As part of the Children’s Health Act of 2000, the NINDS and three sister institutes have formed the NIH Autism Coordinating Committee to expand, intensify, and coordinate NIH’s autism research. Eight dedicated research centers across the country have been established as “Centers of Excellence in Autism Research” to bring together researchers and the resources they need. The Centers are conducting basic and clinical research, including investigations into causes, diagnosis, early detection, prevention, and treatment, such as the studies highlighted below:
- Investigators are using animal models to study how the neurotransmitter serotonin establishes connections between neurons in hopes of discovering why these connections are impaired in autism
- Researchers are testing a computer-assisted program that would help autistic children interpret facial expressions
- A brain imaging study is investigating areas of the brain that are active during obsessive/repetitive behaviors in adults and very young children with autism
- Other imaging studies are searching for brain abnormalities that could cause impaired social communication in children with autism
- Clinical studies are testing the effectiveness of a program that combines parent training and medication to reduce the disruptive behavior of children with autism and other ASDs
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