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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.

November 2010

Movement study supports ‘extreme-male brain’ hypothesis

by  /  19 November 2010

People with autism are slower than controls at interpreting emotions expressed by physical movement, researchers reported Wednesday at the Society for Neuroscience annual meeting in San Diego.

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Modeling captures mouse habitat’s effect on neurons

by  /  19 November 2010

Computerized three-dimensional modeling shows nerve cell abnormalities in the hippocampus of fragile X mice — and suggests the importance of raising experimental mice in more natural habitats, according to a poster presented Wednesday at the Society for Neuroscience annual meeting in San Diego.

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Antibiotic proves promising as fragile X treatment

by  /  19 November 2010

Minocycline, an antibiotic approved to treat various infections including acne, can increase vocalizations and provide long-lasting improvements in anxiety in a fragile X mouse model, according to two posters presented at the Society for Neuroscience annual meeting in San Diego.

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Video: Live from the brain, it’s neuron development

by  /  19 November 2010

Brain cells communicate across complex junctions called synapses, filled with proteins working to bind neurons together. Kurt Haas of the University of British Columbia in Vancouver has developed a method to watch neuron development in the growing tadpole brain.

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Mouse model hints at Alzheimer’s therapies for fragile X

by  /  19 November 2010

Lowering the levels of proteins associated with Alzheimer’s disease can improve symptoms of fragile X syndrome in mice, according to a poster presented Wednesday at the Society for Neuroscience annual meeting in San Diego.

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Video: Why make neurons from children with autism?

by  /  19 November 2010

Ricardo Dolmetsch is making neurons from induced pluripotent stem cells derived from people with Timothy syndrome, a rare single-gene disorder that causes heart arrhythmias and autism. On Wednesday morning at the Society for Neuroscience annual meeting in San Diego, Dolmetsch talked to SFARI about how this approach could help autism research.

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Immune protein alters development in young mice

by  /  18 November 2010

Pregnant mice injected with the immune protein interleukin-6 give birth to pups that are less social than normal, an effect that results from the over-activation of two pathways critical in neurodevelopment, researchers reported Tuesday at the Society for Neuroscience annual meeting in San Diego.

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Making quick decisions more challenging for kids with autism

by  /  18 November 2010

Children with autism show more activity in a brain region important for making decisions under changing circumstances, according to a poster presented Monday at the Society for Neuroscience annual meeting in San Diego.

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Fish tale implicates language gene in autism

by  /  18 November 2010

Reducing the levels of CNTNAP2 — a gene implicated in both autism and language impairment — in zebrafish leads to a decrease in neurons that dampen signals in the brain, according to unpublished data presented Tuesday at the Society for Neuroscience annual meeting in San Diego.

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Fragile X mice have shortage of synaptic proteins

by  /  18 November 2010

The brains of young mice with fragile X syndrome show a dearth of two proteins that are important at the synapse, the junction between neurons, researchers reported Tuesday at the Society for Neuroscience annual meeting in San Diego.

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