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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.

November 2022
Single astrocyte on black background.

Mouse studies cast astrocytes as stars of sensory perception

by  /  13 November 2022

Data from two separate research teams suggest the cells are key to sensory hypersensitivity in fragile X syndrome.

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October 2022
Lone figure treads a central path that splits into two, surrounded on both sides by an uncertain, shifting landscape in murky colors.

It’s time to embrace ‘profound autism’

by  /  27 October 2022

My experience at the Autism-Europe International Congress — and as a parent of a child with profound autism — makes me more convinced than ever that we need to bifurcate the diagnosis of ‘autism spectrum disorder’ and add a new diagnosis of ‘profound autism’ to better serve this vulnerable population.

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Beyond the bench: Mastering meaningful movement with Karen Chenausky

by  /  21 October 2022

The competitive rower-turned-researcher spoke to Spectrum about how trying out for the U.S. national rowing team and a subsequent coaching position shaped her study of speech development.

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A young girl rubs her eyes in a dark room.

Autistic people at increased genetic risk of sleep problems

by  /  18 October 2022

Compared with their unaffected siblings and unrelated controls, children with autism harbor more copy number variants in genes that govern the circadian cycle or are associated with insomnia.

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Photograph of a mouse nesting in a pile of hay.

Scoring mouse behaviors: Q&A with Michael Sidorov

by  /  17 October 2022

A new analysis package enables researchers to distill multiple measures of Angelman syndrome mice into a single ‘severity score.’

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A teacher observes young students as they play with toys at a table.

Social-pragmatic difficulties common with autism, other diagnoses

by  /  4 October 2022

A standard questionnaire can help identify social (pragmatic) communication disorder more readily in school-age children.

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September 2022
Brain slice of a mouse brain showing cells carrying the fragile X mutation.

Fragile X neurons develop atypically in chimeric mice

by  /  29 September 2022

After a brain transplant of reprogrammed human cells, the animals can for the first time recapitulate some neuronal changes seen in people with fragile X syndrome.

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Noah Sasson, a thin white man, stands in a courtyard with his hands in his pockets.

Noah Sasson: Connecting with the autistic community

by  /  15 September 2022

Intentional interactions with autistic people led Sasson to refocus his research.

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David Mandell sits on the steps of a school.

How losing a parent helped shape David Mandell’s approach to autism research

by  /  6 September 2022

Autism’s “fearless” researcher takes on the big questions.

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August 2022
Illustration of hybrid objects: part light bulb, part lab vial, some in blue and some in red to signify null and replicated results.

Null and Noteworthy: Mind reading, specialist shortage, sleep problems source

by  /  23 August 2022

This month, a commonly used emotion-recognition test doesn’t perform as expected — nor does a survey of past efforts to train autism specialists or a hunt for the sources of the sleep problems that often accompany the condition.

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