News and Announcements
Read the latest news from Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine's Center for Autism and Neurodevelopment.
02.03.2025Scientists from Northwestern Medicine, the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard have uncovered the first rare genetic disorder linked to a long non-coding RNA gene. In this episode, Gemma Carvill, PhD, explains how this discovery, published in The New England Journal of Medicine, came to be and the critical roles non-coding regions of the genome may have in human health.
10.28.2024Scientists have discovered an RNA that controls how much or how little protein is produced by a gene, with implications for neurodevelopmental disorders like epilepsy and autism.
06.03.2024Northwestern Medicine scientists have been awarded $17 million to study genetic causes of autism and schizophrenia, with the aim of developing new drugs to treat the conditions.
03.06.2023Northwestern Medicine scientists have identified the cause of a genetic subtype of autism and schizophrenia that results in social deficits and seizures in mice and humans.
12.26.2022A team of Northwestern investigators led by Peter Penzes, PhD, has developed a new therapy that could treat Phelan-McDermid syndrome, a subtype of autism spectrum disorder.
12.17.2021Northwestern Medicine scientists have discovered a biomarker for one type of autism within cerebrospinal fluid, according to a recent study.
06.30.2021Northwestern Medicine scientists have discovered an unexpected connection between a protein implicated in neuropsychiatric disorders and the endocannabinoid pathway.
02.22.2021For the first time, Northwestern Medicine scientists have characterized how a genetic mutation associated with pediatric epilepsy affects neuron activity.
01.26.2021Homer1, a protein that’s important for neural plasticity and learning, is part of a large network of proteins in the brain that help ensure new connections are wired correctly, according to a new study.
05.27.2020Small projections of dendritic spines known as spinules are unexpectedly dynamic, while a stable subgroup may form multi-synaptic spine connections, according to the first detailed study of their behavior.
12.05.2019Scientists have discovered why a specific genetic mutation causes intellectual disability and autism spectrum disorder in children.
05.09.2019Mutations in the gene BIN1 may weaken synapses, hurting neural communication and contributing to the development of Alzheimer’s disease, according to a recent study.