Early Exposure to Sounds Can Address Hypersensitivity to Noise Associated with Fragile X Syndrome

Early Exposure to Sounds Can Address Hypersensitivity to Noise Associated with Fragile X Syndrome

A research team at the University of California, Riverside, has found exposure to sound -- not sound reduction -- during early development of mice engineered to have Fragile X Syndrome, or FXS, restores molecular, cellular, and functional properties in the auditory cortex, the area of the brain that processes sounds. The results suggest that facilitating exposure to sounds during early age can restore communication between brain cells that have been altered by the gene mutation that leads to FXS. Caused by gene abnormalities, FXS, the most common inherited cause of intellectual disability and autism, affects approximately 1 in 4,000 males and 1 in 6,000 females. About 1 in 259 women carry FXS and could pass it to their children. Children, mostly boys, with FXS show neurodevelopmental and neuropsychiatric disabilities, including hyperactivity. Read More