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Spectrum: Autism Research News

Tag: learning and memory

November 2011

Cognition and behavior: Rett syndrome mice are social

by  /  16 November 2011

Mice with a mutation in the Rett syndrome gene are more social than controls, according to a study published 11 September in Behavioral Genetics. The results, based on detailed observation of social behavior, support previous studies showing that Rett syndrome mouse models do not have severe social deficits.

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Normocentric world

by  /  15 November 2011

In a Nature commentary, Laurent Mottron, professor of psychiatry at the University of Montreal, argues that autism is not a defect that needs fixing.

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Different doses of Rett protein produce similar effects

by  /  15 November 2011

Mice that have an excess of the Rett syndrome protein MeCP2 have biochemical and neuronal characteristics that are strikingly similar to those of mice that completely lack the protein, according to unpublished research described Sunday at the 2011 Society for Neuroscience annual meeting in Washington, D.C.

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Video: What monkeys can teach us about autism

by  /  12 November 2011

Earl Miller tells SFARI.org how monkeys inspired his theory for the cognitive deficits in autism.

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Molecular mechanisms: MeCP2 may modify DNA structure

by  /  9 November 2011

The Rett syndrome gene MeCP2 may subtly regulate the expression of genes across the genome by altering DNA structure.

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October 2011

Cognition and behavior: Mouse model has autism-like brain

by  /  28 October 2011

A well-studied mouse model of autism has a smaller-than-normal volume in several autism-associated brain regions.

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Mouse vs. mouse

by  /  21 October 2011

A new study describes a mutant mouse that, despite missing an autism-linked gene, doesn’t show any autism-like behaviors.

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Molecular mechanisms: Pathway linked to regressive autism

by  /  12 October 2011

Defects in a signaling pathway that regulates learning and memory could underlie regressive autism, a sudden loss of language or social ability.

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September 2011

Three-dimensional re-creation reveals dendrite shapes

by  /  28 September 2011

Researchers have created detailed three-dimensional reconstructions of the numerous complex branches of dendrites, the signal-receiving ends of neurons.

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Cognition and behavior: Mutant mice show social deficits

by  /  28 September 2011

Mice lacking a gene that regulates an important signaling pathway in the central nervous system have severe autism-like social deficits, including little interest in nurturing their offspring and problems with learning and memory.

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