CHICAGO -- Advances in the study of cognitive disorders, including Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), may pave the way for future treatments. The findings were presented at Neuroscience 2019, the annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience and the world's largest source of emerging news about brain science and health.
ASD affects one in 59 children in the U.S., according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention's Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring Network. Hundreds of genes as well as other biological factors contribute to the condition, and the exact interplay between them is not well understood. New research has been able to isolate and study specific features of ASD within the brain, while new technologies offer a previously unavailable nuance and depth to this research. These advances may ultimately contribute to the development of therapeutic treatments for those with ASD.
Today's new findings show that:
"These studies offer significant new directions for the study of ASD and have the potential to expand our understanding of the complexities of the condition in the brain," said press conference moderator Manny DiCicco-Bloom, MD, professor at Rutgers University Robert Wood Johnson Medical School who studies nervous system development. "Continuing to move forward on research like this helps move the needle towards screening of drugs and clinical trials for those suffering from these disorders."
This research was supported by national funding agencies including the National Institutes of Health and private funding organizations. Find out more about Autism Spectrum Disorder and other cognitive disorders on BrainFacts.org .
Related Neuroscience 2019 Presentation
Minisymposium: Novel Mechanistic Roles for Sodium Channels in Neurodevelopmental Disorders
Sunday, Oct. 20, 8:30 - 11:00 a.m., Room S105
Autism Press Conference Summary
Preterm ASD Risk Linked to Cerebellar White Matter Changes Anna Penn, APenn@childrensnational.org , Abstract 103.07
Modeling Autism Using Non-Human Primates Yong Zhang, zhangym700@163.com , Abstract 103.04
Investigating the Role of Autism Related Presynaptic NRXN1 and Postsynaptic SHANK3 in Synaptic Mechanisms Using Human Stem Cell Derived Cortical Neurons
Mark Kotter, mrk25@cam.ac.uk , Abstract 116.03
###
About the Society for Neuroscience
The Society for Neuroscience is the world's largest organization of scientists and physicians devoted to understanding the brain and nervous system. The nonprofit organization, founded in 1969, now has nearly 37,000 members in more than 90 countries and over 130 chapters worldwide.