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

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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