Events
Upcoming Lectures
Neuroimmune interactions shaping social behavior in mouse models for neurodevelopmental disorders
On October 30, 2019, Gloria Choi will discuss her work using mouse models of maternal immune activation to study the role of maternal infection in neurodevelopmental disorders, such as autism spectrum disorder.
Past Lectures
Altered somatosensory processing in autism spectrum disorders: Mechanisms and emerging therapeutic opportunities
On April 24, 2019, David Ginty presented his work on the neurobiological basis of touch over-reactivity in mouse models of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). He also discussed new pharmacological approaches aimed at reducing sensory over-reactivity and potentially improving cognitive and behavioral abnormalities associated with ASD.
Mapping human cerebral cortex: Structure, function, connectivity, development and evolution
On April 3, 2019, David Van Essen provided an overview of basic principles of cortical organization and connectivity from studies of laboratory animals and analyses of individual variability in humans. He also highlighted a new map (‘parcellation’) of the human cerebral cortex based on data from the Human Connectome Project.
The genetic influences on autism spectrum disorder risk
Associate Member, Broad Institute
On January 30, 2019, Elise Robinson provided an overview of the role that genetic factors play in autism spectrum disorders and discussed the next steps to further understand autism genetics.
The predictive impairment hypothesis in autism: An empirical assessment
On December 12, 2018, Pawan Sinha and Dagmar Sternad reviewed a recently proposed hypothesis about the nature of autism spectrum disorders (ASD) that posits that the common traits of the disorder are manifestations of an individual’s difficulty in making predictions about cause and effect.
Rethinking autism and animal models: A systems perspective
On November 28, 2018, André Fenton discussed work with mouse genetic models of fragile X syndrome (FXS) – the most common single-gene cause of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) symptoms – and focused on the utility of such models to evaluate hypotheses for understanding ASD. He evaluated distinct hypotheses by assessing synapse function and the action potential discharge of knowledge-expressing hippocampus “place cells” during behaviors that require varying cognitive effort.
Thinking differently about neurodevelopmental disorders and autism: Lumping vs. splitting
Child Neurologist and Senior Clinician Scientist, Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital
Associate Professor, Department of Pediatrics, University of Toronto
On September 26, 2018, Evdokia Anagnostou discussed the challenge of rethinking classification systems and diagnostic labels for autism and related neurodevelopmental disorders in light of recent findings from research and clinical studies.