We started off a great autism discussion on my last autism post, Vaccines and Autism. Our discussion did not dive into the mercury debate, per se, but it did bring up some thoughts about the possibility of a link between genetics and autism. Jessi shared her family's experience with autism; She has three cousins with autism and two of those cousins are brothers. All three cousins share similar characteristics of this disorder. If you would like to share your family's experience with autism, please share them in the comments or email me--I'd love to hear your story.

While we are on the subject of genetics, here is an article that discusses how a "defective neuroligin gene, which affects the firing of neurons, might be related to autism."

The study was conducted by researchers at Columbia University Medical Center under the supervision of Peter Scheiffele, assistant professor of physiology and cellular biophysics. As explained in the article, the researchers found the following:

Neurons receive both excitatory and inhibitory inputs that determine whether or not the neuron will fire; with a defective neuroligin gene, Scheiffele's study found that the balance of these inputs is disturbed and thus the process of information is inhibited. When the neuroligin gene is defective, the cell does not form as many connections, or synapses, as it would normally. These reults indicate the essential nature of neuroligin in synapse formation.

Scheiffele states that, although, this find brings us one step closer to the understanding and, hopefully, the cure for autism, there is still much research that needs to be done.

If you are unfamiliar with autism, autism is a neurological disorder that affects a person's communication and social skills. Here is a link to the DSM-IV definition of autism.

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