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Spectrum: Autism Research News

Author

Sarah DeWeerdt

Contributing Writer, Spectrum

Sarah DeWeerdt is a Seattle-based freelance science writer specializing in biology, medicine and the environment. Her work has appeared in publications including Nature, Newsweek, Conservation and Nautilus. She has been a regular contributor to Spectrum since 2010, writing conference reports, news and Deep Dive articles.

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September 2013

Gene expression in neurons may not match number of copies

by  /  23 September 2013

Neurons derived from individuals who carry extra copies of an autism-linked chromosomal region have gene expression patterns that are unexpectedly similar to those of neurons with deletions of the region. The unpublished findings were presented Thursday at the Dup15q Alliance Scientific Meeting in Sacramento, California.

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Mouse model hints at autism gene’s role in nucleus

by  /  20 September 2013

Mice that express elevated levels of an autism-linked gene in the nucleus of neurons show social and communication problems, according to unpublished research presented Thursday at the Dup15q Alliance Scientific Meeting in Sacramento, California.

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Study of nonverbal autism must go beyond words, experts say

by  /  2 September 2013

To better understand and treat nonverbal autism, the field must paradoxically move beyond focusing on speech production, say many researchers. Emerging research suggests that seemingly unrelated issues such as motor skills and joint attention may instead be key.

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August 2013

Large study links autism to autoimmune disease in mothers

by  /  22 August 2013

About one in ten women who have a child with autism have immune molecules in their bloodstream that react with proteins in the brain, according to a study published 20 August in Molecular Psychiatry.

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July 2013
Photograph of three monkeys sitting on a tree branch.

Researchers flag targets of autism-linked antibodies

by  /  25 July 2013

Two studies published 9 July bolster the hypothesis that immune molecules in a pregnant woman’s bloodstream may sometimes cause autism in her child.

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June 2013

Researchers call for open access to autism diagnostic tools

by  /  24 June 2013

Few studies of autism prevalence have been conducted in low- and middle-income countries. Freely available screening and diagnostic tools could help address this disparity.

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New imaging techniques probe brain’s long-range connections

by  /  10 June 2013

New techniques to scan the brain can produce exquisitely detailed views of white matter, which contains the long cellular fibers that connect neurons. Many of the advances are emerging from the Human Connectome Project, a five-year push to map the brain’s wiring.

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May 2013

Funding agency shifts focus away from diagnostic groups

by  /  27 May 2013

The National Institute of Mental Health is moving away from research proposals that hew closely to clinical diagnoses such as autism spectrum disorder. The announcement has struck many autism researchers as an attack on the already-controversial new diagnostic criteria for the disorder.

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Photograph of a father measuring his daughter’s height against a doorway.

Long-term studies track how autism changes with age

by  /  13 May 2013

A handful of long-term studies, each including up to several hundred participants, have followed people with autism for close to two decades. As the children in some of these studies come of age, researchers are piecing together the disorder’s trajectories.

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Digital illustration of a brain with the corpus callosum highlighted.

Lack of corpus callosum yields insights into autism

by  /  2 May 2013

A rare birth defect offers a unique perspective on the connectivity theory of autism. Up to one-third of those missing all or part of the corpus callosum, a thick tract of nerve fibers connecting the left and right brain hemispheres, meet the diagnostic criteria for autism, several recent studies suggest.

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