National ACE Sites
The Autism
Centers of Excellence (ACE) Network
v University
of Pittsburgh
— Dr. Nancy
Minshew
Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh ACE Center will study how
people with ASD learn and understand information. Research shows
that the ability to organize information into categories is critical to
language development. The Pittsburgh researchers will use brain
imaging techniques to study how infants at risk for autism and toddlers
diagnosed with the disorder place information into categories.
Researchers will also use brain imaging techniques to study which parts
of the brain are activated in people with and without ASD when
processing information and emotions.
v University
of California Los Angeles
— Dr. Marian Sigman
Researchers at the
UCLA ACE Center will seek to understand how ASD affects the ability to
communicate. The researchers will try to find clues to
language-related communications problems by looking at genes, behavior
and brain structure and functioning. The researchers also are
interested in disorders that affect the mirror neurons. Mirror
neurons are brain cells that become active either when a person performs
an action or watches the action performed by someone else. When
many patients with ASD are asked to imitate behaviors, images of their
brains show that their mirror neurons are less active than those of
other people. The researchers will try to stimulate the mirror
neurons of people with ASD by having them follow a set of instructions
to complete a task.
v University
of Illinois
— Dr. Edwin Cooke
Researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago ACE Center will
focus on understanding the repetitive behavior seen in ASD. Known
as “insistence on sameness,” this behavior is a hallmark of ASD.
Examples of insistence on sameness include wanting to wear the same
clothes every day, taking the same route to work or school, or becoming
fixated on certain subject matter, such as buildings or cars. Center
researchers will focus on genetic factors as well as brain chemicals and
brain functions that could account for repetitive behaviors in people
with ASD, and test whether genetic differences influence how individuals
respond to certain medications intended to reduce the occurrence of
these behaviors.
v University
of California San Diego
— Dr. Eric Courchesne
Researchers at the UCSD ACE Center also will use brain imaging to track
brain development in children believed to be at risk for autism spectrum
disorders. Unlike other ACE program projects, which will attempt
to identify forerunners of ASD in the siblings of children with ASD, the
UCSD researchers will study infants who have been referred by their
physicians. The physicians will make the referrals on the basis of
a checklist of behaviors that are similar to those of older children
with ASD. The primary goal of this center is to identify brain or
other physical differences that might predispose a child to autism.
The UCSD Center will collect some of the first information ever obtained
on how the brains of very young children with autism process and respond
to information.
v University
of Washington
— Dr. Wendy Stone
Researchers at the University of Washington ACE Center will seek to
identify genes and other potential factors that may predispose an
individual toward ASD, as well as factors that might protect against
them. In addition to genes, the researchers will try to determine
the risk of ASD by examining communication difficulties, early
behaviors, patterns in the sounds babies make, and brain structure and
activity patterns. Researchers will also try to determine whether
certain types of interactions between the parent and baby can decrease
the chances for ASD.
v Yale
University
— Dr.
Ami Klin
Researchers at Yale propose to study
early social interactions and development and disruptions in these
processes in children ages 12-24 months with ASD. The researchers
also aim to identify rare genetic variants that may be involved in ASD
in this same group of young children. Klin and colleagues will
also use brain imaging tools to study the structure and functioning of
connections in the brains of an additional group of 10-year-old children
with ASD who have been followed since age 24 months in previous research
studies. Together, these projects will build upon existing
research on the behavioral, brain and molecular aspects of ASD, and may
lead to new discoveries on the causes and best treatments for ASD.
v University
of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
— Dr. Joseph Piven
The 2007 ACE program Network award lead recipient. In hopes
of identifying brain differences in children who develop ASD,
researchers at this Network of sites operating under the direction of
the University of North Carolina will use brain imaging techniques to
compile images of the brains of very young infants. Some of these
children may go on to develop ASD. Their brain images will be
compared to those of other infants, to identify differences between
children who develop autism and those who do not. While previous
studies have documented the enlarged brains often seen in ASD patients,
little is known about the abnormal processes during early brain
development in children with ASD. The research could offer new
insights that lead to earlier diagnosis of ASD.
v Wayne
State University
— Dr. Diane Chugani
Researchers at this Network of sites will study the effects of using
buspirone (Buspar) in promoting more normal growth and development of
the brains of children with autism. Autistic children tend to have
abnormal levels of the neurotransmitter serotonin during important
periods of development. Buspirone helps stimulate serotonin
production and was shown in a pilot study by the Wayne State researchers
to improve social interaction and reduce repetitive behavior and sensory
dysfunction and anxiety in children with autism. Findings from
these studies could provide an evidence base for a new medication
treatment for autism.
v Drexel
University
— Dr. Craig Newschaffer
Researchers at this Network of sites (including Children's Hospital of
Philadelphia, Johns Hopkins University, University of California Davis
and Kaiser Permanente Division of Research) will study possible risk
factors and biological indicators for ASD during the prenatal, neonatal
and early postnatal periods. The researchers aim to follow 1,200
mothers of children with autism at the start of a new pregnancy and
document the development of their newborn siblings through age three.
This study, to be known ad the Early Autism Risk Longitudinal
Investigation (EARLI), will provide a unique opportunity for studying
possible autism environmental risk factors and biomarkers during
different developmental windows as well as an opportunity to investigate
the interplay of genetic susceptibility and environmental exposure.
A number of environmental exposures, ranging from suspected
neurotoxicants like persistent organic pollutants to medications taken
during pregnancy could potentially be investigated with data and samples
collected in EARLI. The study will also add considerably to
current knowledge of the natural history and progression of ASD.
v University
of California, Davis
—
Dr. Sally Rogers
To address the need for controlled studies of treatments for autism in
very young children, researchers at this Network of sites operating
under the direction of UC Davis will compare an intensive behavioral
intervention to standard community-based treatment in 18-24 month old
children with autism. This work builds on previous research by
Rogers and colleagues, which in early studies, suggests that the
intensive early treatment provides better outcomes than standard
community-based treatment. This new research will examine factors
that can inform efforts to provide the best treatment outcomes for very
young children with autism.
National Institutes of Health Autism Research Network. |
Investigators
National
ACE Sites