Saturday, November 25, 2017

Too many brain connections may be the cause of autism
Article: In autism, too many brain connections may be at root of condition
Research done by: Washington University School of Medicine
Published: November 2, 2017
For the article click here.
Autism effects about 1 out of every 68 children.  With six genes linked to autism, ubiquitin ligase is a molecule used by all that links the genes to protein.  Ubiquitin ligases tell a cell what to do with a tagged protein.  Researchers at eat Washington School of Medicine removed the ubiquitin gene, RNF8, from the neurons in the cerebellum of young mice.   The cerebellum is known for its role in movement.  Researchers noticed the neurons with the removed RNF8 gene performed 50% more synapses.  The mice without the RNF8 gene did not have any problems with movement with the increased synapses.  On the other hand, when the mice were tested to learn motor skills they failed in comparison to mice with RNF8.  This is a hypothesis as of now but can help us understand the brain and how it functions when there are mutations involved.  If this hypothesis is true, scientists can begin to work on ways to control the synapses.

Links
Autism, genes, neuron

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