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Spectrum: Autism Research News

Tag: antidepressants

July 2023
Headshot of Bret Rutherford.

Exclusive: Shake-up at top psychiatric institute following suicide in clinical trial

by  /  31 July 2023

The New York State Psychiatric Institute in New York City is undergoing an audit and a change in leadership following a suicide that occurred during one of its clinical trials.

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December 2022
Illustration of hybrid objects: part light bulb, part lab vial, some in blue and some in red to signify null and replicated results.

Null and Noteworthy: Reinforcing rigor; medication medley

by  /  14 December 2022

This month’s newsletter highlights findings on the use of three medication types during pregnancy.

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October 2022
Illustration of hybrid objects: part light bulb, part lab vial, some in blue and some in red to signify null and replicated results.

Null and Noteworthy: Medication timing; oxytocin amounts; sensory sameness

by  /  13 October 2022

Parents’ health, treatment dosages and sensory perception feature in this month’s crop of null and replicated results.

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August 2022
A pregnant woman and another figure are obscured by shadows.

Maternal genetics may confound studies of autism’s link to prenatal factors

by  /  2 August 2022

Women who carry genetic variants tied to autism have an elevated chance of experiencing pregnancy-related events linked to the condition in their children.

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June 2022
Heidi and Hannah Epstein in Los Angeles.

Pinning hope to ketamine

by  /  29 June 2022

Doctors can prescribe it, but evidence that ketamine eases autism traits is still preliminary.

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August 2021

Drugs boost serotonin, socialization in multiple autism mouse models

by  /  6 August 2021

The finding that MDMA and an experimental serotonin agonist increase sociability across six different model mice suggests that disparate autism-linked mutations converge on the same underlying pathways.

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June 2021
Illustration of transporter mice in brain maze

After 60 years, scientists are still trying to crack a mysterious serotonin-autism link

by  /  4 June 2021

The high levels of serotonin seen in the blood of some autistic people have confounded scientists for more than half a century. Despite so little progress, some researchers refuse to give up.

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February 2021
Serotonin proteins

Sensor helps scientists spy on serotonin activity in mice in real time

by  /  5 February 2021

A glowing protein tracks serotonin levels and location in the brains of living mice and could yield clues to the neurotransmitter’s role in autism.

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January 2020
Two silhouettes, of child and an adult in a twilight colored setting. We can see inside the brain and interactions with medicine and the brain. The child's head is surrounded by clouds and the adult head is in the clear.

Why serotonin medications may yet help children with autism

by  /  28 January 2020

A class of medications used to treat obsessive-compulsive disorder seems to ease compulsive behaviors in adults with autism. Why can’t we tell if these medications work similarly in children with the condition?

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July 2019
Boy on bed is weighed down by pressures and troubles

The deep emotional ties between depression and autism

by  /  31 July 2019

Autistic people are four times as likely to experience depression over the course of their lives as their neurotypical peers. Yet researchers know little about why, or how best to help.

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