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Individuals with autism spectrum disorders show profound deficits in social interactions and communications and display repetitive behaviors and abnormal responses to sensory experiences. One aspect of an autistic child's impaired social abilities is their lack of affiliative behaviors, i.e., behaviors such as touching and hugging that strengthen social bonds.

An individual's expectation of getting better plays a crucial role in the likelihood of his or her recovery, even after the severity of their physical and psychological symptoms are taken into account. Researchers investigated the role of individuals' expectation of recovery by using a questionnaire-based study of adult insurance claimants.

Researchers found socially subordinate female rhesus macaques over consume calorie-rich foods, resulting in accelerated weight gain and an increase in fat-derived hormones. The study is a critical step in understanding the psychological basis for the sharp increase in obesity across all age groups since the mid-1970s. This is the first study to show how food intake can be reliably and automatically measured, thus identifying the optimal animal model and setting for future obesity studies.

The risk of being hospitalized from being violently assaulted increases when there is increased alcohol sales near the victim's residence. For every extra 1,000 liters of alcohol sold per store per day (a doubling of alcohol sales), the overall risk of being hospitalized for assault increased by 13%. At peak times of alcohol sales, the risk of assault was 41% higher than at times when alcohol sales were lowest.

The post-university years can start out tough. The good news: it gets better. A new study of almost 600 recent graduates (ages 20-29 years old) tracked mental health symptoms in participants for seven years post-graduation and looked at how key events like leaving home and becoming a parent were related to depression and anger. Graduates showed a significant decrease in depressive symptoms over the seven years. Expressed anger also declined over time after graduation, suggesting improved mental health.

Marijuana abuse leads to blood flow problems in the brain and increased risks for heart problems. To understand the way that marijuana might cause these side-effects, NIH scientists measured proteins in the blood of marijuana abusers and found that heavy marijuana users show increased levels of a protein called apolipoprotein CIII which can cause increases in blood triglyceride levels. These findings might explain why marijuana users suffer from brain and cardiac problems.

Researchers at Columbia University Medical Center have illuminated a window into how abnormalities in microRNAs may contribute to the behavioral and neuronal deficits associated with schizophrenia and possibly other brain disorders. They uncovered a previously unknown alteration in the production of microRNAs of a mouse modeled to have the same chromosome 22q11.2 deletions previously identified in humans with schizophrenia.

A new study that is the first to systematically examine a large sample of female child molesters finds that many of them were themselves victims of sexual abuse as children. The finding has the potential to help break the cycle of abuse by improving treatment for offenders and their young victims.

An international study of animal behavior has important implications for human decision-making. For animals that live in social groups, and that includes humans, blindly following a leader could place them in danger. To avoid this, animals have developed simple but effective behavior to follow where at least a few of them dare to tread -- rather than follow a single group member. This pattern of behavior reduces the risk of imitating maverick behavior of an individual as the group recognize that consensus is better than following someone that goes it alone.

A study of seven patients with Parkinson's disease suggests that those who have poor results following implantation of electrodes to stimulate the brain may benefit from additional surgery to correct the electrode placement, according to a new report.

Asthma is associated with higher suicidal thoughts with attempted suicide, but does not seem to be linked with suicidal thoughts without attempts, according to a new report in the Annals of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology. Cigarette smoking and concurrent mental health conditions may independently account for significant proportions (but not all) of the association between asthma and suicidal thoughts with attempts noted researchers.

Multiple sclerosis typically starts in young adulthood, but about five percent of cases start in childhood or the teen years. Children with MS are at risk to exhibit low IQ scores and problems with memory, attention and other thinking skills, according to a new study in Neurology.

Many college students have sleep patterns that could have detrimental effects on their daily performance. As a graduate student, the researcher had her own trouble sleeping, prompting her to conduct a study to determine if other students experienced the same problems. Many of the students surveyed admitted that it took longer than 30 minutes for them to fall asleep and/or they woke more than once a night for at least five nights a week.

In an important step toward demystifying the role protein clumps play in the development of neurodegenerative disease, researchers have created a stunning three-dimensional picture of an Alzheimer's peptide aggregate using electron microscopy. Researchers have shown -- for the first time -- how A-beta peptide, found in the brains of Alzheimer's patients, forms a spaghetti-like protein mass called an amyloid fibril.

Researchers have recently shown that the administration of sildenafil protects the heart in mice with Duchenne muscular dystrophy. The researchers explain that the choice of sildenafil was based on their previous studies indicating that the hearts of dystrophic mice do not function as effectively and are more susceptible to stress-induced cell death.

Are the health needs of women adequately addressed by medical research as it is currently conducted? A team of Australian researchers and two cardiologists closely examine this question.

A new technique for analyzing magnetic resonance imaging data can reveal serious brain injury missed by current tests and help predict a patient's degree of recovery. In brain injuries sustained when the head suddenly stops moving — during a motor vehicle accident, for instance — the force can shear and damage nerve cells. This kind of injury does not show up on computerized tomography scans, the researchers said, and magnetic resonance imaging does not yet reliably detect this type of injury.

Those with at least a high school education spend more of their older years without cognitive loss -- including the effects of Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and dementia -- but die sooner after the loss becomes apparent, reveals a new study in the Journal of Aging and Health.

From soaps to body lotions to shampoos, consumers are increasingly drawn to personal care products that are labeled "green" or environmentally-friendly, a fast-growing market that chalks-up an estimated $4 billion in sales per year worldwide. Despite the hype over these products, there's growing confusion by consumers and manufacturers alike over what it really means to be labeled as "green," according to an article in Chemical & Engineering News.

A new study in Psychology of Women Quarterly explored the outcomes of sexual harassment on both boys and girls. While girls were harassed more frequently, boys were indirectly yet negatively affected through a school climate that tolerates the harassment of girls.