High-risk younger siblings of children with autism are less likely to be diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), have significantly lower autism symptom severity, and higher cognitive scores if their mothers take maternal prenatal vitamins during their first month of pregnancy, UC Davis research has found.
A pair of new studies has provided new insight into the challenges faced by children on the autism spectrum who exhibit symptoms of attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). According to the findings from researchers at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP), these children have difficulty with adaptive behavior, a key measure of independence.
A new map of newborn babies’ brains offers details of structure that will provide a new reference for researchers studying both typical brain development and neurological disorders. Using noninvasive, 20-minute MRI scans, researchers have revealed some of the complex and precisely organized brain architecture that emerges as the brain reshapes itself during the third trimester of pregnancy.
A mutant gene for a brain protein in a child with autism has been placed into the brains of fruit flies. Fruit flies hosting that gene produce the variant human brain protein and show abnormal behaviors of fear, repetitive activity and altered social interaction, reminiscent of autism impairments.
Research from the University of Wisconsin–Madison reveals how one mutation causes fragile X, the most common inherited intellectual disability. Fragile X patients have difficulty in learning and language, as well as temper tantrums, hyperactivity and extreme sensitivity to light and sound. Nearly half of fragile X patients are also diagnosed with autism.
A study by Canisius College researchers determined that individuals with ASD are often low in key personality traits associated with important life outcomes.
Researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute who developed a blood test to help diagnose autism spectrum disorder have now successfully applied their distinctive big data-based approach to evaluating possible treatments.
Breakthrough research demonstrating that children with autism as young as 18 months can vastly improve their language, cognition and social skills with an early intervention developed by UC Davis Professor Sally Rogers has been replicated in a major new study.
Researchers find brain overconnectivity in the unimodal-subcortical connections and brain underconnectivity in the supramodal-subcortical connections for ASD individuals, as compared to a typically developing control group, suggesting a relationship between connectivity and the expression of ASD.
In a study published January 17, 2019 in Translational Psychiatry, researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine describe how, in a novel mouse model, epigenetic regulation negatively impacts a downstream gene specifically involved in neurodevelopment and associated behaviors.
Irvine, Calif., Jan. 23, 2019 — Online publishing platforms and digital media can provide opportunities for nonmainstream groups to push back against and offer alternatives to the simplistic stereotypes presented in literature and popular culture. A study led by the University of California, Irvine focused on Harry Potter fan fiction and discovered that autistic people, family members, teachers and advocates cast autistic characters in their stories in diverse ways that challenge typical representations.
Researchers at the University of Utah Health conducted the first population-based study of suicidality in individuals with ASD in the United States. The 20-year retrospective study found that for individuals with autism, particularly females, the risk of suicide has increased through time compared to their non-autistic peers.
In a study published online today in the journal Science, researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine, part of Montefiore, prove for the first time that the brain’s cerebellum—long thought to be mainly involved in coordinating movement—helps control the brain’s reward circuitry. The surprising finding indicates that the cerebellum plays a major role in reward processing and social behaviors and could potentially lead to new strategies for treating addiction.
Researchers at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) evaluated a digital medicine tool designed as an investigational treatment for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and co-occurring attention/deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
Seaver Autism Center study results contribute to understanding of patterns of cognitive functioning in adults with autism and highlight the importance of a broader approach when studying cognition
A community-based, pilot study shows a high-tech app is as effective as low-tech picture card intervention at improving social and communication skills in children with autism.
Two studies have linked DNA changes to their molecular effects in the brain, revealing new mechanisms for psychiatric diseases. The findings provide a roadmap for developing a new generation of therapies for conditions like autism, schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.
Dr. Meghan Miller of the UC Davis MIND Institute talks about her paper, published in JAMA Pediatrics, about the risk of younger siblings of children with autism or ADHD for either or both disorders.
Later-born siblings of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) or attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are at elevated risk for both disorders, a new study led by Meghan Miller, assistant professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences and at the UC Davis MIND Institute, has concluded. The findings appear today in JAMA Pediatrics.
UAB study suggests individuals diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder may not be more prone to cyber phishing attacks compared to those without the disorder.
An international team of scientists, led by researchers at the University of Cyprus and University of California San Diego School of Medicine, have identified a previously unknown, large-scale association between molecular gene expression activity in blood leukocyte cells and altered neural responses to speech in toddlers with autism as measured with functional magnetic resonance imaging.
For decades, scientists have examined how regions of the brain communicate to understand autism. Researchers at University of Utah Health believe the symptoms of autism may result from sustained connections between regions of the brain.
What if we could observe genes firing off signals to cause some behaviors? We're getting closer. Researchers were able to directly match gene regulation with ritual mating behavior in fish. Their research field may also give some insight into autism spectrum disorder.
In one of the largest school-based clinical trials of its kind, researchers at the Institute for Autism Research at Canisius College found an innovative, comprehensive school treatment (schoolMAX) yields significant improvements for elementary-school children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD)
Improved communication skills may be linked to increased connectivity between auditory and motor regions of the brain, researchers at Université de Montreal and McGill University find.
