UC Davis M.I.N.D. Institute News

Simon Baron-Cohen to discuss the androgen theory of autism

Phyllis Brown — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 08:00:00 GMT

SACRAMENTO, CALIF. (November 18, 2009) - Simon Baron-Cohen, an internationally renowned autism researcher and author of several acclaimed books on autism, including "Mindblindness" and "The Essential Difference," will present a lecture on "The Androgen Theory of Autism," on Wednesday, Dec. 9, as part of the UC Davis M.I.N.D. Institute Distinguished Lecturer Series.

Hansen appointed to state Council on Developmental Disabilities

Phyllis Brown — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 08:00:00 GMT

SACRAMENTO, CALIF. (November 4, 2009) - Robin Hansen, a professor of pediatrics at UC Davis and founding director of the Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities at the UC Davis MIND Institute, has been appointed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to the California State Council on Developmental Disabilities.

UC Davis MIND Institute to receive nearly $12 million in stimulus funds

Phyllis Brown — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 08:00:00 GMT

SACRAMENTO, CALIF. (November 2, 2009) - Researchers with the UC Davis MIND Institute will receive nearly $12 million over two years to study causes and treatments for autism and other disorders, in funding provided by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, or the federal economic stimulus.

M.I.N.D. Institute lecture to address lupus, autoimmunity and autism

Phyllis Brown — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 07:00:00 GMT

SACRAMENTO, CALIF. (October 29, 2009) - Betty A. Diamond, one of the nation’s leading lupus researchers, will discuss what is known about the autoimmune disease and how this knowledge can broaden understanding of the effects of autoimmunity found in some families of children with autism during the Nov. 9 UC Davis M.I.N.D. Institute Distinguished Lecture Series address.

UC Davis study finds mercury levels in children with autism and those developing typically are the same

Phyllis Brown — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 07:00:00 GMT

SACRAMENTO, CALIF. (October 19, 2009) - In a large population-based study published online today, researchers at the UC Davis MIND Institute report that after adjusting for a number of factors, typically developing children and children with autism have similar levels of mercury in their blood streams. Mercury is a heavy metal found in other studies to adversely affect the developing nervous system.

UC Davis researchers receive prestigious stimulus grant for stem-cell research on FXTAS

Phyllis Brown — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 07:00:00 GMT

SACRAMENTO, CALIF. (October 13, 2009) - UC Davis researchers are among a handful of scientists nationwide to receive a highly coveted challenge grant from the National Institutes of Health, funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The award is one of only 200 selected from among 22,000 challenge grant applications.

MIND Institute's Robin Hansen honored for her role in fostering inclusion for the disabled

Phyllis Brown — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 07:00:00 GMT

SACRAMENTO, CALIF. (October 8, 2009) - Robin Hansen, director of clinical programs at the UC Davis MIND Institute, was honored at the 16th Annual Supported Life Institute’s (SLI) Inclusion Celebration on Wednesday, Oct. 7, as an outstanding role model in supporting community inclusion of all people, including people with developmental disabilities.

Prenatal exposure to dioxin-like PCBs interferes with brain development

Phyllis Brown — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 07:00:00 GMT

SACRAMENTO, CALIF. (September 1, 2009) - A study by researchers with the UC Davis M.I.N.D. Institute has found that prenatal exposure to a particular category of the persistent environmental pollutants PCBs is associated with the strongest detrimental effects on fetal neurodevelopment.

UC Davis researchers develop new test for fragile X syndrome

Phyllis Brown — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 07:00:00 GMT

SACRAMENTO, CALIF. (June 25, 2009) - Researchers at UC Davis have developed a new test that will measure the protein deficit responsible for fragile X syndrome — the single-most common cause of intellectual impairment and the most-commonly inherited cause of autism.

UC Davis researchers visualize formation of a new synapse

Phyllis Brown — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 07:00:00 GMT

SACRAMENTO, CALIF. (June 17, 2009) - A protein called neuroligin that is implicated in some forms of autism is critical to the construction of a working synapse, locking neurons together like "molecular Velcro," a study lead by a team of UC Davis researchers has found.

UC Davis to collaborate on nation's most comprehensive study of autism early risk factors

Phyllis Brown — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 07:00:00 GMT

SACRAMENTO, CALIF. (June 9, 2009) - A network of leading autism researchers from three regions across the country today launched one of the largest research studies of its kind to investigate early risk factors for Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD).

