DISC1

Recent articles

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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
Spectrum from The Transmitter.

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
Spectrum from The Transmitter.

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
Spectrum from The Transmitter.

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
Spectrum from The Transmitter.

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
Spectrum from The Transmitter.

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
Spectrum from The Transmitter.

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
Spectrum from The Transmitter.

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
Spectrum from The Transmitter.

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
Spectrum from The Transmitter.

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

Explore more from The Transmitter

Illustrated collage of a monkey profile, a gloved hand holding a vaccine syringe touching an outline of the United States with two primates sitting near it, a strand of DNA, and flags of the United States and China in the background.

U.S. national primate research centers face an uncertain future

The facilities were meant to last 100 years. Four decades shy of that mark, amid flatlined funds and mounting political pressure, their directors are trying to find a path forward.

By Calli McMurray
9 October 2026 | 12 min read
Reflections of primates in lab equipment (bottom left: Rhesus macaque, top left: Pig-tailed macaque, bottom right: Crab-eating macaque. top right: Marmoset

What if nonhuman primate research goes away?

As the U.S. government takes steps to stop using nonhuman primates in research, The Transmitter investigates what that shift could mean for neuroscience.

By The Transmitter
9 October 2026 | 2 min read
Illustration of primate hands interacting with objects of cognitive tests.

The neuroscience questions that need nonhuman primates

The Transmitter asked 17 neuroscientists what questions might remain unanswered if support for nonhuman primate research continues to decline.

By Alissa de Chassey
9 October 2026 | 10 min read