Autism: 'Receptive Joint Attention' in Chimpanzees provides insight

A discovery that variation in "receptive joint attention," or the ability of chimpanzees to follow another's gaze or look in the direction someone is pointing, has a genetic basis that could provide insight into Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD).

Following another's gaze or looking in the direction someone is pointing, two examples of 'Receptive Joint Attention,' is significantly heritable according to new study results from researchers at the Yerkes National Primate Research Center, Emory University.

Determining such communicative cues are significantly heritable means variation in this ability has a genetic basis, which led the researchers to the vasopressin receptor gene, known for its role in social bonding.

The study results, which are published in Scientific Reports, give researchers insight into the biology of disorders in which receptive joint attention is compromised, such as autism spectrum disorders (ASD), and may ultimately lead to new diagnosis and treatment strategies.

Larry Young

According to Yerkes researchers Larry Young, PhD, and Bill Hopkins, PhD, co-authors of the study, receptive joint attention is important for developing complex cognitive processes, including language and theory of mind, and poor joint attention abilities may be a core feature in children with or at risk of developing ASD.

Young is division chief of Behavioral Neuroscience and Psychiatric Disorders at Yerkes, director of the Center for Translational Social Neuroscience (CTSN) at Emory and William P. Timmie Professor in the Emory University School of Medicine Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences.

Bill Hopkins

Yerkes researcher Hopkins is also a core faculty member in the Neuroscience Institute of Georgia State University and newly named science director of the Iowa Primate Learning Sanctuary.

Young and Hopkins led a collaborative team of researchers from Yerkes, the CTSN, the Neuroscience Institute at Georgia State University and the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center.

They studied chimpanzees to determine the extent to which the animals follow gaze or pointing by a human.

"We used chimpanzees in this behavioural study because their 'Receptive Joint Attention' abilities are well documented and their closeness to humans makes the study results the most likely to be 'generalizable' (sic) to humans," says Hopkins.

Young's previous research in which he showed the vasopressin receptor gene was necessary for remembering individuals (or social memories) and for social bonding in male rodents was key to designing the current study.

According to Young, variation in the length of a stretch of repetitive DNA, known as junk DNA, in the control region of the vasopressin receptor gene predicted if a male prairie vole was likely to form monogamous bonds with a mate.

Human-based studies suggest that a similar repetitive element, referred to as RS3, in the control region of the human vasopressin receptor gene predicts romantic relationship quality and generosity.

"We can provide insights into the evolution of human social behaviors, and because of the similarities between chimpanzees and humans, we can work toward better understanding the role of biological mechanisms and how they influence cognitive and communicative abilities of primates, including humans," Young continues.

The team's continuing work will include more sophisticated behavioural studies as well as exploration of the contribution of the oxytocin receptor gene on social behaviour and cognition in chimpanzees.

More Information: 'Genetic Influences on Receptive Joint Attention in Chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes)' William D. Hopkins, Alaine C. Keebaugh, Lisa A. Reamer, Jennifer Schaeffer, Steven J. Schapiro & Larry J. Young - Scientific reports: doi:10.1038/srep03774

Down's syndrome: Further insight into complex Neuropathology

Researchers at the University of Bristol have revealed new insight into the function of a key protein attributed to impaired learning and memory in Down's syndrome.

The findings, published online in Nature Cell Biology, offer further molecular insight into how the reduced level of this key protein termed 'sorting nexin-27' [SNX27] may contribute to learning and memory problems associated with Down's syndrome.

The Bristol-based team now reveal how SNX27 forms the core component of an ancient protein complex which functions to control the abundance of a select group of proteins at the surface of cells.

Included among these proteins are numerous transporters that regulate the cell's ability to take up various nutrients, including glucose and metal ions such as zinc and copper.

In cells lacking SNX27, the level of these transporters is reduced and the cell's ability to take up nutrients is adversely perturbed.

Peter Cullen

Peter Cullen, Professor of Biochemistry from the University's School of Biochemistry and senior author of the Wellcome Trust-funded study, said: "Besides the previously recognised role of SNX27 in regulating the synaptic activity of neurones, our study suggests that the lack of SNX27 expression observed in Down's syndrome may also lead to a reduced metabolic activity that may adversely affect neuronal development and cognitive function.

"Further analysis of the effect of reduced SNX27 expression on the synaptic and metabolic activity of specific neuronal populations will certainly provide much needed molecular insight into the complex neuropathology of Down's syndrome as well as other neurological conditions."

More information:
Steinberg F. et al. A global analysis of SNX27-retromer assembly and cargo specificity reveals a function in glucose and metal ion transport, Nature Cell Biology.

Dyslexia: Reading Program ineffective for Students with Learning Difficulties

A new report from the What Works Clearinghouse questions the effectiveness of a longstanding, widely used reading program, developed by McGraw-Hill, for students with learning disabilities.

In a report this month, the WWC found that there is evidence that Reading Mastery has "no discernible effects on reading comprehension and potentially negative effects on alphabetics, reading fluency, and writing for students with learning disabilities."

Looking at the 17 studies about Reading Mastery Classic and Reading Mastery Signature, specifically for students with learning disabilities, the WWC found two of them met its research standards.

Reading Mastery is used in all 50 US states and internationally, and more than 6,500 schools across the country use Reading Mastery Signature, McGraw-Hill said.

The cost per student, the WWC said, during the first year of implementation ranges from $200 to $300 and pays for materials including storybooks, textbooks, workbooks and textbooks. Buying a full set of teaching materials costs between $650 and $1,000 per grade level.

The research in these studies included 113 students with learning disabilities in 2nd through 5th grades from schools in the southeast.

In a typical Reading Mastery lesson, there are seven to nine short activities that address skills such as phonemic awareness, letter-sound correspondence, sounding out words, word recognition, vocabulary, oral reading fluency, and comprehension.

Teachers get scripted lessons to keep students on task, and students who struggle get remedial lessons.

McGraw-Hill cited other research that it says supports its confidence in Reading Mastery's effectiveness.

"For more than 40 years, Reading Mastery has supported the development of struggling readers in grades preK-5 through Direct Instruction," McGraw-Hill spokesman Brian Belardi said.

"The vast majority of anecdotal and empirical evidence suggests that Reading Mastery has a positive, meaningful impact on improving student learning."


Contact:Brian Belardi
McGraw-Hill Education
(212) 904-4827
brian_belardi@mcgraw-hill.com