Weak waves
Neurofeedback studies showing improvement in symptoms in people with autism are deeply flawed, according to a new review.
Charting the structure and function of the brain’s many circuits may unravel autism’s mysteries.
Neurofeedback studies showing improvement in symptoms in people with autism are deeply flawed, according to a new review.
An ingenious new technique may allow small brain implants to release chemicals when and where they are needed, according to a study published 2 June in the Journal of Neural Engineering.
Deletions or duplications of the UBE3A gene lead to both Angelman syndrome and some cases of autism, respectively. Studying the effects of altered gene dosage in this region will provide insights into brain defects and suggest targets for therapies for both disorders, says expert Benjamin Philpot.
Some autism-associated mutations activate a stress response that could lead to symptoms of the disorder, according to a study published 3 June in Cell Death and Disease.
Blocking a chemical messenger — a much-touted approach to treating fragile X syndrome — is unlikely to completely reverse symptoms of the disorder, according to a provocative new study. The results, published in May in Behavioural Brain Research, show only modest behavioral improvements with the approach.
Individuals with autism do not have so-called ‘eagle-eyed’ vision as reported by some studies, according to research published 10 June in the Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders.
Neurexin 1, an autism-associated protein that functions at the junctions between neurons, has a flexible hinge that can toggle the protein between a more compact or a more accessible shape, a crystal structure published 8 June in Structure reveals.
Many toddlers with autism have weak connections between the two sides of the brain, according to the first-ever analysis of brain connections in young children with the disorder, published 23 June in Neuron.
FOXP2, a gene tied to autism and language disorders, is needed for proper wiring of the developing brain, according to a study published 7 July in PLoS Genetics.
A multi-site collaborative venture between the U.S., Canada and Europe has created nearly 17,000 mouse embryonic stem cell lines, each lacking one of the genes in the mouse genome.