ACE Site Studies

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. Geraldine Dawson
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       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.

For an update of what the various sites have completed, and on-going projects, go to
National Institutes of Health Autism Research Network.

Mission Statement

The mission of the CPEA network is to increase empirical knowledge about autism through the use of: (1) multiple levels of interdisciplinary investigation into the genetics, neurobiology, and clinical aspects of autism, (2) rigorous phenotyping of research participants that supports network-wide studies of large numbers of participants, and (3) a collaborative process of sharing data, findings, and ideas that moves the science ahead as quickly as possible. The purpose of this scientific enterprise is to gain knowledge that will lead to prevention, treatment, and/or amelioration of the disabling effects of autism on people with autism and their families.