DISC1

Recent articles

Molecular mechanisms: FOXP2 leads to new autism gene

FOXP2, a language gene that is linked to autism, may regulate active connections between neurons by controlling the levels of a protein called SRPX2, according to a study published 22 November in Science.

By Jessica Wright
24 January 2014 | 2 min read

Genetics: Brain development pathway linked to autism

Individuals with autism may carry genetic variants in a pathway important for brain development, according to a study published in September in Translational Psychiatry.

By Virginia Hughes
26 November 2013 | 3 min read

Molecular mechanisms: Maternal infection modifies histones

Infection during pregnancy may alter the chemical tags that are added to histones, proteins that form a spool for DNA, according to a study published 9 February in Brain, Behavior and Immunity. Drugs that target these tags may treat neuropsychiatric disorders, the researchers say.

By Jessica Wright
7 May 2013 | 2 min read

Fluorescent fish help track mitochondrial motion

Fish engineered to express fluorescent proteins allow researchers to follow the paths of migrating mitochondria, the cell’s energy producers, according to a study published 14 November in The Journal of Neuroscience.

By Jessica Wright
16 January 2013 | 2 min read

Molecular mechanisms: Autism genes regulate cell sensors

Genes involved in neuropsychiatric disorders tend to be required for the formation of primary cilia — small tentacles on the cell surface that sense the external environment — according to a study published 3 October in PLoS One.

By Jessica Wright
18 December 2012 | 2 min read

Stem cells reveal genes that have parental bias

Researchers have used stem cells to identify 801 neuronal genes that are preferentially expressed from either the maternal or paternal chromosome, according to a study published 30 August in PLoS One. Of these genes, 26 are linked to autism and 48 to schizophrenia. 

By Jessica Wright
31 October 2012 | 2 min read

Genetics: Language gene may regulate autism, schizophrenia

FOXP2, a protein linked to language development that regulates the expression of some autism-associated genes, also dampens expression of DISC1, mutations in which have been linked to both schizophrenia and autism. The results were published 20 March in Human Molecular Genetics.

By Jessica Wright
11 April 2012 | 3 min read

Molecular mechanisms: Autism gene modulates connectivity

Neurons lacking PTEN, an autism-associated gene also involved in cancer, are hyperconnected to both near and distant brain cells, according to a study published 1 February in The Journal of Neuroscience.

By Jessica Wright
10 April 2012 | 3 min read

Molecular mechanisms: Autism protein forms aggregates

DISC1, an autism-associated protein, can form large aggregates that deplete the amount of functional DISC1 in cells, according to a study published 14 February in Human Molecular Genetics.

By Jessica Wright
13 March 2012 | 3 min read

Genetics: Autism, Tourette syndrome genes overlap

Genes implicated in Tourette syndrome overlap with those involved in autism, according to an analysis of rare DNA duplications and deletions in people with the syndrome, published in the March issue of Biological Psychiatry.

By Jessica Wright
15 February 2012 | 3 min read

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Rajesh Rao reflects on predictive brains, neural interfaces and the future of human intelligence

Twenty-five years ago, Rajesh Rao proposed a seminal theory of how brains could implement predictive coding for perception. His modern version zeroes in on actions.

By Paul Middlebrooks
18 December 2024 | 97 min listen
Portrait of Yves Fregnac

In memoriam: Yves Frégnac, influential and visionary French neuroscientist

Frégnac, who died on 18 October at the age of 73, built his career by meeting neuroscience’s complexity straight on.

By Bahar Gholipour
18 December 2024 | 9 min read
Illustration shows a solitary figure moving through a green and blue field of dots moving at different rates.

Explaining ‘the largest unexplained number in brain science’: Q&A with Markus Meister and Jieyu Zheng

The human brain takes in sensory information roughly 100 million times faster than it can respond. Neuroscientists need to explore this perceptual paradox to better understand the limits of the brain, Meister and Zheng say.

By Claudia López Lloreda
17 December 2024 | 8 min read