Neurodevelopmental disorders, such as autism spectrum disorder and intellectual disability, are more prevalent in males than females. However, the underlying molecular mechanisms of why this difference occurs are a mystery.
Chiara Manzini, PhD, assistant professor of pharmacology and physiology at the George Washington University (GW) School of Medicine and Health Sciences and the GW Institute for Neuroscience, is leading a study into what makes males more susceptible to autism and intellectual disability with the help of a grant in excess of $2 million from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke at the National Institutes of Health. Manzini and other researchers at GW will study the CC2D1A gene and its role in the development of autism in males versus females.
