Edinburgh researchers make string of autism breakthroughs

University of Edinburgh (UoE) researchers have published important new findings on autism and related disorders in the prestigious Nature and Molecular Cell journals.

The first, funded by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC), pinpoints how a key hormone called vasopressin helps animals to recognise others by their smell.

It follows a breakthrough in the study of Rett syndrome from academics at the University's School of Biological Science.

The latest research may offer clues as to how humans make emotional connections with others through smell. Professor Mike Ludwig, professor of Neurophysiology at UoE, said: “This study gives us a window into understanding the biological basis of social interactions.

"It may be that vasopressin helps to filter sensory information according to its emotional significance.”

The international study had collaborators in Germany and Japan.

Researchers allowed adult rats to familiarise themselves with a baby rat. After a short while, the baby rats were put into an enclosure with the adult rats along with an unknown baby.

Adult rats whose vasopressin had been blocked could not recognise the baby they had already met.

The researchers think a failure in smell recognition may prevent deep emotional bonds, and could be at the root of autism and social phobia.

Professor Janet Allen, BBSRC director of research, said: “Research that helps us to gain a fundamental understanding of how our brains work is vital if we are to know what is happening when something has gone wrong.

"The biological basis of psychological responses can often be extremely complicated, so finding this direct relationship between a hormone and a psycho-social phenomenon could open up a whole wealth of knowledge in this area.”

This study comes after a key insight into Rett Syndrome, an Autism Spectrum Disorder, was discovered by researchers at the university's School of Biological Sciences.

The researchers found that the biological mechanism behind the disorder, a faulty gene, may be simpler than previously thought.

Professor Adrian Bird of Edinburgh's School of Biological Sciences explained: “It may be that, in Rett patients, many brain cells share a generic defect, which would mean this disease is less complicated than we feared. More work is needed to investigate this possibility.”

Rett syndrome affects mainly girls and symptoms develop around the age of one.

The research, funded by the Wellcome Trust, suggests, contrary to previous thinking, that a faulty protein which causes the disorder interacts with all genes in brain cells rather than just a handful.

The National Autistic Society estimates a prevalence rate of one in 100 children in Britain with various autism spectrum disorders.