Prader-Willi syndrome

Recent articles

Oxytocin lessons from autism-linked syndromes: A chat with Christian Schaaf and Ferdinand Althammer

Oxytocin therapies have failed to consistently benefit autistic people, but their effects in people with two autism-linked conditions may yield new insights, experts argue.

By Peter Hess
7 September 2022 | 4 min read

Dispatches from SfN 2021: Mitochondria, Rett therapy and oxytocin

These short reports from Spectrum journalists highlight some of the autism-related findings that caught our attention at the meeting this past week.

By Angie Voyles Askham, Laura Dattaro, Anna Goshua, Peter Hess
11 November 2021 | 9 min read
Colorful, playful illustrated scene of ewborns on a conveyor belt moving past researchers holding a long, long list.

The push to screen newborns for rare autism-linked genetic conditions

As treatments for some autism-linked genetic conditions inch closer to the clinic, researchers are talking more urgently about screening all newborns for such conditions.

By Laura Dattaro
28 July 2021 | 9 min read
Colorful illustration shows two researchers examining messy data.

How to safeguard online data collection against fraud

When autism researcher Clare Harrop tried to recruit survey participants over social media, she received hundreds of fraudulent responses. But there are ways researchers can protect themselves from similar experiences.

By Grace Huckins
30 March 2021 | 7 min read
Mouse brain slices shown in red

Vasopressin relieves social deficits in an autism mouse model

Mice missing a copy of MAGEL2 have trouble discerning between a familiar mouse and an unfamiliar one; treating them with the social hormone vasopressin reverses this deficit.

By Peter Hess
25 January 2021 | 4 min read
Woman with autism hears social noise, but is soothed by the sounds of a lullaby

Brain-body connection may ease autistic people’s social problems

An auditory therapy may improve autistic people's emotional control and help them feel safe enough to engage with the world.

By Stephen Porges
20 August 2019 | 7 min read

Explore more from The Transmitter

Sox different neurons.

Early trajectory of Alzheimer’s tracked in single-cell brain atlases

Inflammation in glia and the loss of certain inhibitory cells may kick off a disease cascade decades before diagnosis.

By Angie Voyles Askham
23 October 2024 | 8 min read
Research image of four brain scans with green areas indicating Parasagittal dura volume.

Okur-Chung neurodevelopmental syndrome; excess CSF; autistic girls

Here is a roundup of autism-related news and research spotted around the web for the week of 21 October.

By Jill Adams
22 October 2024 | 2 min read
A collage illustration of a woman’s face fragmented by a mosaic of X chromosomes, lines and shapes.

Brains, biases and amyloid beta: Why the female brain deserves a closer look in Alzheimer’s research

New results suggest the disease progresses differently in women, but we need more basic science to unpack the mechanisms involved.

By Rachel Buckley
22 October 2024 | 7 min read