Welcome to this month’s edition of the By the Numbers Newsletter! At Spectrum, we do our best to summarize the latest autism research findings — and sometimes the best summary comes in the form of a chart or map. In this newsletter, we boil down interesting new research that is conveyed most succinc…

Silencing several autism- or schizophrenia-linked genes in the thalami of mice increases neuronal excitability there and leads to memory problems reminiscent of those seen in people with these conditions, a new study shows. A drug that reverses the hyperexcitability boosts the animals’ recall, sugge…

I am a blossoming flower. By Angela Chapes My childhood had many challenges and I wasn’t the happiest person. I wasn’t always kind or nice. Fortunately, I had great influences in my life like my mom and my grandmother. They had such sunshiny personalities; I have worked to become that way too, by e…

Neurons are forever caught in a dance, adapting their signals to stay in step with new information. As the cells change pace, they need to maintain a delicate balance: If they ramp up excitatory signaling too much, it can lead to seizures; too much inhibition can lead to depressive or catatonic stat…

Just a few days ago, Google released the Android 12 beta and with that, the beta version of Android Accessibility Suite app version 12.0.0. One really cool feature that they slid into this version is controlling the phone with facial features! In the Accessibility Services Suite, there is now a n…

When Brenda Finucane began her work as a genetic counselor, she and her colleagues had few DNA testing tools at their disposal. They mainly relied on karyotyping, which involves looking at blurry images of a person’s chromosomes under a microscope for any irregularities. But this technique could hel…

Brain cells from the cerebellums of mice that model tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC) show dampened protein levels, according to a new study. The affected proteins’ levels are controlled by FMRP, the protein missing in people with fragile X syndrome — a result that suggests the two conditions share m…

In 2020, as many as 5.8 million Americans were living with Alzheimer’s Disease and this number is expected to nearly triple to 14 million by 2060. Alzheimer’s causes memory loss that disrupts daily life, makes it difficult to complete daily tasks, and causes confusion and poor judgement. Many tim…

We all get into routines, and it can be pretty disorienting when something disrupts them. These disruptions can... The post Old Navy Gives Boy with Autism His Own ‘Magic the Dog’ Mannequin After Stressful Store Visit appeared first on The Autism Site News. Source: The Autism Site

Hello, and welcome to this week’s Community Newsletter! I’m your host, Chelsey B. Coombs, Spectrum’s engagement editor. The first study that sparked a lot of conversation on social media was about how COVID-19 and social isolation have affected autistic people’s mental health. It was led by Liz Pell…

“I believe God gives each of us a purpose. To the horse, it’s to run across the prairie. For a cowboy, it’s to ride,” Brady Blackburn (Brady Jandreau) By Nils Skudra This evening I just finished watching The Rider, a compelling biographical western film directed by Chloé Zhao and starring Bra…

The post Spotted around the web: Dopamine in autism, predictive skills, incidental genetic findings appeared first on Spectrum | Autism Research News. Source: Spectrum News

When Holly Stessman, 35, gets home from a long day of corralling graduate students, she has a second flock to attend to: a pair of chickens of the classic British breed ‘Buff Orpington.’ She got them as day-old chicks just before the start of the pandemic, an ecological tactic for ridding her garden…

“I have what’s kind of a stereotypical autistic memory for details and facts, which has been helpful in different ways as a priest.” Matthew Schneider By Ron Sandison Father Matthew P. Schneider has over 65,000 followers between Twitter and Instagram and is completing a doctorate in moral theo…