Tylenol tales: A new paper reports that exposing cortical organoids to acetaminophen at a stage that models late first-trimester development does not affect organoid size, cytoarchitecture, viability, synaptic puncta density or the proportions of neuronal and progenitor cells. Whereas some transcriptional changes occurred at the highest dose, there were no detectable changes in gene expression at a later time point. These findings, exploring possible direct biological mechanisms, are consistent with large-scale studies that have shown acetaminophen use during pregnancy does not increase the likelihood of having a child with autism.
Autism research spotted this week:
- “Autism-associated SCN2A deficiency disrupts cortico-striatal circuitry in human brain assembloids” Neuron
- “Profound autism prevalence and assessment practices in a population-based study” Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry
- “Connectomics by sequencing reveals self-organizing principles of neuronal networks in cerebral organoids” bioRxiv
- “Adaptive behavior development and autism outcomes: A comparison of elevated- and low-likelihood cohorts” Autism
- “Behavioral phenotypes and neuronal biomarkers in F1 mutant macaque model of SHANK3-associated autism spectrum disorders” Neuron
