Beyond the bench: A conversation with Konstantinos Zarbalis
Konstantinos “Kostas” Zarbalis talks about the upside of unexpected experimental results, and why he eats just one meal per day.
Konstantinos “Kostas” Zarbalis talks about the upside of unexpected experimental results, and why he eats just one meal per day.
By automatically quantifying gait and posture in videos of mice, a new machine-learning tool could accelerate research on how autism-linked mutations or drug treatments affect motor skills.
Activating the immune system blunts social behavior in mice missing a copy of the autism-linked gene SHANK3, according to a new study. Blocking TRPV4, which encodes an ion channel involved in inflammatory responses, can reverse this effect.
Model animals don’t develop the usual behavioral and motor problems when reared in an enclosure containing exercise wheels, toys and treats.
Mice missing a copy of the gene ASH1L have excess synapses and autism-like behavioral differences, some of which are reversed by boosting an ASH1L-regulated gene.
Girls and young women with Rett syndrome have less severe anxiety and breathing problems after treatment with trofinetide, an analogue of insulin-like growth factor 1, according to an unpublished placebo-controlled trial.
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.
Infection during pregnancy can tweak a mouse’s gut microbiome in ways that have lasting effects on her pups’ immune system and increase their chances of gut inflammation, a new study suggests.
A new viral variant can deliver genes exclusively to the brain, overcoming a key hurdle in treating neurological conditions using gene therapy.
In mice with a mutated copy of SHANK3, stress induces social deficits and alters gene expression in certain excitatory neurons. But eliminating a stress-related protein that regulates SHANK3 restores typical social functioning in the animals.