Autism Research
One in 150 children in America may be living with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), a complex developmental disability that causes problems with social interaction and communication. Estimates are that as many as one in five suffer from some kind of neurodevelopmental disorder, ranging from hyperactivity to retardation.

These dramatic numbers are inspiring a multi-faceted research effort that links investigators at The Saban Research Institute with colleagues at USC. “We’re seeing the payoff of investments in the 1960s and 1970s into cancer research, with higher survival rates for childhood cancer,” notes Richard Simerly, PhD*, director of the Neuroscience Program in The Saban Research Institute. “If we’re going to make a difference in autism, we must ramp up our investment in this research now.”

Unlocking the early development of brain circuitry and behavior holds the key, he says. “The problem lies in the formation of neural connections, but we don’t yet know which specific processes lead to autism. However, promising new insights are emerging.”

This year, the Neuroscience Program recruited investigator Aaron McGee, PhD, who is exploring how anatomical changes influence functional changes in the brain. His goal: to decipher how the brain retains greater flexibility, or plasticity, during childhood. Armed with a specialized laser scanning microscope, he can peer inside the living brain to study the formation of anatomical connections. “If we can understand how the brain’s flexibility is regulated, and acutely enhance it,” says Dr. McGee, “this would both augment current therapies for autism and potentially create new ones.”

At the same time, Michele D. Kipke, PhD*, director of the Community, Health Outcomes and Intervention Research Program in The Saban Research Institute, is testing new tools to treat autism. She is collaborating with robotics experts, including Maja J. Mataric, PhD, director of the Center for Robotics and Embedded Systems in the USC Viterbi School of Engineering. Their quest: to find out if the use of robots can encourage social interaction in children with ASD. “The earlier we can intervene in diagnosing ASD,” Dr. Kipke says, “the more opportunities we have to change a child’s life for the better.”