome, according to a study published 17 November in the Journal of Neuroscience. The ERK pathway could provide a novel target for fragile X therapies.

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Schools of thought

by  /  2 December 2010

Cases of autism in some high-risk areas are leveling off, argues a new study published in November in Pediatrics.

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Risk gene for autism rewires the brain

by  /  1 December 2010

A variant of the autism risk gene CNTNAP2 may alter the brain to emphasize connections between nearby regions and diminish those between more distant ones, according to a study published 3 November in Science Translational Medicine.

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Cognition and behavior: Brain maps direct our attention

by  /  1 December 2010

The parts of the brain that help us pay attention to some things and not others have specialized regions for different senses, such as sight and sound, according to a paper published online in November in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

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