Imbalances in neural pathways may contribute to repetitive behaviors in autism

(JCI Journals) Researchers in Guoping Feng's lab at MIT hypothesized that a mutation in the autism risk gene SHANK3 differentially affects synaptic development in two neural pathways that contribute to motor control. Their work, published this week in the JCI, suggests that repetitive behaviors in SHANK3-deficient mice are driven by imbalances between the pathways, revealing a potential mechanism and possible targets to treat some behavioral aspects of autism spectrum disorder.

from EurekAlert! - Social and Behavioral Science http://ift.tt/2nWeZzL