A recent study conducted by Loren Martin, Ph.D., professor and director of research for the Department of Graduate Psychology at Azusa Pacific University, links birth order to the severity of autism. Drawing from more than 300 sibling pairs diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder from the Autism Genetic Resource Exchange database, the study presents the largest [...]
New research published in the Journal of Neuroscience this April demonstrates how children with autism spectrum disorder perceive motion at twice the rate of typically developing children, suggesting that perception of motion may be responsible for autism symptoms such as painful sensitivity to noise and bright lights, as well as social, behavioral deficits. The study [...]
A new study published in the journal Molecular Psychiatry identifies patterns of epigenetic changes associated with autism by examining genetically identical twins with varying autism traits. This model allows the researchers to examine how environment regulates gene activity and affects neurological development. Lead author of the study, Professor Jonathan Mill of King’s College London, comments [...]
A recent study found a link between a protein associated with autism and the signaling system between neurons, which opens up a new area of autism research and suggests potential for treating ASD symptoms. The study was conducted by Dr. Südhof and Dr. Malenka at Stanford University and published in the online journal Neuron on [...]
A drug previously intended for the treatment of obesity has been found to block cerebral receptors responsible for abnormal neuronal expressions. Researchers at the University of the Basque Country and the Achucarro neurosciences centre found that the pharmaceutical drug Rimonabant, which was taken off the market due to presumed psychiatric consequences, may be beneficial when [...]
At 7 months old, children who are later diagnosed with autism take a split second longer to shift their gaze, as compared with typically developing children of the same age. Researchers supported by the National Institutes of Health measured a 25 to 50 millisecond difference when measuring eye movements and visual attention—too brief a time [...]
A new study on patterns of brain communication in toddlers with autism demonstrates problems with neural communication even at this early stage of brain development, according to an article in Brain Connectivity, a bimonthly peer-reviewed journal. A team of researchers from The Netherlands (University Medical Center Utrecht and Utrecht University, Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Center, [...]
Men that have children at an older age may put their grandchildren at a higher risk of having autism, according to a new study published in JAMA Psychiatry this week. The study maintains that risk factors for autism may increase over several generations, with a father and grandfather’s lifestyle choices wielding a direct impact on [...]
Autism Prevalence at 1 in 50 for School-Age Children There are as many as one in 50 school age children in the U.S. diagnosed with autism, according to a new study from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention — a 72 percent increase from 2007. However, researchers attribute the rise to improved detection [...]
Linda Gund Anderson, a mother of a young man with autism has written an amusing and interesting book entitled, “Unintentional Humor: Celebrating the Literal Mind of Autism.” Her book is a 160-page descriptive report of the many misunderstood phrases that her son Brent encountered when growing up. Brent, who was diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome was [...]
