Autism

Unfamiliar surroundings bring out autism-like behaviors, brain circuit changes in model mice

Being in an unfamiliar environment prompts social avoidance and increases repetitive behaviors in mice with two mutated copies of the autism-linked gene ...
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Spectrum Launch: Postdoc salaries, tenure clocks and a writing hack

Hello, and welcome to Spectrum Launch — where we bring you conversations and resources important to early-career autism researchers. Today we’re diving into discourse about postdoctoral salaries.
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Open-source algorithm automates common marble-burying assay

A new open-source algorithm stands to improve the reproducibility and depth of data collected from a marble-burying assay, which is commonly used to infer anxious or repetitive be...
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Autism Amid Uncertainty: Expert Advice for Parents and Teachers

Sheltered at home, away from friends and the familiarity of school, millions of students around the country are grappling with stress and uncertainty—and things could be especially trying for the estimated 710,000 school-age children and young adults with a...
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Autism and ADHD share genes

Researchers from the national psychiatric project iPSYCH have found that autism and ADHD share changes in the same genes. The new knowledge relates directly to the biological causes of the two child psychiatric disorders.
In Denmark, approximately one per cent of schoolchildren have a...
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Everything you need to know about autism in adults

The symptoms of autism in adults can differ from those in children, and many adults have learned to live with their symptoms over the years.
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New evidence challenges 'extreme male brain' theory of autism

A new study has challenged suggestions that the male sex hormone testosterone reduces cognitive empathy, or the ability to read other people's emotional states. Lower cognitive empathy is a feature of autism, a condition that predominantly affects males....
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New study shows how autism can be measured through a non-verbal marker

A Dartmouth-led research team has identified a non-verbal, neural marker of autism. This marker shows that individuals with autism are slower to dampen neural activity in response to visual signals in the brain. This first-of-its kind marker was found to be independent of intelligence and offers ...
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Brain protein mutation from child with autism causes autism-like behavioral change in mice

A de novo gene mutation that encodes a brain protein in a child with autism has been placed into the brains of mice. These mice then showed severe alterations of specific behaviors that closely resemble those seen in human autism spectrum disorder, or ASD.
This major finding from a st...
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Researchers devise a more 'child-friendly' test for autism

The current methods of diagnosing autism in children use questionnaires and psychologist evaluations. However, these methods can be stressful for those at a young age. New research now suggests an easy, more stress-free test that simply tracks the gaze....
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