SFARI

The relationship between genetics and autism is not always straightforward, but some autism spectrum disorders are known to be caused by defects in a single gene. These simpler cases give researchers the opportunity to create animal models with the genetic defect and use them to test hypotheses about the mechanisms at work in autism.

Autism arises in early childhood, during a period of intense learning when many of the brain’s connections are modified by experience. Eric Kandel, Yun-Beom Choi and Craig Bailey of Columbia University are using animal models of memory formation to investigate how two autism-associated proteins — neuroligin and neurexin — regulate this process.