Prozac (fluoxetine), a commonly prescribed drug for anxiety and depression, is used during pregnancy by some women. But several studies are showing that prenatal exposure to the drug may increase the risk of having a child with autism. Prozac, Zoloft (sertraline) and Paxil (paroxetine) are selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRI) [...]
Monkeys exposed in utero to their mother’s immune response to a mock infection show inflammation in their brains four years later, similar to which can be associated with schizophrenia and autism. Melissa Bauman presented new findings in her research in brain inflammation in monkeys at the 2014 Society for Neuroscience annual meeting [...]
In a major advance in understanding risk factors, and possible means of prevention of autism, Melissa Bauman, PhD, and David Amaral, PhD, performed studies at the CNPRC with rhesus monkeys to further define the role that maternal antibodies have to play in the risk of a child having autism. The research was [...]
Dr. Karen Bales, CNPRC Brain, Mind, and Behavior (BMB) Unit Leader, has done extensive research on the hormone oxytocin and its short and long-term effects on behavior in two monogamous species – prairie voles (Microtus ochrogaster) and titi monkeys (Callicebus cupreus). She is particularly interested in the role of neuropeptides [...]
