In particular, the technique reveals methyl groups bound to DNA bases. DNA methylation — one of several types of ‘epigenetic’ changes — allows organisms to express genes at various times, and in different tissues, without changing the underlying DNA code.
Epigenetic changes, which are influenced by environmental factors such as diet, may be important in autism. Candidate genes account for less than 10 percent of all cases of the disorder.
“Epigenetics is that extra layer on top of the genetic code,” says Janine LaSalle, professor of medical microbiology and immunology at the University of California, Davis. “For a complex disorder like autism that’s a combination of multiple genetic risk factors and environmental risk factors, epigenetics is right there where the action is.”
Read more at…
Given the dearth of drugs available for children with autism, it’s no surprise that many parents turn to complementary and alternative medicine, such as restrictive diets or vitamins.
Mirror neurons, which fire when someone either performs an action or observes it, are not defective in people with autism, scientists report today in Neuron.
Neuroscientists have discovered a population of cells in the smell-perception area of the rat brain that express the hormone vasopressin. Blocking vasopressin in this region, called the olfactory bulb, impairs the animals’ ability to recognize other rats by smell, the study found.
