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Spectrum: Autism Research News

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The Brain

Charting the structure and function of the brain’s many circuits may unravel autism’s mysteries.

May 2023
Illustration of a brain.

Cortical differences in autism vary by sex

by  /  4 May 2023

Compared with their non-autistic peers, young autistic girls have a thicker cortex that thins more quickly with age.

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Research image of developing mouse embryos.

Medley of models reveals misbehaving pathways in autism-linked condition

by  /  4 May 2023

The largest analysis of human samples to date, plus work in mice and zebrafish, detail the gene KMT5B’s role in brain development.

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April 2023
Research heatmap showing mice associating more with familiar mice than unfamiliar ones.

Loss of autism-linked gene dampens social interactions in animals

by  /  28 April 2023

Mice and zebrafish missing the GIGYF1 gene show social traits reminiscent of autism, though the molecular underpinnings are unclear.

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Research diagram of gene clusters.

Atlas of gene activity in prenatal brain holds clues to autism

by  /  24 April 2023

Genes exert their strongest influence on the brain in the first half of gestation — a key window for autism and other neurodevelopmental conditions.

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Research image showing FOXP1 gene expression in female zebra finch brains.

Lacking autism-linked gene, female birds tune out favorite songs

by  /  21 April 2023

The gene, FOXP1, influences an animal’s motivation to listen to social communication, a new study suggests.

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Image of allegedly duplicated data in a scientific paper.

Questions arise around two published studies from Harvard group

by  /  20 April 2023

An anonymous tipster has been sifting through the papers of Jia Liu and his team.

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Illustration of hybrid objects: part light bulb, part lab vial, some in blue and some in red to signify null and replicated results.

Null and Noteworthy: Reader response; cerebrospinal fluid; connectivity subgroups

by  /  18 April 2023

In this edition of Null and Noteworthy, researchers upend early interventions and diagnostic boundaries.

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Research image of cortical structures in mice.

Autism-linked mutations scramble nascent cortical circuits

by  /  17 April 2023

By imaging and recording synaptic activity in living mouse embryos for the first time, new research reveals previously unknown patterns of development and hints at how those patterns are disrupted in autism.

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Research image of the blood-brain barrier.

Rare autism-linked mutation starves growing neurons of essential nutrients

by  /  10 April 2023

The mutation prevents certain amino acids from entering neurons, causing the cells to die early in development.

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Six cross-sections of mouse brains.

Landmark atlases flag 5,000 cell types across mouse brain

by  /  6 April 2023

The work identifies new varieties and may help researchers develop tools to genetically target specific classes of cells.

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