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Spectrum: Autism Research News

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The Brain

Charting the structure and function of the brain’s many circuits may unravel autism’s mysteries.

June 2012

Immune cells sculpt brain by pruning neuronal connections

by  /  4 June 2012

Immune cells called microglia may play a central role in trimming synapses, the connections between neurons, according to research published 24 May in Neuron. These modifications are part of a normal developmental process by which excess synapses in the brain are destroyed.

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Brain trust

by  /  1 June 2012

Preliminary research shows that in people with autism, oxytocin enhances activity in brain areas that process social information.

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May 2012

Autism gene PTEN plays vital role in neural stem cells

by  /  31 May 2012

Knocking out an autism-linked gene called PTEN only in neural stem cells of the hippocampus, a brain region central to learning and memory, throws the development of new neurons off course in adult mice, according to research published last month in the Journal of Neuroscience.

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Funding agency seeks success in ‘fast-fail’ clinical trials

by  /  28 May 2012

A new initiative launched by the National Institute of Mental Health aims to redefine clinical trials for autism by funding short, biomarker-based studies that will allow investigators to quickly rule out ineffective compounds. 

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Social games

by  /  25 May 2012

Multiplayer games can help researchers identify differences in social behavior in people with autism.

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Molecular mechanisms: Mutant mice show signs of autism

by  /  25 May 2012

Mice that are unable to produce a carbohydrate molecule that regulates cell growth show behaviors that resemble the core deficits of autism, according to a study published 27 March in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

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Robot replaces neuroscientists in technique

by  /  23 May 2012

A robot can replace researchers in performing a painstaking technique that records neuronal signals in live animal brains, according to a study published 6 May in Nature Methods.

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Rinse and repeat

by  /  22 May 2012

Researchers typically use only one ‘cohort,’ a group of about three dozen mice, for a given set of experiments. When others repeat the experiments with a different set of animals, sometimes the results hold up, and sometimes they don’t.

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Genetics: Mutations at neuronal junctions linked to autism

by  /  22 May 2012

Researchers have identified four new mutations in the autism-linked gene neurexin-1 in individuals who have autism and severe intellectual disability, they reported 3 April in Neurobiology of Disease.

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European consortium strives to spur autism drug development

by  /  21 May 2012

A $38.7 million project in the European Union — the largest single grant for autism research in the world — aims to bring together academic labs and pharmaceutical companies to speed the move from basic to clinical research.

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