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Spectrum: Autism Research News

Opinion Archive

September 2022
Constantina Theofanopoulou strikes a dancer's pose in her lab.

Beyond the bench: Learning new moves with dancer-scientist Constantina Theofanopoulou

by  /  13 September 2022

Theofanopoulou shares how flamenco stepped up the pace of her social-communication research, and what’s behind the ‘no fear’ ethos in her new lab.

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Human silhouettes are seen against a colorful, abstract representation of a genetic sequence.

How geneticists can gain greater buy-in from the autistic community

by  /  9 September 2022

My recommendations aim to foster a collaborative relationship between researchers and the Autistic community, resulting in an increase in the availability of genetic data.

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Oxytocin lessons from autism-linked syndromes: A chat with Christian Schaaf and Ferdinand Althammer

by  /  7 September 2022

Oxytocin therapies have failed to consistently benefit autistic people, but their effects in people with two autism-linked conditions may yield new insights, experts argue.

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A mother and child stand, dwarfed by giant alphabet blocks spelling ABA.

Applied behavior analysis and autism: Flawed application of a proven science

by  /  1 September 2022

The field of ABA needs more compassion and individualization.

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August 2022
Researcher on path in space that leads to open, shared data network.

Open science in autism research: A chat with Amy Pearson and Daniel Poole

by  /  26 August 2022

The two psychologists share tips to help autism researchers adopt established methods and make their work more transparent and reproducible.

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Conceptual illustration of chromosomal abnormalities

Lumping versus splitting with autism-linked variants: A conversation with Vanessa Vogel-Farley and Yssa DeWoody

by  /  22 August 2022

Researchers have long studied subgroups of people who share genetic variants, but the newly formed ‘CNV Commission’ is also looking at people with shared traits across different neurodevelopmental conditions.

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Portrait of Judy Van De Water at her home in Fort Bragg, CA, with her paintings.

Beyond the bench: A conversation with Judy Van de Water

by  /  12 August 2022

When Van de Water isn’t busy mentoring “the next generation of scientists” in her lab, she finds time to paint, watch HGTV and hang out with her horse, Hank.

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Toddler stepping towards parent, in front of window.

What developmental milestones say about autism research: A conversation with Susan Kuo and Elise Robinson

by  /  10 August 2022

Shifts in diagnostic criteria have only added to the condition’s bedeviling heterogeneity, an analysis of smiling, sitting, walking and other early milestones in more than 17,000 autistic children reveals.

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Of mice and human interneurons: A Q&A with Moritz Helmstaedter

by  /  1 August 2022

People’s brains have a larger network of inhibitory interneurons than mouse brains do, according to a new study. Changes to that network could contribute to autism or other conditions, says lead investigator Moritz Helmstaedter.

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July 2022
Scientist examining DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) results on a screen in a laboratory.

How an expert panel evaluates genes for autism genetic tests

by  /  22 July 2022

About 15 percent of genes currently included in clinical genetic tests for autism or intellectual disability don’t have enough evidence to support their ties to the conditions, the panel found.

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