A clinically extensive and mathematically powerful study of 1000 families with one autistic child and one unaffected sibling has validated a controversial theory of autism's complex genetic causation. The study for the first time estimates the minimum number of locations in the human genome - 250 to 300 - where gene copy number variation (CNV) can give rise to autism spectrum disorder (ASD). It also sheds n ...

A leading autism authority who is helping transform the way autism spectrum disorders are diagnosed and treated, Dr. Catherine Lord has been named director of the new Institute for Brain Development at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, Weill Cornell Medical College and Columbia University Medical Center. She will also be appointed to the faculties of Weill Cornell Medical College and Columbia University Colleg ...

Parents and health care providers cannot always tell whether toddlers display signs of autism syndrome disorder (ASD), but new research from the University of Utah shows that a significant portion of at-risk children between 14-24 months can be identified through systematic screening by autism experts and providers working together. ...

Medical imaging systems allow neurologists to summon 3-D color renditions of the brain at a moment's notice, yielding valuable insights. But sometimes there can be too much detail; important elements can go unnoticed. The bundles of individual nerves that transmit information from one part of the brain to the other, like fiber-optic cables, are so intricate and so interwoven that they can be difficult to tr ...

A musical computer game to help children with autism learn and relax has been unveiled to the public at the Abertay Digital Graduate Show. John Steven, a Creative Sound Production student at the University of Abertay Dundee, built a game designed to help autistic children learn about color and shape recognition, while also helping to keep them calm and focused. ...

For decades, autism researchers have faced a baffling riddle: how to unravel a disorder that leaves no known physical trace as it develops in the brain. Now a UCLA study is the first to reveal how the disorder makes its mark at the molecular level, resulting in an autistic brain that differs dramatically in structure from a healthy one. Published May 25 in the advance online edition of Nature, the findings ...

Women who reported not taking a daily prenatal vitamin immediately before and during the first month of pregnancy were nearly twice as likely to have a child with an autism spectrum disorder as women who did take the supplements — and the associated risk rose to seven times as great when combined with a high-risk genetic make-up, a study by researchers at the UC Davis MIND Institute has found. ...

Researchers from the University of Miami (UM) Department of Psychology participated in a multi-site study to examine different teaching models for children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). The study is one of the first to look at the fidelity of treatment models for preschoolers with autism. The findings are published online in the current issue of the journal Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders. ...

For the first time, researchers at McMaster University have conclusive evidence that bacteria residing in the gut influence brain chemistry and behavior. The findings are important because several common types of gastrointestinal disease, including irritable bowel syndrome, are frequently associated with anxiety or depression. In addition, there has been speculation that some psychiatric disorders, such as ...

Scientists at the University of Washington (UW) Department of Genome Sciences have identified several sporadic or "de novo" genetic mutations in children with autism spectrum disorder. The researchers applied leading edge molecular biology techniques and massively parallel sequencing to simultaneously examine all of the protein coding portions of the genome, collectively called the exome. The research was p ...