Mice missing the Rett syndrome gene MeCP2 show a gradual decline in vision, and too much inhibitory signaling in the visual cortex, according to unpublished research presented Thursday in Washington, D.C.
Spectrum: Autism Research News
Children with autism have an abnormally large number of neurons in the prefrontal cortex, a brain region important for abstract thinking, planning and social behaviors, according to a study published yesterday in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
Mouse pups with a duplication of GTF2I, a gene linked to Williams syndrome and autism, show extreme separation anxiety when separated from their mothers, according to unpublished findings presented Thursday at the International Congress of Human Genetics in Montreal, Canada.
A gene that changed rapidly after the human genome diverged from that of Neanderthals plays a critical role in brain development, according to unpublished results presented Thursday at the International Congress of Human Genetics in Montreal, Canada.
Girls with autism have more brain matter than do either controls or girls with developmental disabilities. This defect is particularly pronounced in the left superior frontal gyrus, a region in the medial prefrontal cortex that is responsible for higher-order cognitive function.
The brains of individuals with autism express lower levels of proteins that direct neuronal growth compared with those of controls.
Mice lacking a gene that regulates an important signaling pathway in the central nervous system have severe autism-like social deficits, including little interest in nurturing their offspring and problems with learning and memory.
A new atlas of gene expression patterns in the adult mouse brain shows how thousands of genes are turned on in specific layers of the cortex.
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.