Valproic acid

Recent articles

Research image of a chimeroid.

Brain ‘chimeroids’ reveal person-to-person differences rooted in genetics

These fusions created from multiple donors’ organoids may help scale up comparative brain research.

By Charles Q. Choi
5 July 2024 | 4 min read
Illustration of neurons.

Chromatin remodeling tied to altered splicing in autism model

Exposing neurons to valproic acid, a well-known environmental risk factor for autism, disrupts their ability to generate different proteins from the same gene.

By Giorgia Guglielmi
7 February 2023 | 5 min read
A pregnant woman and a doctor, both masked, have a conversation in an examination room.

U.K. health authority investigates epilepsy drug’s link to autism

Prenatal exposure to topiramate increases a child’s autism odds, according to the study that prompted the inquiry, but experts caution that pregnant people with epilepsy have few other options for controlling seizures.

By Peter Hess
30 August 2022 | 4 min read
Rat neurons

Rat model of autism shows unusual brain growth at birth

The brains of rats exposed in utero to the seizure drug valproate show a significant increase in brain size around the time of birth.

By Nicholette Zeliadt
30 January 2019 | 5 min read
Siblings, a baby and a toddler, play together at home.

How pregnancy may shape a child’s autism

Autism is predominantly genetic in origin, but a growing list of prenatal exposures for mother and baby may sway the odds.

By Melinda Wenner Moyer
5 December 2018 | 17 min read

New restrictions on epilepsy drug may do more harm than good

A partial ban in Europe on the use of a drug called valproate during pregnancy could deny women effective treatment for serious conditions.

By Jessica Wright
21 June 2018 | 6 min read
Baby chick on white background.

Chick model of epilepsy-drug exposure may mimic signs of autism

Exposing fertilized chicken eggs to valproic acid, an epilepsy drug, yields chicks with apparent social deficits.

By Brianna Abbott
1 June 2018 | 2 min read

New journal; organoid ethics; acetaminophen association and more

A journal covering autism in adulthood makes its debut, researchers call for an ethical framework for human organoid studies, and the association between acetaminophen and autism risk comes under scrutiny.

By Emily Willingham
27 April 2018 | 5 min read

Fake autism claim; knocking out anesthesia; haunting milestone and more

Despite social media rumors, a British children’s television show does not cause autism; childhood anesthesia is not tied to autism risk; and an adult on the spectrum reaches a haunting milestone

By Emily Willingham
23 February 2018 | 5 min read
white lab rats piled together

Rodent ratings reveal periods of vulnerability to harmful exposures

Nongenetic rodent models most relevant to autism tend to be those exposed to environmental agents in the womb or shortly after birth.

By Nicholette Zeliadt
13 November 2017 | 2 min read

Explore more from The Transmitter

Susana Carmona on the neurobiology of pregnancy

In a Q&A about her new book, “A Mother’s Brain,” Carmona shares key moments in her career that led her to study the neuroscience of motherhood and discusses some of the major questions the field still needs to address.

By Francisco J. Rivera Rosario
6 October 2026 | 8 min read
Cerebellar Purkinje cells.

Aging biomarkers in autism; and more

Here is a roundup of autism-related news and research spotted around the web for the week of 5 October.

By Jill Adams
6 October 2026 | 2 min read
Davi Bock standing in front of a poster showing visualizations of connectomes.

Beyond wiring diagrams: Inside a $19 million effort to expand access to connectome technology

Davi Bock’s lab took the millions of images that led to the complete connectome of a fruit fly brain. Now he wants to apply “this high-throughput flashlight across all areas of biology.”

By Calli McMurray
6 October 2026 | 11 min read