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Spectrum: Autism Research News

Tag: excitatory signaling

January 2022

Rethinking the origins of neurons: Q&A with Tomasz Nowakowski

by  /  20 January 2022

Excitatory and inhibitory neurons can derive from the same cellular source in the developing human brain, a new study suggests, overturning a 20-year-old hypothesis. Tomasz Nowakowski discusses the finding’s implications for autism research.

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Visual stimulus of 4 circles with black and white stripes.

Visual task flags autistic people who respond to GABA agonists

by  /  5 January 2022

The investigational drug arbaclofen makes autistic people’s brains respond to a visual task more like non-autistic people’s brains do.

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November 2021
Three mice sniffing each other.

Reversing mutations in top autism-linked gene makes adult mice more social

by  /  10 November 2021

Treatments that counteract the effects of an SCN2A mutation in mice increase the animals’ sociability in adulthood, according to a new unpublished study.

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October 2021

Autism-linked gene SYNGAP1 molds synaptic plasticity, learning

by  /  21 October 2021

Even partial loss of the gene impairs the mouse brain’s ability to respond to sensory experiences, which may explain why people with SYNGAP1 mutations tend to have learning difficulties and a high pain tolerance.

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Closeup photo of a liquid being poured out of a brown bottle.

French pharma firms terminate trials of bumetanide for autism

by  /  1 October 2021

Preliminary results suggested the treatment is no better than placebo at reducing the severity of core autism traits.

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August 2021
Micrograph showing missing sodium ion channels in cerebral cortex of mice with two mutated copies of SCN2A gene.

Model mice hint at sodium channel gene’s contribution to autism

by  /  27 August 2021

Altered electrical activity in the neurons of mice with a mutated copy of SCN2A may explain the animals’ autism-like social behaviors.

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Images shows a pyramidal neuron.

How mutations in top autism gene could lead to seizures

by  /  5 August 2021

Deleterious mutations in an autism-associated gene can make neurons hyperexcitable, raising the risk of epileptic seizures.

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July 2021
Immature inhibitory cells surround mature neuron.

Critical time window flagged for autism gene’s influence

by  /  16 July 2021

A transplant of inhibitory neurons during the second week of life prevents social difficulties and a brain signaling imbalance in mice missing a copy of FOXG1.

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June 2021
Mouse neuron recordings showing different levels of activity before and after an encounter with an unfamiliar mouse.

Neural network captures noisy neurons in autism mouse model

by  /  18 June 2021

Mice missing the autism-linked gene SHANK3 use more neurons to engage in social behavior than control mice do, reflecting a more disorganized, less efficient brain signaling network.

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Brain and marijuana leaves

Q&A with Eric Hollander: Cannabis treatments for autism

by  /  8 June 2021

As cannabis prohibition slowly lifts in the United States, scientists and families in the autism community are increasingly turning to the drug and its constituent compounds to ease autism-related difficulties, including seizures and irritability.

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