UC Davis researcher to participate in media teleconference on launch of nation's most comprehensive study of autism

Phyllis Brown — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 07:00:00 GMT

June 9, 2009 - Leading autism researchers nationwide will hold a media teleconference to launch one of the largest research studies of its kind to investigate early risk factors for autism spectrum disorders (ASD). The research network, called the Early Autism Risk Longitudinal Investigation (EARLI), will follow a cohort of up to 1,200 pregnant women who already have a child with autism. The study is considered one of the best-equipped to discover biological markers and environmental risk factors for autism. The researchers will be joined on the call by the study's funders, the National Institutes of Health and Autism Speaks.

Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities to host Act Early Summit

Phyllis Brown — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 07:00:00 GMT

SACRAMENTO, CALIF. (June 2, 2009) - Leaders in early identification of autism from the western United States and beyond will hold a summit in Sacramento to strategize how to better identify children at risk of the disorder for the earliest possible interventions. The timing of the summit is especially significant given looming state and federal budget cuts that threaten health and education programs for young children.

Fourth Annual Cops for Kids Fly-in Charity Event to be held June 3

Phyllis Brown — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 07:00:00 GMT

June 1, 2009 - On Wednesday, June 3, dozens of representatives of law enforcement agencies from throughout the Sacramento region, organized by representatives of the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department Air Operations Bureau, will arrive in a convoy to deliver toys to children who are sick or injured and are inpatients at UC Davis Children’s Hospital, in the Fourth Annual Cops for Kids Fly-In Charity Event.

UC Davis M.I.N.D. Institute to hold day-long conference on autism, neurodevelopmental disorders

Phyllis Brown — Thu, 28 May 2009 07:00:00 GMT

SACRAMENTO, CALIF. (May 28, 2009) - State-of-the-art research and best practices for interventions to support children and adults with autism, Asperger syndrome, fragile X syndrome and other neurodevelopmental disorders will be presented by leaders in the field during a one-day conference for families, educators and other professionals on Friday, August 7, 2009.

Poor attention in kindergarten predicts lower high school test scores, UC Davis researchers find

Phyllis Brown — Tue, 26 May 2009 07:00:00 GMT

SACRAMENTO, CALIF. (May 26, 2009) - As thousands of students nationwide prepare to leave high school, a UC Davis study appearing online today in the June issue of the medical journal Pediatrics shows a clear link between attention problems early in school — as early as kindergarten — and lower high school test scores.

Robert Hales named acting director of UC Davis M.I.N.D. Institute

Phyllis Brown — Thu, 21 May 2009 07:00:00 GMT

SACRAMENTO, CALIF. (May 21, 2009) - Robert E. Hales, chair of the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the UC Davis School of Medicine, will assume the role of acting director of the UC Davis M.I.N.D. Institute while a search is conducted for a permanent director. His appointment is effective on July 1.

Researchers identify how PCBs may alter in utero, neonatal brain development

Phyllis Brown — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 07:00:00 GMT

SACRAMENTO, CALIF. (April 13, 2009) - In three new studies — including one appearing online today in the Public Library of Science - Biology (PLoS - Biology) — UC Davis researchers provide compelling evidence of how low levels of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) alter the way brain cells develop.

UC Davis researcher receives $2.6 million grant to study most common human genetic deletion

Phyllis Brown — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 07:00:00 GMT

SACRAMENTO, CALIF. (April 2, 2009) - The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has awarded Tony J. Simon, pediatric cognitive neuroscientist with the UC Davis M.I.N.D. Institute, a five-year, $2.6 million grant to study the syndrome associated with the single most common genetic deletion in humans — chromosome 22q11.2 deletion syndrome.

"The fever effect" in autism subject of April 2009 M.I.N.D. Institute Distinguished Lecture

Phyllis Brown — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 07:00:00 GMT

SACRAMENTO, CALIF. (March 24, 2009) - More often than children with other neurodevelopmental disorders, children with autism are observed to experience periods of improved behavior and language use during fevers and illness. Studies of this behavioral anomaly, known as “the fever effect,” will be the topic of the April 2009 UC Davis M.I.N.D. Institute Distinguished Lecturer Series.

Inconsistent performance speed among children with ADHD may underlie how well they use memory

Phyllis Brown — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 07:00:00 GMT

SACRAMENTO, CALIF. (March 24, 2009) - Children with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) show more variable or inconsistent responses during ‘working’ or short-term memory tasks when compared with typically developing peers, a study by UC Davis M.I.N.D. Institute researcher Julie Schweitzer has found.

