Science News about Autism

Fat-free See-through Brain Bares All

Press Release • April 10, 2013

Scientists can now study the brain’s finer workings, while preserving its 3-D structure and integrity of its circuitry using a breakthrough method, called CLARITY, that substitutes a clear gel for fat that normally holds the brain’s working components in place, making its normally opaque and impenetrable tissue see-through and permeable.

New NIH Funding for Two Autism Centers of Excellence

Press Release • April 02, 2013

The National Institutes of Health announced new funding for two Autism Centers of Excellence (ACE), bringing to eleven the number of ACE centers now being funded for up to five years.

Autism Risk Unrelated to Total Vaccine Exposure in Early Childhood

Science Update • March 29, 2013

Autism Not Linked to Early Vaccines

Prevalence of Parent-reported Autism

Science Update • March 20, 2013

Prevalence of Parent-reported Autism

Developing Male Brain Exposed to Less Stress-Protective Protein

Science Update • March 12, 2013

Why are rates of schizophrenia and autism higher in males? New evidence implicates an enzyme expressed in the placenta that helps protect the developing fetal brain from adverse effects of maternal stress early in pregnancy.

Five Major Mental Disorders Share Genetic Roots

Science Update • March 01, 2013

Five major mental disorders share some of the same genetic risk factors, the largest genome-wide study of its kind has found.

Precursor Symptoms to Autism Detected in 6-Month-Old Infants

Science Update • February 11, 2013

Some autism symptoms can be seen in 6-month-old infants, possibly leading to even earlier intervention for this disorder.

Study Documents that Some Children Lose Autism Diagnosis

Press Release • January 15, 2013

An NIH-supported study has confirmed that some children who are accurately diagnosed in early childhood with autism lose the symptoms and the diagnosis as they grow older.

NIH Awards $100 Million for Autism Centers of Excellence Program

Science Update • September 04, 2012

NIMH, along with NICHD, NINDS, NIDCD, and NIEHS, have awarded nine new grants aimed at advancing research on the causes of autism spectrum disorder and finding new treatments.

Many Youths with Autism Not Employed or In College 2 Years After High School

Science Update • July 20, 2012

Data from a nationally representative survey show that teens with autism appear to face additional challenges after graduating high school than peers with similar disabilities. NIMH-funded researchers highlight the need to improve transition planning and for further studies on the effectiveness of services for adults with autism.

Social Brain Circuits Disrupted in Autism

Science Update • July 19, 2012

Brain areas involved in social behavior are active but out of sync with each other in young people with autism, according to recent findings from functional brain imaging.

Most Children with ASD Diagnosed After Age 5, Use Multiple Services and Medications

Science Update • May 24, 2012

New data detail the experiences of young children with autism spectrum disorder, describing when they are first identified as having ASD, who is making those identifications, and the services and medications the children use to meet their developmental needs.

Agent Reduces Autism-like Behaviors in Mice

Press Release • April 25, 2012

Autism-like behaviors in mice have been reduced, using an experimental agent being tested in patients for a related disorder.

Spontaneous Gene Glitches Linked to Autism Risk with Older Dads

Press Release • April 04, 2012

A trio of new studies have found that sequence changes in parts of genes that code for proteins play a significant role in autism spectrum disorders (ASDs).

Gene Regulator in Brain’s Executive Hub Tracked Across Lifespan – NIH study

Press Release • February 02, 2012

For the first time, scientists have tracked the activity, across the lifespan, of an environmentally responsive regulatory mechanism that turns genes on and off in the brain’s executive hub. Among key findings of the study by National Institutes of Health scientists: genes implicated in schizophrenia and autism turn out to be members of a select club of genes in which regulatory activity peaks during an environmentally-sensitive critical period in development.

NDAR Federation Creates Largest Source of Autism Research Data to Date

Press Release • December 12, 2011

A data partnership between the National Database for Autism Research (NDAR), and the Autism Genetic Resource Exchange (AGRE) positions NDAR as possibly the largest repository to date of genetic, phenotypic, clinical, and medical imaging data related to research on autism spectrum disorders (ASD).

Training Peers Improves Social Outcomes for Some Kids with ASD

Press Release • November 28, 2011

Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) who attend regular education classes may be more likely to improve their social skills if their typically developing peers are taught how to interact with them than if only the children with ASD are taught such skills. According to a study funded by the National Institutes of Health, a shift away from more commonly used interventions that focus on training children with ASD directly may provide greater social benefits for children with ASD.

