The past fifteen years has seen a dramatic improvement in our understanding of hearing and hearing loss. Scientists have worked to identify dozens of genes involved in hearing loss and elucidate the complex molecular machinery responsible for hearing. At the same time, there have been rapid advances in clinical diagnostic tools including imaging…

Conduct disorder (CD) is a pattern of repeated aggression toward others, disregard for the rights of others, and behaviors that violate major social norms at home, in school, and even in society at large (American Psychiatric Association [APA], 2013). Falling under the umbrella of "conduct problems" along with oppositional defiant…

The Game Changer is an interrupted case study that traces the football career of Anthony "Tony Tonka Truck" Williams and the types of brain trauma that he suffers from playing football, from junior league level through high school, college, and his draft into the pros. To be successful during this case, readers will have to be familiar…

Each year, the Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee (IACC) releases a list of scientific advances that represent significant progress in the field of autism research. The "Summary of Advances" provides short, plain language summaries of the top research breakthroughs selected by the IACC from a pool of research articles nominated by…

Each year, the Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee (IACC) releases a list of scientific advances that represent significant progress in the field. The "2017 Summary of Advances" provides short, plain language summaries of the top research breakthroughs selected by the IACC from a pool of research articles nominated by the members.…

Each year, the Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee (IACC) releases a list of scientific advances that represent significant progress in the field. The "2020 Summary of Advances in Autism Research" provides short, plain language summaries of the top research breakthroughs selected by the IACC from a pool of research articles…

Each year, the Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee (IACC) releases its annual list of scientific advances that represent significant progress in the field. The 20 studies selected have given new insight into the underlying biology of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and potential risk factors, examined the state of the science in early…

Celiac disease is a genetic autoimmune disorder characterized by a heightened sensitivity to gluten, the protein in wheat, barley and rye. The disease is more common than most people think, affecting approximately 3 million in the United States, about 1 in 100. One of the most notable things about celiac disease is that up to 97 percent of…

People with a learning disability are just as likely as people in the general population to be at risk of cerebrovascular disease, due to the presence of undetected/undertreated vascular risk factors. When people with a learning disability are presenting with additional cognitive impairment, it is important to consider a range of conditions that…

Each year, the Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee (IACC) releases its annual list of scientific advances that represent significant progress in the field. The 20 studies selected have given new insight into the underlying biology of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and potential risk factors, tested approaches for improving early screening…

Coenzyme Q[subscript 10] (CoQ[subscript 10]) is an essential electron carrier in the mitochondrial respiratory chain and an important antioxidant. Deficiency of CoQ[subscript 10] is a clinically and molecularly heterogeneous syndrome, which, to date, has been found to be autosomal recessive in inheritance and generally responsive to CoQ[subscript…

Mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS) represents the final step in the conversion of nutrients into cellular energy. Genetic defects in the OXPHOS system have an incidence between 1:5,000 and 1:10,000 live births. Inherited isolated deficiency of the first complex (CI) of this system, a multisubunit assembly of 45 different proteins,…

A March 16, 2009 New York Times headline read, "An Outbreak of Autism, or a Statistical Fluke?" While this article focused narrowly on Somali families relocated to the Minneapolis area, the headline applies equally well to the broader national picture of autism spectrum disorders (ASDs), and it represents a compelling illustration of the lack of…

It is important to determine if a traumatic brain injury (TBI) has occurred when an individual is assessed in a hospital emergency room after a car accident, fall, or other injury that affects the head. This determination influences decisions about treatment. It is essential to screen for the injury, because the sooner they begin appropriate…

This paper offers an integrative approach to the increasingly complex puzzle of autistic spectrum disorders. The author demonstrates how the work of one group of neuroscientists in Parma, on a special class of brain cells called "mirror neurons", and the work of researchers at the University of California in San Diego, applying these…