Autism News and Research

Latest Autism News and Research

CMU BrainHub scientists use non-invasive brain-imaging tool to detect basal ganglia pathways

Certain diseases, like Parkinson's and Huntingdon's disease, are associated with damage to the pathways between the brain's basal ganglia regions. The basal ganglia sits at the base of the brain and is responsible for, among other things, coordinating movement. It is made up of four interconnected, deep brain structures that imaging techniques have previously been unable to visualize.

18 Aug 2015

CMU engineers awarded NSF grant to study neural variability in motor learning

When we move, we rarely move in the exact same way twice. The National Science Foundation has awarded Carnegie Mellon University Assistant Professor of Biomedical Engineering Steven Chase and Associate Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering and Biomedical Engineering Byron Yu, and their long-time collaborator, University of Pittsburgh Associate Professor of Bioengineering Aaron Batista, an $869,000 grant to conduct basic research that will establish how variability in movement is encoded in the brain and how this variability contributes to learning and performance.

13 Aug 2015

Loss of critical receptor in the brain may be responsible for autism, schizophrenia

The loss of a critical receptor in a special class of inhibitory neurons in the brain may be responsible for neurodevelopmental disorders including autism and schizophrenia, according to new research by Salk scientists.

12 Aug 2015

New project examines links between language and perception in people with ASD

How do children and young adults with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) understand idioms and other figures of speech? A 4.15 million euro EU project based out of the Norwegian University of Science and Technology is examining the links between language and perception in autistic individuals as just one of 15 cross-disciplinary projects designed to bring a better understanding to how our perception and language interact and change over time and in individuals.

11 Aug 2015

Sexting, Internet safety climb higher on list of major health concerns for children

With more kids online and using cell phones at increasingly younger ages, two issues have quickly climbed higher on the public's list of major health concerns for children across the U.S: sexting and Internet safety.

11 Aug 2015

DISC-1: schizophrenia's "Rosetta Stone" gene? An interview with Professor Kevin Fox

The DISC-1 gene has been studied intensively over the years because people with mutations in DISC1 have a high likelihood of mental illness. DISC-1 was known to be associated with schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, major clinical depression and autism.

10 Aug 2015

CHOP-led national clinical research network approved for $8.6 million funding award by PCORI

PEDSnet, a national clinical research network co-led by a pediatric researcher at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, was approved for an $8.6 million, three-year funding award by the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute.

7 Aug 2015

First self-assessment test developed to help clinicians diagnose autism in adults

Psychologists from Cardiff University have developed the first self-assessment test designed to help clinicians diagnose autism in adults.

7 Aug 2015

UNC researchers show how a genetic mutation disables molecular switch and causes autism

Last December, researchers identified more than 1,000 gene mutations in individuals with autism, but how these mutations increased risk for autism was unclear. Now, UNC School of Medicine researchers are the first to show how one of these mutations disables a molecular switch in one of these genes and causes autism.

7 Aug 2015

Discovery may lead to new ways to diagnose, treat brain cancer

Researchers at the Virginia Bioinformatics Institute have uncovered a link between the genomes of cells originating in the neural crest and development of tumors — a discovery that could lead to new ways to diagnose and treat cancer.

6 Aug 2015

Lax state vaccination laws influence immunization and disease outbreak rates

Lax state vaccination laws contribute to lower immunization rates and increased outbreaks of preventable diseases--like whooping cough and measles--according to a new study from the University of Georgia.

6 Aug 2015

Positive, nonconfrontational approach can convince parents to vaccinate their children

Many people who are skeptical about vaccinating their children can be convinced to do so, but only if the argument is presented in a certain way, a team of psychologists from UCLA and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign reported today.

5 Aug 2015

Study reveals new gene that plays crucial role in ASD

A study carried out by the Laboratoire Neurobiologie des Interactions Cellulaires et Neurophysiopathologie (CNRS/Aix-Marseille Université), in collaboration with clinicians from Marseilles Public Hospitals (AP-HM) and scientists from the Salk Institute in San Diego (US), has revealed a new gene that plays a crucial role during early development in humans and whose under-expression may induce certain autistic traits.

