What's New
  • Puzzling results: Duplication of a region on chromosome 15 has different effects in different people.
    news
    Chromosome 15 duplication found to have unpredictable effects in the brain

    The first postmortem study to examine the effects of chromosome 15 duplication on gene expression shows completely divergent results, suggesting that the effect of genetic duplications is far from predictable, according to a study published last month in the Journal of Medical Genetics 1.

    Between 1 to 3 percent of people...→

    03 Dec 2008 .:. 0 comments
  • Micro effects: Representative microRNAs are differentially expressed in a 6-year-old (left), an 11-year-old (center) and a 13-year-old, all with autism and compared with age-matched controls. Up-regulated miRNAs are in red and down-regulated ones in green.
    news
    MicroRNAs may play a role in autism, studies find

    Some small fragments of RNA are expressed differently in people with autism than in controls, according to two new studies. The findings unveil another layer of complexity in the genetics of autism.

    These pieces of single-stranded RNA — dubbed microRNAs or miRNAs — have wide-ranging, subtle effects on the production of many...→

    26 Nov 2008 .:. 0 comments
  • Speaking volumes: Manually defining amygdala borders, scientists have found that the larger the size of the region, the worse a child's language ability.
    conference report
    Size of infant's amygdala predicts language ability

    A child's language ability correlates with the volume of his or her amygdala — the small, deep brain region that is strongly associated with emotional processing — according to an unpublished five-year longitudinal study presented Wednesday afternoon at the Society for Neuroscience meeting.

    Analyzing brain imaging data collected from 24 infants at...→

    21 Nov 2008 .:. 0 comments
  • Light the way: Researchers are using fiber optic cables to stimulate specific types of neurons.
    news
    'Optogenetics' sheds light on role of different neurons

    For decades, those who study brain cell activity have faced a fundamental trade off: either closely monitor the activity of a single cell or look at the circuit level to see how large groups of neurons communicate with each other.

    A new technique, optogenetics, makes it possible to study both the micro...→

    18 Nov 2008 .:. 0 comments
  • Resources for Rett: Insulin-like growth factor could alleviate the symptoms of the syndrome, scientists say.
    news
    Clinical trial planned for Rett syndrome treatment

    Treatment with the insulin-like growth factor (IGF) greatly improves the health of mouse models of Rett syndrome — a regressive genetic disorder that causes mental retardation, respiratory problems, and autistic features — according to unpublished researched presented Monday at the Society for Neuroscience conference in Washington, D.C.

    Thanks to the success of...→

    18 Nov 2008 .:. 0 comments

More of what's new

News from the
Society for Neuroscience annual meeting
Society for Neuroscience annual meeting
How do I ape thee: Children with autism rely on 'action-constrained' neurons to perceive others' actions, scientists say.

Beyond mirror neurons

High-functioning children with autism may understand another person’s intention when, for example, that person reaches for a glass of water — a simple, goal-directed task — without help from ...

On target: Researchers are studying mouse retinas to uncover the genes that help neurons find their synaptic partners.

Finding the right (synaptic) partners

Researchers are narrowing in on a pool of genes that may be involved in helping neurons find their targets, according to unpublished work presented today in a poster session at the Society for Neur...

More news from the Society for Neuroscience annual meeting

The Blog - On SFARI

New chromosomal culprits

The latest of many full genome scans of large groups of people with and without autism has identified two new chromosomal regions associated with the disorder. The findings were unveiled last week ...

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