9 August, 2011

A Newsletter from the Simons Foundation Autism Research Initiative

NEWS Optogenetics study boosts signal imbalance theory of autism X-linked variants may up autism, schizophrenia risk IN BRIEF Cognition and behavior: People with autism don't blink in sync Clinical research: Drug increases communication while rats play Molecular mechanisms: MeCP2 loss ups signal strength TOOLBOX Virtual reality helps track body balance in autism BLOG Kissing cousins You and I

NEWS

Optogenetics study boosts signal imbalance theory of autism

By zapping mouse brains with blue and yellow light beams, scientists have manipulated the animals' social behaviors and bolstered a popular theory of what causes autism.

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X-linked variants may up autism, schizophrenia risk

The first study to sequence more than 100 genes on the X chromosome in people with autism or schizophrenia has turned up some promising leads.

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IN BRIEF

Cognition and behavior: People with autism don't blink in sync

Unlike typical controls, adults with autism do not synchronize their eye blinks with those of other people, according to a study published in the July issue of Neuropsychologia.

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Clinical research: Drug increases communication while rats play

Giving GLYX-13, a drug that targets an autism-associated brain pathway, to rats bred to be less social increases how much they communicate while playing.

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Molecular mechanisms: MeCP2 loss ups signal strength

A study using action potentials, the electrical impulses that trigger signaling, shows that neurons lacking MeCP2, the Rett syndrome protein, have stronger neuronal signals compared with controls, according to a study published in the July Journal of Neurophysiology.

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TOOLBOX

Virtual reality helps track body balance in autism

With a few screen projectors, a pair of three-dimensional glasses and an 8-foot cubicle, researchers have transported adolescents with autism into shaky virtual worlds and discovered that they have surprisingly stable posture.

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BLOG

Kissing cousins
Marriages between first cousins are frowned upon in the U.S. and western Europe, but they are common throughout much of the world. A new study shows that these consanguineous unions can help researchers uncover genetic risk factors for neurodevelopmental diseases.

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You and I
Children with autism often use the wrong pronouns, referring to themselves as 'you' in conversation. A new study shows that this difficulty in shifting perspective from other to self may result from impaired connections between brain regions.

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