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Spectrum: Autism Research News

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Signs & Symptoms

Autism’s core symptoms accompany a constellation of subtle signs that scientists are just beginning to unmask.

September 2011

Researchers identify gene regulating amygdala volume

by  /  13 September 2011

A variant of the FGF14 gene may decrease the volume of the amygdala, a brain structure needed to interpret emotions in facial expressions, according to results presented on Sunday at the World Congress of Psychiatric Genetics in Washington, D.C.

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Molecular mechanisms: Dopamine implicated in Rett syndrome

by  /  13 September 2011

Loss of MeCP2, the Rett syndrome gene, in neurons that release the chemical messenger dopamine may lead to the motor deficits associated with the syndrome.

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New mutations spike in offspring of older fathers

by  /  12 September 2011

The offspring of older male mice are 16 times more likely to harbor a spontaneous copy number variation — a deletion or duplication of genetic material — than are the offspring of young males, according to a new study.

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What’s in a name?

by  /  9 September 2011

The six diagnostic measures used to distinguish Asperger syndrome from high-functioning autism do not identify a unique subset of people, according to an analysis of 69 studies, published 2 August in Autism.

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Cognition and behavior: Autism brains have abnormal links

by  /  9 September 2011

The brains of boys with autism have a lower-than-normal rate of water diffusion across the inferior fronto-occipital fasciculus — a bundle of neurons that connects all four major lobes of the brain, according to a new study.

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Vision as gateway for understanding autism

by ,  /  8 September 2011

Impairments in vision, even if they don’t cause autism, are likely to be manifestations of underlying neural abnormalities, says Pawan Sinha, professor of vision and founder of the humanitarian organization Project Prakash.  

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People with milder forms of autism struggle as adults

by  /  8 September 2011

Contrary to popular assumption, people diagnosed with so-called mild forms of autism don’t fare any better in life than those with severe forms of the disorder. That’s the conclusion of a new study that suggests that even individuals with normal intelligence and language abilities struggle to fit into society because of their social and communication problems.

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Genetics: Autism genes linked to intellectual disability

by  /  7 September 2011

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.

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Out of Africa

by  /  6 September 2011

The handful of studies of autism in Africa suggest that only the most severely affected children are seen in clinics.

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Clinical research: Autism categories are not clear-cut

by  /  6 September 2011

Collapsing the three core domains of autism — impairments in social interaction, communication deficits, and repetitive and restricted behaviors — into two makes no difference in the accuracy of diagnosis, according to a statistical analysis published 20 August in the Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders.

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