Forming sound memories: Autism gene plays key aspect in birdsong
Credit: UT Southwestern Medical Center DALLAS - Feb. 3, 2021 - Inactivating a gene in young songbirds that's closely linked with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) prevents the birds from forming memories necessary to accurately reproduce their fathers' songs, a new study led by UT Southwestern shows. The findings, published online today in Science Advances, may help explain the deficits in speech and language that often accompany ASD and could eventually lead to new treatments specifically targeting this aspect of the disorder. Study leader Todd Roberts, Ph.D., associate professor of neuroscien...