News / Spectrum

Cerebellar circuits; facial recognition; cortical anatomy

Here is a roundup of autism-related news and research spotted around the web for the week of 25 December.

By Jill Adams
26 December 2023 | 1 min read
comments
https://doi.org/10.53053/VDSF1023 https://doi.org/10.53053/VDSF1023 - opens a new tab Cite this article
  • Autistic people show similar neural responses, as measured with electroencephalography, to images of their own faces and closely matched faces, whereas non-autistic people respond differently to the two. Cortex
  • Brain imaging reveals differences in cortical anatomy between people with autism and those with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, according to a preprint. medRxiv
  • Cerebellar circuits that are known to play roles in autism mediate emotional responses to threatening stimuli, according to a review. Frontiers in Systems Neuroscience
Research image of rat and human cerebella.
Danger signals: The cerebellum, shown here for rats (top row) and humans (bottom row), plays a role in fear responses and may also contribute to emotional processing in autism.
  • Many autistic people have slightly greater physiological reactions to social stimuli, which may be mediated by a smaller parasympathetic nervous system response, according to a review. Autism Research
  • Hospitalized children with autism are more likely to be restrained for violent or self-injurious behavior than are non-autistic children. Pediatrics

Recommended reading

Research image of toxoplasma gondii showing cysts it creates as well as the MECP2 protein that it can deliver to neurons.
Spectrum

Parasite-based tool delivers MECP2 and other proteins to neurons

By Giorgia Guglielmi
12 September 2024 | 4 min read
World map displaying an analysis of years of life lost to suicide among autistic people in 2021.
Spectrum

PPP2R5D gene; social-communication intervention in infants; autism and suicide

By Jill Adams
10 September 2024 | 2 min read
Photo of the U.S. Capitol Building.
Spectrum Microphone

In updated U.S. autism bill, Congress calls for funding boost, expanded scope

By Rachel Zamzow
5 September 2024 | 5 min listen

Explore more from The Transmitter

Illustration of cranes attempting to assemble a structure out of very small black squares.
Dopamine

Reconstructing dopamine’s link to reward

By Angie Voyles Askham
13 September 2024 | 18 min read
Illustration of cranes attempting to assemble a structure out of very small black squares.
Dopamine

Dopamine and the need for alternative theories

By Vijay Mohan K. Namboodiri
13 September 2024 | 7 min read
Illustration of several structures constructed out of small black squares, with scaffolding on some of the structures.
Dopamine

Does a new theory of dopamine replace the classic model?

By Naoshige Uchida
13 September 2024 | 8 min read