Neurons Grown from Skin Cells May Hold Clues to Autism

Press Release • November 28, 2011

Potential clues to how autism miswires the brain are emerging from a study of a rare, purely genetic form of the disorders that affects fewer than 20 people worldwide. Using cutting-edge “disease-in a-dish” technology, researchers funded by the National Institutes of Health have grown patients’ skin cells into neurons to discover what goes wrong in the brain in Timothy Syndrome. Affected children often show symptoms of autism spectrum disorders along with a constellation of physical problems.

NIH-funded Study Shows Pre-birth Brain Growth Problems Linked to Autism

Press Release • November 08, 2011

Children with autism have more brain cells and heavier brains compared to typically developing children, according to researchers partly funded by the National Institutes of Health.

Perinatal Antidepressant Stunts Brain Development in Rats

Press Release • October 24, 2011

Rats exposed to an antidepressant just before and after birth showed substantial brain abnormalities and behaviors, in a study funded by the National Institutes of Health.

Autism Risk in Younger Siblings May be Higher Than Previously Thought

Science Update • August 23, 2011

Parents of a child with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) face about a 19 percent chance that subsequent children will also develop ASD, according to a study partially funded by NIMH.

Balance Tips toward Environment as Heritability Ebbs in Autism?

Press Release • July 04, 2011

The largest and most rigorous twin study of its kind to date has found that shared environment influences susceptibility to autism more than previously thought.

Autism Blurs Distinctions Between Brain Regions

Press Release • June 02, 2011

Autism blurs the molecular differences that normally distinguish different brain regions, a new study suggests. Among more than 500 genes that are normally expressed at significantly different levels in the front versus the lower middle part of the brain’s outer mantle, or cortex, only 8 showed such differences in brains of people with autism, say researchers funded in part by the National Institutes of Health.

Many School-aged Children with ASD in South Korea Go Undiagnosed

Science Update • May 10, 2011

The prevalence of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) among children in South Korea appears to be much higher than the range of estimates reported for other countries, according to a study partly funded by NIMH. Furthermore, two-thirds of ASD cases were found in children attending mainstream schools, had not been previously diagnosed, and had never received treatment for the disorder. The study was published on May 9, 2011, in the American Journal of Psychiatry.

5-minute Screen Identifies Subtle Signs Of Autism in 1-year Olds

Press Release • April 28, 2011

A five-minute checklist that parents can fill out in pediatrician waiting rooms may someday help in the early diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder (ASD), according to a study funded by the National Institutes of Health. Published today in the Journal of Pediatrics, the study’s design also provides a model for developing a network of pediatricians to adopt such a change to their practice.

Mice with Autism-related Mutations Replicate Autism-like Behaviors

Science Update • April 15, 2011

Mice bred to harbor mutations similar to those discovered in people with autism show autism-like repetitive behaviors and social impairments. The behaviors, triggered by deletions in a gene called SHANK3, implicated in some cases of autism, were traced to weak neural connections for functions disturbed in autism.

Recovery Act-funded Jobs Program Helps High School Grads Who Have ASD 

Press Release • April 01, 2011

JobTIPS, a free, Web-based program unveiled today, aims to help youth with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) or other disabilities develop and maintain skills needed for successful employment. Supported through the Recovery Act with a grant for just under $1 million over two years from the National Institutes of Health, this resource targets a critical transition period as teenagers leave the school system, which is usually their primary source of ASD-related services throughout childhood.

NIMH Teams Up to Study ASD Rates in Somali-American Children

Science Update • January 20, 2011

NIMH will be supporting a joint effort with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Autism Speaks, a private advocacy organization, to investigate reports of elevated prevalence of autism spectrum disorders (ASD) among children born to Somali immigrants living in Minneapolis, Minn.

Toddlers with Autism Show Improved Social Skills Following Targeted Intervention, Finds NIH-Supported Study

Press Release • December 08, 2010

Targeting the core social deficits of autism spectrum disorders (ASD) in early intervention programs yielded sustained improvements in social and communication skills even in very young children who have ASD, according to a study funded by the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), part of the National Institutes of Health. The study was published online July 28, 2010, in the Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry.

Preference for Moving Shapes vs. People Linked to Autism in Babies

Science Update • September 24, 2010

A 1-minute video showing computer screensavers next to videos of dancing children may prove to be a simple, inexpensive screening tool for autism spectrum disorders (ASD) in toddlers. According to an NIMH-funded study, infants as young as 14 months old who had autism spent more time looking at the moving shapes than social images, in contrast to typically developing children and those who had delays but not autism. The study was published online, September 6, 2010, in the Archives of General Psychiatry.