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14 February 2012

A Newsletter from the Simons Foundation Autism Research Initiative

NEWS SHANK2 study bolsters 'multi-hit' gene model of autism Brain imaging study links structure and function in face area IN BRIEF Molecular mechanisms: Extra MeCP2 leads to anxiety in mice Clinical research: Mice model Rett syndrome's heart symptoms Cognition and behavior: Asperger brains similar across sexes TOOLBOX Microscope reveals nanoscale detail in live mouse brains BLOG Lasting connections Autism in Africa

NEWS

SHANK2 study bolsters 'multi-hit' gene model of autism

By screening the genomes of hundreds of people with autism and analyzing the effects of newly identified mutations in cultured neurons, researchers have clarified the disorder's link to the SHANK2 gene. The results were published 9 February in PLoS Genetics.

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Brain imaging study links structure and function in face area

Structural connections in the brain's face-processing region can be used to predict brain activity in response to faces, according to research published this month in Nature Neuroscience.

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IN BRIEF

Molecular mechanisms: Extra MeCP2 leads to anxiety in mice

Two genes may be responsible for autism symptoms in mice with extra copies of the Rett syndrome gene, according to a study published 8 January in Nature Genetics.

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Clinical research: Mice model Rett syndrome's heart symptoms

Mice engineered to carry a Rett syndrome mutation only in neurons are prone to an irregular heartbeat that can lead to sudden death, according to a study published 14 December in Science Translational Medicine.

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Cognition and behavior: Asperger brains similar across sexes

The brains of men and women with Asperger syndrome are more similar than are those of male and female controls, according to a study published in the January issue of the American Journal of Neuroradiology. The results lend support to the 'extreme male brain' theory of autism, the researchers say.

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TOOLBOX

Microscope reveals nanoscale detail in live mouse brains

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A new microscope allows researchers to capture the movement of tiny signalreceiving branches in the brains of adult mice at the nanoscale level. The results were published 3 February in Science.

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BLOG

Lasting connections
What makes humans so different from our primate cousins? The answer may lie in unique patterns of gene expression soon after birth, primarily in genes required to form the junctions between neurons.

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Autism in Africa
In Africa, children with autism tend to be diagnosed much later, and are more likely to be nonverbal, than their counterparts in the U.S., according to a new review.

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