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Get some zzzzzz’s

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Sleep is a huge problem in ASD. But is it just “sleep” or can we get more specific? What role do genetics have? And does being autistic make sleep problems worse? Answers come from an unlikely source: mice! Learn more about recent scientific evidence tying sleep problems to ASDs and neurodevelopmental disorders. These include: type of sleep problems autistic people face, why they exist, where they come from, and how mouse models can help solve them.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6639428/

https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyt.2020.559694/full

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30737588/

https://molecularautism.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s13229-021-00426-w

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33549123/

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ajmg.a.62086

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Which came first, ASD or sleep problems?

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People with autism have lots of problems, and sleep is one of them. This week’s podcast explores when these problems begin, which brain areas are involved, and how autism contributes to, or suffers from, lack of sleep. Does sleep make ASD worse or are ASD symptoms causing a sleep problems? It’s not a one way street, and the neurons that go to the wrong places at the wrong times which cause ASD, may also be contributing to lack of good sleep. References below:

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33207724/

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33184732/

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32375538/

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32140983/

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The waterbed around your brain (and its role in sleep)

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This week we have a very special guest:  Dr. Mark Shen from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, who has been leading the field in understanding the role that the fluid around the brain in autism.  This week he expands his research to show that this increase in extra – axial (around the brain) fluid is not limited to those with a family history of autism, and is seen both before and after a diagnosis.  This has implications for early detection of ASD, but more interesting, it may help explain why some people with autism have so many sleep issues.