Tag: cognition

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Calculating a gene x environment interaction in autism

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Traditionally, scientists have been able to calculate the role of genes in autism, or the environment in autism. However, understanding the role of genes together with the environment, or the effects of the environment with a genetic background, has been very difficult. This is especially true with polygenic genetic risk factors, which is not a single gene but a combination of multiple genetic influences. Different environmental factors might be good candidates for testing because some of them are more accurately measured than others.

This week, we talk to Drs. Nilanjan Chatterjee and Christine Ladd Acosta both from Johns Hopkins University, who have tested and validated a new method to calculate the risk of not just genetics, or the environment but the two working together. They describe some of the factors they studied and why, and how this model can be used for further research questions.

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/42230772

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Factors That Influence Heterogeity and How

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Understanding factors that make each person with autism different has been a challenge, affecting diagnosis, interventions and the way we think about autism in general. Researchers at Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Rovereto, Italy, used computers to see how language, intellectual ability, motor and adaptive functioning grouped individuals into different categories. It turns out there are two groups – one group that improves over time and outperforms the other group consistently even in early life. The other group continues to struggle. These factors are not autism-specific, but do influence the creation of these different groups that are different biologically as well as behaviorally. This week’s podcast is an interview with the researchers on what it means for the future of understanding what might help what person at what time in their life.

The publication is open access and includes the model so their findings can be replicated widely: https://molecularautism.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s13229-024-00613-5

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Learn about your infant’s development from your own home

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Are you the parent of an infant? Are you wondering how you can get assessments on your child without having to struggle with your pediatrician’s time at a well- baby checkup? Are you interested in how your baby is thinking or communicating but your doctor says “it’s too early to tell?” A new study based out of Duke University is using remote computer based assessments to understand the very earliest markers of language and cognition to better predict later social development. The twist? It’s all done remotely. You can participate in research, get a gift card, and learn about your baby’s development all without leaving the house. This has been a struggle for many families and this may open the door for more video-based, but thorough, assessments.

Children Helping Science

sites.duke.edu/risebattery