4 Aug 2015

Researchers uncover strong evidence for genetic causes of cerebral palsy

Cerebral palsy (CP) is the most common cause of physical disability in children. It has historically been considered to be caused by factors such as birth asphyxia, stroke and infections in the developing brain of babies.

3 Aug 2015

UCLA skills program improves social functioning in young adults with autism

Researchers at the Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior at UCLA have found that a social skills program for high-functioning young adults with autism spectrum disorder significantly improved the participants' ability to engage with their peers.

3 Aug 2015

Interactive Autism Network to join National Patient-Centered Clinical Research Network

The Interactive Autism Network, a project of the Kennedy Krieger Institute supported by the Simons Foundation, was approved today for a three-year $1.6 million funding award by the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute to be part of PCORnet, the National Patient-Centered Clinical Research Network.

31 Jul 2015

Female patients with depression have abnormally high expression levels of glutamate receptor genes

Numerous genes that regulate the activity of a neurotransmitter in the brain have been found to be abundant in brain tissue of depressed females. This could be an underlying cause of the higher incidence of suicide among women, according to research at the University of Illinois at Chicago.

31 Jul 2015

Special dog makes monumental impact on children with autism

From the day he arrived as an 8 week-old puppy at Atlantic Shores Retirement Community in Virginia Beach, Virginia, black lab Godrick has profoundly touched hundreds of lives. More than three years later, this special dog has found his path, and is making a monumental impact on the family he was destined to be with.

30 Jul 2015

Easter Seals’ board chairman climbs Mount Kilimanjaro to raise money for annual fundraiser

Rick Davidson, international board chairman for Easter Seals, the leading non-profit provider of services for individuals with autism, developmental disabilities, physical disabilities and other special needs, will make the complex and demanding climb and decent of Mount Kilimanjaro to raise money for Climb for Kids, a fundraiser for Easter Seals.

30 Jul 2015

Study could pave way for more targeted treatments for individuals with brain disorders

Like Duke Ellington's 1931 jazz standard, the human brain improvises while its rhythm section keeps up a steady beat. But when it comes to taking on intellectually challenging tasks, groups of neurons tune in to one another for a fraction of a second and harmonize, then go back to improvising, according to new research led by UC Berkeley.

29 Jul 2015

Autism News and Research

Latest Autism News and Research

CMU BrainHub scientists use non-invasive brain-imaging tool to detect basal ganglia pathways

CMU engineers awarded NSF grant to study neural variability in motor learning

Loss of critical receptor in the brain may be responsible for autism, schizophrenia

New project examines links between language and perception in people with ASD

Sexting, Internet safety climb higher on list of major health concerns for children

DISC-1: schizophrenia's "Rosetta Stone" gene? An interview with Professor Kevin Fox

CHOP-led national clinical research network approved for $8.6 million funding award by PCORI

First self-assessment test developed to help clinicians diagnose autism in adults

UNC researchers show how a genetic mutation disables molecular switch and causes autism

Discovery may lead to new ways to diagnose, treat brain cancer

Lax state vaccination laws influence immunization and disease outbreak rates

Positive, nonconfrontational approach can convince parents to vaccinate their children

Study reveals new gene that plays crucial role in ASD

Researchers uncover strong evidence for genetic causes of cerebral palsy

UCLA skills program improves social functioning in young adults with autism

Interactive Autism Network to join National Patient-Centered Clinical Research Network

Female patients with depression have abnormally high expression levels of glutamate receptor genes

Special dog makes monumental impact on children with autism

Easter Seals’ board chairman climbs Mount Kilimanjaro to raise money for annual fundraiser

Study could pave way for more targeted treatments for individuals with brain disorders

How microRNA is transforming science: From discovery to diagnostics

Advancing benzodiazepine detection

The Surgeon-Scientist Pioneering Regenerative Engineering

Autism News and Research

Latest Autism News and Research

How microRNA is transforming science: From discovery to diagnostics

Advancing benzodiazepine detection

The Surgeon-Scientist Pioneering Regenerative Engineering

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