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New Autism Study Creates Autisic-Like Behavior In Mice

A new study from the Massachusetts Institutes of Technology may help researchers identify new ways of treating autism.

Study co-author, MIT scientist Guoping Feng, said his team has essentially created autistic-like behavior in mice by mutating a single gene.

"We're still studying them to try to see if we can reverse that or correct the problem," he said. "The animal study is only part of it. But by understanding [the] mechanism, [it] may help us identify new targets in the future to correct the problem."

Feng said the mice will help researchers figure out what changes in the brain lead can to autistic-like behaviors in people.

The study is published in the journal Nature.

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This program aired on March 21, 2011. The audio for this program is not available.

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