Spectrum of Variants Contribute Differently to Autism Traits

Two new studies untangle how various classes of genetic variants underpin the vast differences in traits seen among people diagnosed with autism. The studies were published yesterday in Nature Genetics. “The fundamental question behind this is heterogeneity in autism,” says Varun Warrier, a postdoctoral researcher in Simon Baron-Cohen’s lab at the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom and an investigator on one of the studies. The presence and intensity of core autism traits and co-occurring conditions vary widely among autistic people. The new studies, from largely independent teams, sought to unravel how different categories of genetic variants — rare, common, inherited and spontaneous — contribute to this heterogeneity. Read More