s
Scientists have genetically engineered monkeys so they can exhibit behaviors similar to autism. Their goal is to test potential therapies on the animals in hopes that
their resemblance to humans will yield more answers about the disorder. The scientists found that the monkeys showed “very similar behaviors related to human autism
patients, including repetitive behaviors, increased anxiety and, most
importantly, defects in social interactions,” said Zilong Qiu, a leader
of the research at the Institute of Neuroscience at the Chinese Academy
of Sciences in Shanghai. The team is now imaging the brains of the
monkeys to identify the deficiency in the brain
circuits that is responsible for the autism-like behavior.
This appears to be the furthest along of several research efforts involving
monkeys, usually marmosets or macaques, engineered with genes linked to
autism. At
the Institute of Neuroscience in China, other researchers are creating
monkeys with genes linked to neuromotor and psychiatric disorders, said
the director, Mu-Ming Poo. The
overarching cause of autism is still unknown, and cases have been
linked to about 100 mutations, some inherited and some developing
spontaneously.
This article was very interesting to me because I never payed attention to how monkeys act and how hey truly resemble autism. This research can benefit so many people in such a positive way and I hope more research is done and an answer is found.
No comments:
Post a Comment