News / Spectrum

Prosodic patterns in autism; MEF2C; functional connectivity

Here is a roundup of autism-related news and research spotted around the web for the week of 8 January.

By Jill Adams
9 January 2024 | 2 min read
comments
https://doi.org/10.53053/QYZJ6994 https://doi.org/10.53053/QYZJ6994 - opens a new tab Cite this article
  • A child whose amygdala grows unusually rapidly during the first two years of life tends to have more anxiety at ages 6 to 12 than do children with typical growth, regardless of diagnosis or family history of autism. Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience
  • Autistic men reading scripts for emotional scenes have less pitch variation in their speech than do non-autistic men, a difference that identified participants with autism with 90 percent accuracy in one study. Autism Research
  • Anavex, a company developing a therapy for Rett syndrome, may be spinning its phase 2/3 clinical trial results to sound better than they are, according to critics. Endpoints News
  • The autism-linked gene MEF2C plays a key role in neonatal hippocampal neurogenesis, which is related to altered social behaviors in mice. Journal of Neuroscience
  • Genomics researchers called out Orchid Health for using their results to screen human embryo genomes for the likelihood of developing neurodevelopmental or psychiatric conditions, saying that the company is violating the data’s usage restrictions. Science
  • Receptive language tends to be stronger than expressive language in autistic children and adolescents who are minimally verbal, but language profiles in this population vary. Autism Research
  • The proportion of girls and women diagnosed with autism has increased in North Carolina between 2000 and 2021, according to an analysis of state-wide data. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry
  • Autistic people show altered patterns of functional connectivity, as measured by functional MRI in a resting state, according to a preprint. bioRxiv
Whole-brain images shaded in different colors to highlight functional networks.
Altered states: Parcellation of whole-brain images into functional networks reveals differences between autistic (bottom set) and non-autistic (top set) people.
  • Naturalistic developmental behavioral interventions can improve communication, cognition and adaptive behavior in autistic children but have mixed results on core traits such as repetitive behaviors, according to a review of studies. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders

Sign up for the weekly Spectrum newsletter.

Stay current with the latest advancements in autism research.

Recommended reading

Research image of rodent brains.
Spectrum

PTEN problems underscore autism connection to excess brain fluid

By Holly Barker
3 April 2025 | 4 min read
Illustration of an open journal featuring lines of text and small illustrations of eyes and mouths.
Spectrum

Autism traits, mental health conditions interact in sex-dependent ways in early development

By Jill Adams
1 April 2025 | 2 min read
Research image comparing methods of identifying genes and biological processes linked to Alzheimer's disease.
Spectrum

New tool may help untangle downstream effects of autism-linked genes

By Giorgia Guglielmi
27 March 2025 | 5 min read

Explore more from The Transmitter

Coins flow from a spigot.
Funding

Newly awarded NIH grants for neuroscience lag 77 percent behind previous nine-year average

By Natalia Mesa
4 April 2025 | 5 min read
Raphael Yuste leaning on a bench in his lab. A red filter colors the scene.
Neural networks

Releasing the Hydra with Rafael Yuste

By Brady Huggett, Shaena Montanari
4 April 2025 | 10 min read
Glitchy image of a stamp.
Science and society

Coding error caused layoffs at National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke this week, source says

By Sydney Wyatt
3 April 2025 | 3 min read