Autism BrainNet, a program funded by the New York-based Simons Foundation Autism Research Initiative (SFARI), announces a new collaboration with the Douglas-Bell Canada Brain Bank (DBCBB). This alliance will allow Canadian individuals and families the opportunity to consider making a postmortem brain donation to help advance research on the causes and treatments of autism spectrum […]
Read More »
We are happy to share the Spring 2019 issue of the Autism BrainNet newsletter with you. The Autism BrainNet newsletter frequently summarizes the new science and outreach of this program. Read more here.
Read More »Autism BrainNet Begins New Tissue Distribution – Autism BrainNet was established in 2014 with the goal of collecting postmortem brain tissue to promote research on the causes and potential treatments of autism spectrum (ASD) and other related neurodevelopmental disorders. To date, Autism BrainNet has received 153 brain donations, including 59 from individuals with a confirmed […]
Read More »
Researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles, found that RNA-editing is dysregulated in the brains of individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD)1. RNA-editing is a mechanism that occurs inside the cells, whereby the cell’s RNA sequence can be altered, thus changing the information used to build proteins. This process is known to play a […]
Read More »
It is well known that individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have difficulties in social interactions. However, the biological causes of these difficulties are not well understood. In the brain, many social and associated behaviors are modulated by the release of a chemical compound called oxytocin1. Researchers have hypothesized that social deficits in ASD may […]
Read More »
By Serena Bianchi and Lilliam Acosta-Sanchez Autism BrainNet relies on the teamwork of many clinical and research staff to acquire and distribute the tissue provided by our donor families. This staff is located at four centers, or nodes, across the United States. We recently spoke with Patrick Hof, M.D., Director of the Seaver Autism Center […]
Read More »
The Simons Foundation Autism Research Initiative (SFARI) is pleased to announce that Autism BrainNet is beginning to distribute new frozen and fixed postmortem brain tissue from individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and related neurodevelopmental disorders, as well as neurotypical individuals. To date, the Autism BrainNet collection has received 146 brain donations. This includes 55 […]
Read More »We are happy to share the Winter 2018 issue of the Autism BrainNet newsletter with you. The Autism BrainNet newsletter frequently summarizes the new science and outreach of this program. Read more here.
Read More »
While much of the research on postmortem autistic brains involves the principal information processing cell, the neuron, there are other cells in the brain that have a variety of functions. Astrocytes and microglia are two types of “glial” cells specific to the central nervous system. While astrocytes have multiple functions, such as contributing to the […]
Read More »by Lilliam Acosta-Sanchez I recently had a conversation with Carolyn Hare, Clinical Director for Autism BrainNet, and Nicole Coman, Clinician for Autism BrainNet, to learn about their role with Autism BrainNet and how they support our donor families. Read the conversation and learn more about the caring staff at Autism BrainNet. Tell us about your […]
Read More »