SFARI NEWS

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17 January 2012

A Newsletter from the Simons Foundation Autism Research Initiative

NEWS Movement during brain scans may lead to spurious patterns Studies shore up proposed guidelines for autism diagnosis IN BRIEF Clinical research: Study suggests drug for fragile X syndrome Molecular mechanisms: DISC1 variants inhibit neurogenesis Clinical research: Autism threshold higher in girls than boys TOOLBOX Video technique measures monkeys' social interest BLOG A good influence Autism's cost

NEWS

Movement during brain scans may lead to spurious patterns

Head movements taint the results of many brain imaging studies, particularly those analyzing children or individuals with developmental disorders, according to two sobering new studies.

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Studies shore up proposed guidelines for autism diagnosis

Two new studies support the idea that the core symptoms of autism cluster into two categories social communication, and repetitive and stereotyped behavior rather than the traditional triad of deficits in communication, problems with social reciprocity, and rigid thoughts and behaviors.

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IN BRIEF

Clinical research: Study suggests drug for fragile X syndrome

A compound that boosts inhibitory signals in the brain could treat hyperactivity and excitability in mice that model fragile X syndrome, according to a study published 8 November in Developmental Neuroscience.

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Molecular mechanisms: DISC1 variants inhibit neurogenesis

Three variants of DISC1, a gene implicated in schizophrenia and autism, may disrupt the formation of new neurons in the brain, according to a study published 17 November in Neuron.

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Clinical research: Autism threshold higher in girls than boys

Girls may have a higher threshold for the genetic abnormalities that lead to autism than boys do, according to a new study in the January issue of the American Journal of Medical Genetics Part B.

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TOOLBOX

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Video technique measures monkeys' social interest

Male rhesus macaques show more interest in videos with social content, such as another monkey displaying aggression, than in videos of landscapes or other animals, according to a study published 26 October in PLoS One.

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BLOG

A good influence
Making friends at school can be hard for any kid, but it comes especially hard to children with autism. One approach to helping students with autism in mainstream classrooms is to train their classmates in how to engage with them.

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Autism's cost
New numbers are shedding light on just how much it costs to care for children with autism and, importantly, what is driving those costs.

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