Autism

Scientists link neuronal hyperactivity and broader tuning with altered sound processing

2025-11-03

In a study that combines behavioral tests, computer models and electrophysiological recordings of neuron activity, researchers have found that hyperactivity of neurons in the auditory cortex and the reaction of these neurons to an unusually broad range of frequencies contribute to distorted...

With, not on: Reimagining autism in research

2024-06-13

In the past six months, Laura Hetrick has spoken to more researchers than she has in her last 14 years at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. “The last thing an autistic person wants to hear is, ‘You...

New study uncovers novel receptor function in Fragile X syndrome

2024-03-04

a man in a blue shirt standing in front of a monitor.

Fragile X syndrome is one of the most commonly inherited forms of autism and intellectual disability, and no treatment currently exists. But a team of University of Illinois researchers led by Vipendra Kumar, a postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Molecular & Integrative Physiology, has...

NIH grant to support research into connections between autism, sensory hypersensitivity

2024-02-29

Supported by a $2 million grant from the National Institutes of Health, the Auerbach Lab will examine how different genes associated with autism spectrum disorders may similarly impact our brain’s neurons, resulting in heightened sensitivity to sounds. Autism spectrum disorders are...

Protein p53 regulates learning, memory, sociability in mice

2023-09-28

University of Illinois researchers have established the protein p53 as critical for regulating sociability, repetitive behavior, and hippocampus-related learning and memory in mice, illuminating the relationship between the protein-coding gene TP53 and neurodevelopmental and psychiatric disorders...

Research illuminates balancing act for protein linked to Fragile X Syndrome and Alzheimer's disease

2022-04-26

Researchers Simón Lizarazo and Dr. Nien-Pei Tsai stand shoulder to shoulder outside Burrill Hall at the School of Molecular & Cellular Biology.

A new study by researchers at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign suggests the overexpression of a particular gene could serve as a risk factor for Alzheimer’s disease. Their findings could also lead to better understandings of the links between Alzheimer’s disease, Fragile X Syndrome, and...

Meet MCB: Professor Nien-Pei Tsai

2020-12-31

Dr. Tsai’s lab focuses on understanding the molecular mechanisms underlying neuronal excitability imbalance in neurological and psychiatric disorders including epilepsy and autism.

Study reveals neuronal response following chronic activation of an epilepsy- and autism-linked receptor

2020-03-30

First author Dai-Chi Liu alongside Dr. Nien-Pei Tsai.

Group 1 metabotropic glutamate receptors (Gp1 mGluRs) are essential for neuroplasticity, neurodevelopment and cognition, but chronically active Gp1 mGluRs has been linked to many pathologic conditions including epilepsy and autism spectrum disorders. To characterize the effects of chronically...

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