# Science News About Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)

NIMH’s Dr. Susan Daniels Designated National Autism Coordinator
May 18, 2023                • Institute Update

Susan A. Daniels, Ph.D. has been appointed as the HHS National Autism Coordinator and Director of the Office of National Autism Coordination (ONAC).

Infants’ Health Record Data May Improve Early Autism Screening
April 27, 2023                • Research Highlight

Research supported by NIMH suggests that children’s health records may yield some promising insights that could improve the accuracy of early autism screening.

Attention to Geometric Images May Offer Biomarker for Some Toddlers with Autism
February 13, 2023                • Research Highlight

An NIMH-supported study shows that preference for geometric images may be robust enough to serve as a biomarker for identifying some young children with autism.

NIH Announces Winners of High School Mental Health Essay Contest
September 26, 2022                • Institute Update

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is pleased to announce the winners of 2022 Speaking Up About Mental Health! This Is My Story essay contest.

NIH Awards $100 Million for Autism Centers of Excellence Program
September 6, 2022                • Institute Update

The National Institutes of Health has awarded a total of $100 million over the next five years to support nine Autism Centers of Excellence. This endeavor funds large research projects to understand and develop interventions for autism spectrum disorder.

Toddlers’ Responses to “Baby Talk” Linked to Social, Cognitive, Language Abilities
August 10, 2022                • Research Highlight

In an NIMH-supported study, researchers found that toddlers respond to emotionally expressive speech in different ways, and these varied responses are linked with their social, linguistic, and cognitive abilities.

Multistage Autism Screening in Early Intervention Settings May Reduce Disparities
April 21, 2022                • Research Highlight

An NIMH-supported study shows that incorporating a multistage screening process for autism spectrum disorder (ASD) into federally funded early intervention services may reduce disparities in early ASD diagnosis.

Autism and Congenital Heart Disease Share Underlying Molecular Network
March 17, 2022                • Research Highlight

A recent study of gene networks may hold some promising clues about shared mechanisms underlying autism spectrum disorder and congenital heart disease, two physiologically distinct disorders that often co-occur.

Machine Learning Study Sheds Light on Gaze Patterns in Adults With Autism
February 11, 2022                • Research Highlight

NIMH researchers examine what people with ASD and people without ASD look at when viewing a social scene.

Acting National Autism Coordinator Named
June 29, 2021                • Institute Update

National Autism Coordinator Ann E. Wagner, Ph.D., will retire from federal service on June 30, 2021—Susan A. Daniels, Ph.D., will serve as Acting National Autism Coordinator beginning on July 1, 2021, and until a permanent successor is named.

Media Advisory: Prototype App for Mobile Devices Could Screen Children at Risk for Autism Spectrum Disorder
April 26, 2021                • Media Advisory

A mobile app was successful at distinguishing toddlers diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) from typically developing toddlers based on their eye movements while watching videos, according to a study funded by the National Institutes of Health.

Testing and Refining Biomarkers to Support Intervention Research for Children with Autism 
October 28, 2020                • Research Highlight

NIMH, along with other NIH Institutes, is supporting the ABC-CT project, a multisite study that aims to test and refine biomarkers that can be used as objective measures of social impairment for children with autism in clinical trials, leading to more predictive and personalized treatment.

Supporting the Development of Early Autism Screening Tools
May 18, 2020                • Research Highlight

NIMH, along with other NIH Institutes, is supporting the goal of identifying autism in the first year of life by funding projects that seek to seek to translate findings related to early-emerging signs of autism into practical ASD screening tools that can be implemented in the general population and community settings.

Large-Scale Genetics Study Sheds Light on Developmental Origins of Autism
March 6, 2020                • Research Highlight

Researchers were able to identify different types of rare genetic variations associated with autism spectrum disorder by analyzing data shared via the NIMH-funded Autism Sequencing Consortium.

NIH Awards Funding for Early Autism Screening
November 6, 2019                • Institute Update

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has awarded more than four million dollars in FY 2019 to support seven research projects aimed at developing and validating screening tools to detect signs of autism spectrum disorder in the first year of life.

New Findings Reveal Surprising Role of the Cerebellum in Reward and Social Behaviors
January 17, 2019                • Press Release

A new study in rodents has demonstrated, for the first time, that the brain’s cerebellum plays a role in controlling reward and social preference behavior—findings that shed light on the brain circuits critical to the affective and social dysfunction seen across multiple psychiatric disorders. 

2,000 Human Brains Yield Clues to How Genes Raise Risk for Mental Illnesses
December 20, 2018                • Press Release

PsychENCODE researchers are discovering the biological mechanisms by which mental illness risk genes work in the human brain.

Inflammation in Pregnant Moms Linked to Child’s Brain Development
July 24, 2018                • Science Update

High levels of maternal inflammation during pregnancy have been linked to effects in children, including reduced brain circuit communications and altered long-distance brain wiring at birth, poorer cognitive function at one year – and to reduced impulse control and working memory at two years.

“Covert” Neurofeedback Tunes-up the Social Brain in ASD
July 17, 2018                • Science Update

Young people with autism unknowingly tuned up flagging neural connections by playing a picture puzzle game that was rigged by their own brain activity.

