Birdsong-related DNA sequences tied to autism-linked genes
Genes that appear to play a role in some birds’ ability to learn songs are frequently mutated in autistic people.
Genes that appear to play a role in some birds’ ability to learn songs are frequently mutated in autistic people.
Parallels between how birds learn to sing and how children learn to speak provide a window into the roots of language difficulties in autism.
Certain antibodies may shape neurodevelopment by attaching to and invading new neurons in the brain.
Muffling expression of an autism-linked gene in a key song-related area of the brain renders young zebra finches unable to learn songs from older birds.
A new test can measure the language skills of autistic children of any verbal ability, at almost any age.
The more children with autism tune in to and communicate with others as toddlers, the stronger their conversation skills are later in childhood.
A new telehealth test offers researchers a way to detect signs of atypical behavior from afar and could help more families participate in autism studies and clinical trials.
Researchers use a variety of measures and definitions to characterize autistic children who speak few or no words.
The many genes implicated in Williams syndrome, a condition related to autism, may all work together to exert their effects on behavior.
Rats missing UBE3A, the gene mutated in people with Angelman syndrome, squeak frequently but tend not to be responsive to the play and squeaks of other rats.