- Home
- About ASF
- What is Autism?
- How Common is Autism?
- Signs and Symptoms of Autism
- Autism Diagnosis
- Following a Diagnosis
- Treatment Options
- Beware of Non-Evidence-Based Treatments
- Statement on Use of Medical Marijuana for People with Autism
- Autism and Vaccines
- Autism Science
- Quick Facts About Autism
- What We Fund
- Get Involved
- Resources
- COVID-19 Resources
- Day of Learning
- Contact Us
Better animal model, new drug target discovered at Duke
Published May 10, 2016
Scientists at Duke Health, including ASF fellow Alexandra Bey, recently showed that targeting a brain receptor in mice with a specific type of autism could ease repetitive behaviors and improve learning in some animals.
This report, published in Nature Communications, suggests that among more than a dozen different lines of mice developed around the world to mirror autism caused by mutations to the SHANK3 gene, Duke researchers are the first to create a mouse in which that gene has been completely eliminated. To read more about this study click the press release HERE.
Filed under: Animal Models, ASF fellowship, featured, mGluR5, repetitive behaviors