Research on autism spectrum disorder in older adulthood lags significantly behind that of research in other age groups. A Canisius research team was awarded a federal grant to better understand the life outcomes of adults with autism spectrum disorder.
The Michael & Susan Dell Center for Healthy Living, part of The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth), announced today a new plan to create a statewide network of researchers, decision-makers, and other key representatives that will give increased access to evidence-based solutions and data.
Saint Joseph’s University announced the appointment of Angus Murray, a seasoned nonprofit leader with deep experience in supporting children and young adults with autism and disabilities, as executive director of the Kinney Center for Autism Education and Support, effective November 5.
A new study reveals that children with developmental delays, including autism spectrum disorder (ASD), are up to 50 percent more likely to be overweight or obese compared with the general population.
The Gonzaga University Exceptional Bulldogs Hockey program will expand and help more youth overcome learning and communications difficulties thanks to donations from The Isaac Foundation — allowing it to become part of the Spokane Youth Hockey Association
Scientists have uncovered a brain-signaling pathway that can be pharmacologically manipulated in genetically engineered mice to reverse an autism-related pathway. Using an experimental drug targeting this pathway, the researchers normalized the disrupted physiology and behavior of these mice. Moreover, effects were seen in adult mice, suggesting a possible route to medication development for adults with autism spectrum disorder.
A Rutgers University–New Brunswick-led team of researchers is calling for the creation of a global microbiota vault to protect the long-term health of humanity. Such a Noah’s Ark of beneficial germs would be gathered from human populations whose microbiomes are uncompromised by antibiotics, processed diets and other ill effects of modern society, which have contributed to a massive loss of microbial diversity and an accompanying rise in health problems. The human microbiome includes the trillions of microscopic organisms that live in and on our bodies, contributing to our health in a myriad of ways.
Researchers at the UC Davis MIND Institute and the University of North Carolina have shown for the third time that an increased amount of extra-axial cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) is associated with the diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder in young children. The ability to identify ASD children early could improve both treatment and quality of life. The study was published in the journal The Lancet Psychiatry.
Scientists at Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute (SBP) have developed new single-cell approaches wedded to machine learning. This has revealed thousands of previously unknown DNA changes arising during prenatal life in the developing mouse brain. The study published today in PNAS.
Researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute—led by Juergen Hahn, professor and head of biomedical engineering—are continuing to make remarkable progress with their research focused on autism spectrum disorder (ASD).
A professor at UTHealth in Houston is testing the hypothesis that probiotics can help improve gastrointestinal symptoms of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD).
A West Virginia University graduate student is studying how certain cells affect the development of this part of the brain, and therefore, how they could affect how quickly and accurately the brain processes sounds.
Progress in treating chronic illness, where the cause of the problem is often unknown, has lagged. Chronic conditions like cancer, diabetes and cardiovascular disease defy easy explanation, let alone remedy. In a new paper, a researcher at University of California San Diego School of Medicine, posits that chronic disease is essentially the consequence of the natural healing cycle becoming blocked, specifically by disruptions at the metabolic and cellular levels.
Childhood obesity is a serious public health concern that can have a profound impact on children’s health and well-being. Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) are more likely to have obesity compared to their peers with typical development, data show
Investigators at the UC Davis MIND Institute and NeuroPointDX, a division of Stemina Biomarker Discovery, have identified a group of blood metabolites that could help detect some children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Part of the Children’s Autism Metabolome Project (CAMP), the largest metabolomic ASD study ever attempted, these findings are a key step toward developing an ASD biomarker test. The research was published September 6 in the journal Biological Psychiatry.
Rush University Medical Center and the Angelman Syndrome Foundation (ASF), a national nonprofit organization headquartered in Aurora, Ill., announced the official opening of the Angelman Syndrome Clinic at Rush Children’s Hospital. The Angelman Syndrome Clinic at Rush is the first and only in Illinois and one of only eight in the U.S.
Ashleigh Schaffer, PhD, assistant professor of genetics at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, and a team of global genetics experts have discovered a genetic mutation and the faulty development process it triggers, causing a debilitating brain-based disorder in children. The findings, published in Nature Genetics, identify mutations in the alpha-N-catenin gene, (aka CTNNA2), which promotes cell adhesion and causes pachygyria, one of the most serious developmental brain defects in humans. Most patients are severely intellectually impaired, and are unable to walk or care for themselves. Children diagnosed with the rare disease have a life expectancy of about 10 years.
Scientists have designed a way to monitor cellular decision making by measuring the rate of RNA change over time.
RNA is the “interpreter” or “decoder” of genetic instructions that tell cells how much of which protein to make.
The new method is an algorithm that quantifies changes in various RNA markers—the molecular footprints of a cell’s past and present and an indicator of its future, providing clues about what the cell is trying to become.
The approach sets the stage for understanding cellular behavior during human development and may offer a way to rapidly monitor how cells respond to medications and other treatments.