Structural brain changes in a mouse model of ATR-X syndrome; and more

Butterfly effect: Disabling the ATRX gene in forebrain excitatory neurons during embryogenesis alters brain size, structure and connectivity in adult mice, according to a new preprint. Previous work has shown that this intervention induces autism-like behaviors and thus appears to model ATR-X syndrome in people. ATRX-deficient mice of both sexes were smaller than controls, but only male mice showed reduced brain size. Some brain regions—the hippocampus, cerebellum and associated fiber tracts—were smaller in volume in the treated mice, whereas others—the caudal caudate, thalamus, striatum and midbrain—had larger volumes. That a restricted intervention causes such widespread effects, the authors write, suggests a disruption of “the coordinated development of interconnected brain regions.” bioRxiv

More autism research we spotted:

• “Developmental trajectories of adaptive functioning and behavior problems in children with co-occurring tuberous sclerosis complex and autism spectrum disorder, with and without seizures” Pediatric Neurology
• “A framework to infer de novo exonic variants when parental genotypes are missing enhances association studies of autism” bioRxiv
• “The neural bases of language processing during social and non-social contexts: A fNIRS study of autistic and neurotypical preschool-aged children” Molecular Autism
• “Charting structural brain asymmetry across the human lifespan” bioRxiv
• “Sex-related measurement bias in autism spectrum disorder symptoms in the Baby Siblings Research consortium” JAMA Network Open
  See also: “How scientists can counteract their unwitting contributions to autism’s sex bias”
• “Impaired spatiotemporal encoding of social behavior and anxiety in the prefrontal cortex of mice lacking ASD-risk gene SHANK3” bioRxiv
• “Exclusive: Medical journal rejects Kennedy’s call for retraction of vaccine study” Reuters