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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.

January 2023
Cultured kidney cell with spike-like structures protruding from it.

Mutations in autism-linked gene cause membrane mischief

by  /  19 January 2023

Inactivating TAOK1 prompts tentacle-like protrusions to form all over a neuron’s surface, revealing the gene’s role in molding the membrane.

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Graham Diering smiles in a portrait in his yard.

Asleep in the Mouse House with Graham Diering

by  /  12 January 2023

Memories from Diering’s life trace the rising star’s scientific path from raising lizards as a child and later exploring home brewing to heading a lab that investigates memory, sleep disturbances and early development in animals with autism-linked mutations.

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Figure shows cultured human kidney cells and cultured rat cortical neurons responding to light exposure.

Unconventional optogenetics technique spurs long-lasting changes in neuronal activity

by  /  9 January 2023

Conventional optogenetic manipulations to excite or inhibit neurons stop when the light switches off. A new approach makes the changes last.

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A sliced section of a human brain is displayed for a photograph.

Immunity-linked genes expressed differently in brains of autistic people

by  /  6 January 2023

Postmortem brain samples from people with one of six conditions, including autism, show distinct signatures of over- and underexpression of immune genes.

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Lab images of cilia.

Autism and the cell’s antennae

by  /  4 January 2023

Many autism-linked genes are somehow tied to cilia, the tiny hair-like sensors that stud a cell’s surface. But the question remains whether, and how, cilia differences contribute to the condition.

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December 2022
Figure showing an analysis of gene expression in cells across development.

Highly expressed genes may buffer against autism-linked mutations in girls

by  /  14 December 2022

Such high expression levels may account for the condition’s sex bias, a new preprint suggests — but not everyone agrees with that logic.

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Illustration of a pregnant woman seated next to a large diagram of the brain featuring chromosomes, bacteria and other microbes.

The link between maternal infection and autism, explained

by  /  13 December 2022

Having an infection during pregnancy is tied to a small increase in the chances of having an autistic child, but the connection may not be causal.

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An illustration of doctors examining a larger-than-life DNA strand

Whole-genome trove ties new genes, variants to autism

by  /  12 December 2022

A massive update to the MSSNG dataset gives qualified researchers ready access to explore autism’s genetic architecture on a cloud-based platform.

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Mapping tool reveals microglia’s shape-shifting secrets

by  /  9 December 2022

The approach could help test hypotheses about how atypical function of the brain’s immune cells contributes to autism.

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lllustration of the junction between two nerve cells.

Multi-omics study captures CNTNAP2’s far-ranging effects

by  /  8 December 2022

The in-depth approach shows mutations in the autism-linked gene disrupt neuronal growth and communication, as well as mitochondrial gene expression.

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