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Autism: Your Questions Answered

 
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How many people carry this gene?

About one-third of all people carry the variant of the CNTNAP2 gene, which is now associated with a heightened risk for autism. Ashley Scott-Van Zeeland, Ph.D., conducted research at UCLA and found that the brain scans of children with CNTNAP2 variants showed the frontal lobe was over-connected to itself rather than having normal connection with the left side of the brain, where language is processed. Unlocking the role of CNTNAP2 in brain function could help in the development of new early interventions or treatments for autism.

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