Changes in gene expression also hint at how the brains of people with ASD develop differently from those of other people. Neurons derived from the skin cells of people with and without autism spectrum disorder exhibit different patterns of growth and development, according to a study published this week (January 7) in Nature Neuroscience. Cortical neurons derived from skin cells of a person...
Category: <span>Autism</span>
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Adults with autism can read complex emotions in others
Psychologists at the University of Kent used eye-tracking technology to monitor participants as they read stories in which a character made a decision then experienced a positive or negative outcome. New research shows for the first time that adults with autism can recognise complex emotions such as regret and relief in others as easily as those without the condition. The lead author Professor Heather Ferguson,...
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Could poor protein trafficking be a factor in autism?
A protein whose mutations are found in people with autism and other neurodevelopmental conditions helps keep connections between neurons in the brain running smoothly. Newly published research — led by Rockefeller University in New York City, NY — reveals that the protein astrotactin 2 (ASTN2) can traffick receptors away from neurons’ surfaces and prevent them...
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Kids with autism learn, grow with the ‘social robot’
Robots may hold the keys to social success for kids with autism. That’s the takeaway from an experimental home-based therapy in which autonomous “social” robots modeled and encouraged behaviors like maintaining eye contact and paying attention while playing with 12 children with autism spectrum disorder. The kids were between 6 and 12 years of age. Robot...
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Discovery of a key protein involved in the development of autism
Most individuals with autism spectrum disorder cannot be distinguished by physical traits or by severe neurological symptoms. In fact, these cases can be identified only on the basis of certain behaviours, namely their obsessive focus on certain activities and difficulties with social communication and interactions. Recent years have brought about important breakthroughs in autism research through the...
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Brain scans yield more clues to autism
July 17, 2018, by Amy Norton, HealthDay Reporter (HealthDay)—Children with autism show abnormalities in a deep brain circuit that typically makes socializing enjoyable, a new study finds. Using MRI brain scans, researchers found that kids with autism showed differences in the structure and function of a brain circuit called the mesolimbic reward pathway.That circuit, located...
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Humanoid Robot Teaches Autistic Kids to Recognize Emotions
Children with autism often seem to want to socialize with robots more than humans, something that researchers at MIT want to harness as a pathway for therapy. The team, partnering with others at Chubu University in Japan and Imperial College London, have given a popular humanoid robot, called NAO, the ability to see what the kids playing...
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Why do some people with autism have restricted interests and repetitive movements?
As a society, we’ve come a long way in our understanding of the challenges people with autism face with social communication. But there is a large gap in our understanding of another cluster of behaviours that form part of an autism diagnosis: restrictive and repetitive behaviours and interests (RRBs). Anxiety can drive obsessions and resistance...
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Why do some people with autism have restricted interests and repetitive movements?
As a society, we’ve come a long way in our understanding of the challenges people with autism face with social communication. But there is a large gap in our understanding of another cluster of behaviours that form part of an autism diagnosis: restrictive and repetitive behaviours and interests (RRBs). Anxiety can drive obsessions and resistance...
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Team develops framework to identify genetic missense mutations linked to autism spectrum disorder
Missense mutations occur when there is a change in one gene’s DNA base pair, and the change results in the substitution of one amino acid for another in the gene’s protein. Mutations that disrupt the function of proteins are widely recognized as a risk source for development disorders such as intellectual disability, congenital heart defects...