David Ledbetter is chief clinical officer of Dascena, a personalized medicine company.
David Ledbetter
Chief clinical officer
Dascena
From this contributor
There are no autism-specific genes, just brain genes
There is not yet a single example of a gene that, when mutated, increases the likelihood of autism but not of other neurodevelopmental conditions, including intellectual disability.
There are no autism-specific genes, just brain genes
By
David Ledbetter, Scott Myers
23 March 2021 | 5 min read
Developmental disorders should be viewed as continuum
Intellectual disability, autism, epilepsy and schizophrenia should be considered part of a spectrum of developmental brain dysfunction, says David Ledbetter.
Developmental disorders should be viewed as continuum
By
David Ledbetter
6 May 2013 | 3 min read
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Synchronized signals in non-neuronal retinal cells draw the tiny compartments of a fruit fly’s compound eye into alignment during pupal development.
Waves of calcium activity dictate eye structure in flies
Synchronized signals in non-neuronal retinal cells draw the tiny compartments of a fruit fly’s compound eye into alignment during pupal development.
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Among brain changes studied in autism, spotlight shifts to subcortex
The striatum and thalamus are more likely than the cerebral cortex to express autism variants or bear transcriptional changes, two unpublished studies find.
Among brain changes studied in autism, spotlight shifts to subcortex
The striatum and thalamus are more likely than the cerebral cortex to express autism variants or bear transcriptional changes, two unpublished studies find.
By
Holly Barker
11 December 2025 | 5 min read