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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.

September 2010

Cognition and behavior: Individuals with autism not tuned in to human motion

by  /  27 September 2010

Individuals with autism detect the motion of an object with the same accuracy as they detect the motion of people, whereas controls are more attuned to human movement, according to a study published in August in Autism Research.

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Genetics: Common mutation linked to risk of mental disorders

by  /  27 September 2010

A common variation within a region on chromosome 16 puts a large proportion of the general population at risk for intellectual disability, according to a study published in August in Nature Genetics.

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Cognition and behavior: Amygdala lesions don’t cause autism

by  /  27 September 2010

Damage to the amygdala — a region of the brain that regulates emotional processing — does not cause autism, according to a study of two individuals with lesions in the region. The study, published in September in the Journal of Neurodevelopmental Disorders, found that these individuals show no evidence of autism when given multiple diagnostic tests.

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Molecular mechanisms: Autism brains show ‘angry’ microglia

by  /  27 September 2010

A study of postmortem tissue shows that microglia, cells that provide immune protection to the brain, are altered in the brains of individuals with autism.

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Molecular mechanisms: Fragile X mutation worsens memory loss

by  /  27 September 2010

Genes responsible for Alzheimer’s disease and fragile X syndrome — a form of mental retardation linked to autism — may operate through the same pathway, according to a study published in The Journal of Neuroscience.

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Studies tie fragile X syndrome to famous cancer pathway

by  /  23 September 2010

A drug that interferes with a biochemical pathway important in cancer can reverse some brain defects in mouse models of fragile X syndrome, according to a study published 11 August in the Journal of Neuroscience.

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Time perception problems may explain autism symptoms

by  /  20 September 2010

Individuals with autism have trouble perceiving the passage of time, and pairing sights and sounds that happen simultaneously, according to two new studies.

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X-linked gene increases autism risk in boys

by  /  16 September 2010

A newly characterized gene on the X chromosome may be disrupted in up to one percent of people with autism, researchers reported Wednesday in Science Translational Medicine.

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Immature headlines

by  /  15 September 2010

A five-minute brain scan can help diagnose developmental disorders including autism in young children, headlines blared last week. That may be true several years down the line, but I’d say it’s a pretty big exaggeration of the actual findings.

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Islam and autism

by  /  14 September 2010

In popular culture — from the TV show
to high-traffic health blogs — I’ve noticed more and more stories about the domestic difficulties that come from raising a child with autism, particularly the emotional and financial toll it takes on parents.

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