More than 70 genes have been linked to autism spectrum disorder (ASD), a developmental condition in which differences in the brain lead to a host of altered behaviors, including issues with language, social communication, hyperactivity, and repetitive movements. Scientists are attempting to tease out those specific associations gene by gene, neuron by neuron. One such gene is Astrotactin 2 ( ASTN2 ).

In 2018, researchers from the Laboratory of Developmental Neurobiology at Rockefeller University discovered how defects in the protein produced by the gene disrupted circuitry in the cerebellum in children with neurodevelopmental conditions. Now the same lab has found that knocking out the gene entirely leads to several hallmark behaviors of autism. As they describe in a new paper in PNAS , mice that lacked ASTN2 showed distinctly different behaviors from their wild-type nestmates in four key ways: they vocalized and socialized less but were more hyperactive and repetitive in their behavior.

All of these traits have parallels in people with ASD. Alongside these behaviors, we also found structural and physiological changes in the cerebellum." Michalina Hanzel, first author of the paper "It's a big finding in the field of neuroscience," says lab lead Mary E.

Hatten, whose work has focused on this brain region for decades. "It also underscores this emerging story that the cerebellum has cognitive functions that are quite independent of its motor functions." An unexpected role In 201.