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Williams Syndrome, Autism & Social Issues

Super-social gene may hold clues to autism other disorders

Scientists may soon understand the link between genes and human behavior, including autism, thanks to a major effort to study Williams syndrome, a rare genetic disorder that causes people to be so excessively friendly, there's no such thing as a stranger.

Source: msnbc.com: Health

Issues Social and Autism Syndrome Williams

Closer to solving the puzzle will be great and may even further proof that Autism has a genetic link. Being a father with THREE autistic children I don't see how it can be anything else than genetic.

Williams Syndrome, Autism & Social Issues Health & Special Psychology

Neurodevelopmental model of Williams syndrome offers insight into human social brain

In a study spanning molecular genetics, stem cells and the sciences of both brain and behavior, researchers have created a neurodevelopmental model of a rare genetic disorder that may provide new insights into the underlying neurobiology of the human social brain. Ref. Source 7i.

Issues Social and Autism Syndrome Williams

Social biases contribute to challenges for those with autism

Negative first impressions formed by potential social partners may reduce the quality of social experiences for people with autism, new research concludes. In the study, non-autistic participants reported their first impressions of individuals with autism from videos of them during social interaction. Ref. Source 7m.

Issues Social and Autism Syndrome Williams

Autism: Brain circuit controls social behavior identified. A new study has identified a key brain region of the neural circuit that controls social behavior. Increasing the activity of this region, called the habenula, led to social problems in rodents, whereas decreasing activity of the region prevented social problems. Source 8d.

Williams Syndrome, Autism & Social Issues

Oxytocin helps the brain to modulate social signals. Between sights, sounds, smells and other senses, the brain is flooded with stimuli on a moment-to-moment basis. How can it sort through the flood of information to decide what is important and what can be relegated to the background? Though popularly known as the 'love hormone,' a team researchers found evidence that oxytocin actually plays a crucial role in helping the brain process a wide array of social signals. Source 6r.

Williams Syndrome Autism & Social Issues

What makes kids with autism less social than their typically developing peers? Scientists have looked closely at electrical activity in the brains of children with autism spectrum disorder, or ASD, and typical development, or TD, to discern differences in the respective groups' reward systems. Recent findings provide support for two popular, competing theories used to explain why children with ASD tend to be less social than their TD peers: the social motivation hypothesis and the overly intense world hypothesis. Source 1z.

Williams Syndrome Autism & Social Issues Psychology Special & Health

Social awareness increases demonstrate brain changing in adults with autism. Researchers have demonstrated in a pilot study that a clinician-driven virtual learning platform, tailored to young adults on the autism spectrum, shows improved social competency. Findings reveal that increases in socio-emotional and socio-cognitive abilities correlate with brain change. Source 4r.