Autism in the U.S. and around the world the topic of March M.I.N.D. Institute distinguished lecture

Phyllis Brown — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 08:00:00 GMT

SACRAMENTO, CALIF. (February 23, 2009) - Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) researcher and developmental pediatrician Marshalyn Yeargin-Allsopp will provide a global perspective on autism and discuss surveillance and early identification efforts in the United States on Wednesday, March 11, as part of the UC Davis M.I.N.D. Institute Distinguished Lecturer Series.

"Insights into the Developmental Mechanisms That Contribute to Neuropsychiatric Disorders" is February Distinguished Lecturer Address

Phyllis Brown — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 08:00:00 GMT

SACRAMENTO, CALIF. (January 30, 2009) - John L.R. Rubenstein, a professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of California, San Francisco, will discuss “Insights into the Developmental Mechanisms That Contribute to Neuropsychiatric Disorders” during the Feb. 11 UC Davis M.I.N.D. Institute Distinguished lecture.

"What we learn about autism from studying fragile X syndrome" the topic of January "Minds Behind the M.I.N.D." lecture

Phyllis Brown — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 08:00:00 GMT

SACRAMENTO, CALIF. (January 16, 2009) - Individuals with autism and fragile X syndrome share many symptoms, and there may be common neurobiological abnormalities underlying these symptoms. David Hessl, an associate professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences and a researcher at the MIND Institute, will share recent findings from his laboratory and others focusing on this topic in the Jan. 22, 2009, Minds Behind the MIND lecture.

UC Davis M.I.N.D. Institute study shows California's autism increase not due to better counting, diagnosis

Phyllis Brown — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 08:00:00 GMT

SACRAMENTO, CALIF. (January 7, 2009) - A study by researchers at the UC Davis M.I.N.D. Institute has found that the seven- to eight-fold increase in the number children born with autism in California  since 1990 cannot be explained by either changes in how the condition is diagnosed or counted — and the trend shows no sign of abating.

New drug shows promise for treatment of adults with fragile X syndrome

Phyllis Brown — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 08:00:00 GMT

SACRAMENTO, CALIF. (January 6, 2009) - A study by researchers at Rush University Medical Center, Chicago and the UC Davis M.I.N.D. Institute has found that an oral drug therapy, called fenobam, shows promising results and could be an effective new treatment for adults with fragile X syndrome.

"Update on Genetics and Neurosciences Advances" January M.I.N.D. Institute Distinguished Lecturer address

Phyllis Brown — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 08:00:00 GMT

SACRAMENTO, CALIF. (January 6, 2009) - On Jan. 14 Pat Levitt, the new director of the Zilkha Neurogenetic Institute at the Keck School of Medicine at the University of Southern California, and previous director of the Kennedy Center for Research on Human Development at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, will be the fourth presenter of the 2008-2009 UC Davis M.I.N.D. Institute Distinguished Lecturer Series.

New method of scoring IQ tests benefits children with intellectual disabilities

Phyllis Brown — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 08:00:00 GMT

SACRAMENTO, CALIF. (December 15, 2008) - Parents of children with intellectual disabilities have long been frustrated by intelligence quotient (IQ) testing that tells them little to nothing about the long-term learning potential of their children.

UC Davis Children's Hospital offers holiday gift-giving drive-through event

Phyllis Brown — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 08:00:00 GMT

SACRAMENTO, CALIF. (December 8, 2008) - UC Davis Children's Hospital is holding a holiday gift giving drive-through event on Monday and Tuesday, Dec. 22 and 23, to make donations a little easier for the many generous businesses, charities and individuals who would like to help make the season brighter for infants, children and teens at UC Davis Children's Hospital.

M.I.N.D. Institute researchers call for fragile X testing throughout the lifespan

Susan Mar-Schwab — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 08:00:00 GMT

SACRAMENTO, CALIF. (November 25, 2008) - Writing in this week's Journal of the American Medical Association, UC Davis M.I.N.D. Institute researchers urge physicians to test for mutations of the fragile X gene in patients of all ages. That's because, after decades of research, it is clear that mutations in this gene cause a range of diseases, including neurodevelopmental delays and autism in children, infertility in women and neurodegenerative disease in older adults.