Inherited Variations in Noncoding Sections of DNA Associated with Autism
May 30, 2018                • Science Update

A new study has identified an association between paternally-inherited rare structural variants in noncoding segments of genes and the development of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The study adds to a growing body of research describing genetic contributors to ASD.

Suspect Molecules Overlap in Autism, Schizophrenia, Bipolar Disorder
March 1, 2018                • Science Update

Depression, schizophrenia and autism spectrum disorder share some of the same patterns of suspect gene expression – molecular signatures.

NIMH’s Dr. Ann Wagner Designated as the National Autism Coordinator
February 28, 2018                • Institute Update

NIMH’s Dr. Ann Wagner has been designed as the National Autism Coordinator. In this role, she will play a vital role in ensuring the implementation of national autism spectrum disorder research, services, and support activities across federal agencies.

Our Brains Harbor “Residual Echo” of Neanderthal Genes
July 24, 2017                • Science Update

Researchers have produced the first direct evidence that parts of our brains implicated in mental disorders may be shaped by a “residual echo” from our ancient past. The more a person’s genome carries genetic vestiges of Neanderthals, the more certain parts of his or her brain and skull resemble those of humans’ evolutionary cousins that went extinct 40,000 years ago.

Neuroimaging Technique May Help Predict Autism among High-Risk Infants
June 16, 2017                • Press Release

Functional connectivity magnetic resonance imaging (fcMRI) may predict which high-risk, 6-month old infants will develop autism spectrum disorder (ASD) by age 2 years.

Brain Circuit Tweak Wins Her Affection (if she’s a vole)
June 13, 2017                • Science Update

For the first time, neuroscientists have boosted a female rodent’s partnering with a male by stimulating connectivity of a brain reward circuit. Understanding the circuitry of such affiliative behaviors may lead to improved treatments for social impairment in severe mental disorders, such as autism spectrum disorder.

Human Forebrain Circuits Under Construction – in a Dish
April 26, 2017                • Press Release

Neuroscientists have created a 3D window into the human brain’s budding executive hub assembling itself during a critical period in prenatal development.

Delayed Walking May Signal Spontaneous Gene Anomalies in Autism 
March 24, 2017                • Science Update

Researchers have discovered a pattern of genetic glitches and behavioral features, such as delayed walking, in some cases of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) that could ultimately lead to identification of subgroups and improved treatment.

A Third of Suspect Mutations in ASD Just “Noise”
March 23, 2017                • Science Update

Researchers have narrowed suspected genetic causes of autism and related developmental disabilities by ruling out what they call the “noise of benign variation.”

Schizophrenia, Autism Risk Gene Trajectories Point to Shared Causes
August 12, 2016                • Science Update

Schizophrenia, autism risk gene trajectories point to shared causes

NIH-supported NeuroBioBank Joins Autism BrainNet in Brain Donation Initiative
November 17, 2015                • Press Release

Two of the world’s largest brain tissue banks unify efforts to collect and distribute a critical number of brain donations for important autism research.

NIH Joins Public-Private Partnership to Fund Research on Autism Biomarkers
July 16, 2015                • Press Release

James McPartland, Ph.D. of Yale University will lead a new four-year $28 million Biomarkers Consortium project that aims to improve clinical evaluation of treatments for social impairment in children with autism. 

Dr. Insel Reflects on Autism Awareness Month
April 3, 2015                • Science Update

Dr. Insel describes recent accomplishments related to autism spectrum disorder over the past year—from the reauthorization of the Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee to promising therapeutic results from clinical trials.

Largest Autism Gene Dragnet Fingers 33 Prime Suspects
November 7, 2014                • Science Update

Many patients with psychosis develop health risks associated with premature death early in the course of their mental illness, researchers have found.

New Grants Fund Cross-lifespan Services Research for Autism Spectrum Disorder
September 10, 2014                • Press Release

NIH-funded projects aim at improving access, timeliness of interventions.

Common Gene Variants Account for Most Genetic Risk for Autism
July 20, 2014                • Press Release

Most of the genetic risk for autism comes from versions of genes that are common in the population rather than from rare variants or spontaneous glitches.

NIMH Twitter Chat on Autism Spectrum Disorder Diagnosis
April 21, 2014                • Science Update

NIMH Twitter Chat on Autism Spectrum Disorder Diagnosis

Disorganized Cortical Patches Suggest Prenatal Origin of Autism
March 26, 2014                • Press Release

The architecture of the autistic brain is speckled with patches of abnormal neurons, according to research partially funded by the National Institute of Mental Health, published in the New England Journal of Medicine on March 27, 2014.

Brain Region Singled Out for Social Memory, Possible Therapeutic Target for Select Brain Disorders
March 13, 2014                • Science Update

The hippocampus houses learning and memory—specifically the storage of knowledge of who, what, where, and when. Using a special transgenic mouse, researchers have now pinpointed a hippocampal region called CA2 that is important for social memory, the ability of animal to recognize another of the same species. Understanding this region could be useful in understanding and treating disorders characterized by altered social behaviors such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and autism.