Researchers have charted the expression of more than 15,000 brain genes across 15 stages of development, spanning from 4 weeks post-conception to more than 60 years of age, they reported 27 October in Nature.
Individuals with autism-linked variants of a language gene use regions in the brain’s right hemisphere, rather than the left, to process language, according to a study published 10 October in The American Journal of Medical Genetics Part B.
By focusing on recessive mutations inherited from both parents, researchers have identified 50 new candidate genes for intellectual disability.
Male zebra finches have high levels of contactin associated protein-like 2 (CNTNAP2), a protein that has been linked to autism and language disorders, in a key song-related area of their brains, according to unpublished research presented in a poster session Sunday at the 2011 Society for Neuroscience annual meeting in Washington, D.C.
Mice lacking the autism-linked gene CNTNAP2 show many of the behaviors associated with the disorder, and exhibit brain circuit disruptions similar to those seen in people who carry mutations in the gene.
A new study of nearly 6,000 pairs of twins suggests that the three core traits of autism are inherited separately, and to varying degrees, both in individuals with autism and in the general population.
Two autism-associated genes that function at the synapse, the junction between neurons, are associated with severe intellectual disability, according to a study published 9 August in BMC Medical Genetics.
A protein linked to language development, FOXP2, regulates the autism candidate gene MET, according to a study published 10 August in the Journal of Neuroscience.
The study of any genetic disorder benefits from including the many diverse human populations in our world, and autism should be no different, says geneticist Christopher Walsh.
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.