Science News about Autism

Half of Children With Autism May be Diagnosable Soon After Their First Birthday

Science Update • August 10, 2007

About half of children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) can be diagnosed soon after their first birthday; others with the disorder may appear to develop normally until that age and then falter or regress during their second year, NIMH-funded researchers have discovered.

Tiny, Spontaneous Gene Mutations May Boost Autism Risk

Press Release • March 15, 2007

Tiny gene mutations, each individually rare, pose more risk for autism than had been previously thought, suggests a study funded in part by the National Institute of Mental Health, a component of the National Institutes of Health.

Largest-Ever Search for Autism Genes Reveals New Clues

Press Release • February 18, 2007

The largest search for autism genes to date, funded in part by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), has implicated components of the brain’s glutamate chemical messenger system and a previously overlooked site on chromosome 11.

Autism Research Efforts Highlighted in Biological Psychiatry Special Issue

Science Update • February 06, 2007

The February 15, 2007 special issue of Biological Psychiatry is dedicated to recent advances in autism research, including many studies funded by the Institute.

New Tests May Help Researchers Detect Genetic Basis For Autism

Science Update • January 30, 2007

Researchers have developed a set of behavioral tests in mice that mimic the core features of autism and may prove useful in detecting a genetic basis for the deficits in social interactions and rigid thinking seen in the disorder.

Brain’s Fear Center Likely Shrinks in Autism’s Most Severely Socially Impaired

Press Release • December 04, 2006

The brain’s fear hub likely becomes abnormally small in the most severely socially impaired males with autism spectrum disorders, researchers funded by the National Institutes of Health’s (NIH) National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) and National Institute on Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) have discovered.

Gene Linked to Autism in Families with More Than One Affected Child

Press Release • October 17, 2006

A version of a gene has been linked to autism in families that have more than one child with the disorder. Inheriting two copies of this version more than doubled a child’s risk of developing an autism spectrum disorder, scientists supported by NIMH and NICHD have discovered.

New NIMH Research Program Launches Autism Trials

Press Release • September 07, 2006

NIMH has launched three major clinical studies on autism at its research program on the NIH campus in Bethesda, Maryland.

Males with Autism Have Fewer Cells in Brain’s Emotional Memory Hub

Science Update • July 26, 2006

Males with autism have fewer cells in a part of the brain that has a key role in emotion and memory, according to NIMH-funded researchers at the University of California, Davis.

NIH Joined by Advocacy Groups to Fund Research on Autism Susceptibility Genes

Press Release • October 18, 2005

Five institutes at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and three private autism organizations have formed a consortium to pursue their common goal of understanding a devastating disorder.

International Coalition to Fund Autism Genetics Research

Press Release • December 29, 2004

An international public/private partnership of government health agencies and private advocacy organizations has committed more than $21 million for research to identify the genes associated with autism spectrum disorders, a range of developmental disorders that impair communication and other mental abilities.

NIMH Grant to Explore Genetics of Autism

Press Release • October 08, 2004

The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), part of the National Institutes of Health, announced this week a 3-year, $3 million grant to Johns Hopkins University to study the genetic factors underlying autism.

Autism Summit Conference

Press Release • November 14, 2003

A national conference focusing on the Federal government's role in biomedical autism research, early screening and diagnosis, and improving access to autism services will be held November 19-20, 2003, at the Washington Convention Center in Washington, DC.

NIMH Awards $22.6 Million for Center for Collaborative Research on Mental Disorders

Press Release • July 01, 2003

The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) has funded a five-year, $22.6 million Center for Collaborative Genetic Studies on Mental Disorders at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey.

NIH Awards Grants for Six New Autism Research Centers

Press Release • May 13, 2003

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has awarded grants to support six new research centers of a major network focusing on the biomedical and behavioral aspects of autism.

Telltale Protein Defects Mark Fragile X Pathways

Press Release • February 12, 2003

A team of scientists led by National Institute of Mental Health Health (NIMH) grantees has identified a trove of proteins involved in synaptic plasticity and neuronal growth—some of them likely implicated in mental retardation and perhaps other neurodevelopmental disorders like autism.

NIH Awards Grants for Two New Autism Research Centers

Press Release • September 18, 2002

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) announced grants totaling $19 million to support the first two research centers of a major network of facilities to focus on the biomedical and behavioral aspects of autism.

NIMH Study Finds Anti-Psychotic Medication Useful in Treating Serious Behavioral Problems among Children with Autism

Press Release • July 31, 2002

One of a newer class of anti-psychotic medications was successful and well tolerated for the treatment of serious behavioral disturbances associated with autistic disorder in children ages 5 to 17.

$6 Million Grant to Expand Search for Autism Genes

Press Release • March 11, 2002

The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) today awarded the first installment of an expected $6 million grant over 5 years to researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) for major expansion of a collaborative effort to identify autism genes.