Reelin glycoprotein is a serine protease with important roles in embryogenesis and during adult life. This comprehensive and integrative book examines the role that reelin plays in the etiology of various neuropsychiatric disorders, including schizophrenia and autism. The book provides an unprecedented analysis of this emerging and novel protein by examining evidence from genetic, neuroanatomic, biochemical, and behavioral studies.

Gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) was discovered in the brain in 1950 by Eugene Roberts. GABA is now considered one of the most important neurotransmitters and developmental signals. Knowledge on the complexity of GABA function is increasing exponentially. This volume covers basic research on GABA in the developing brain as it may relate to onset of autism and related developmental disorders. The evidence that dysfunction of GABA and related molecules is associated with autism is limited but expanding and seems to converge. Pertinent data are reviewed in this book and new research avenues in the basic and clinical arenas are described. The topics are of imminent interest to basic and clinical researchers as well as interested clinicians. * Discusses the neuropathology of the GABA system in autism * Presents new findings on common genetic mechanisms in Rett syndrome, Angelman syndrome, and autism * Includes information on the shared genetic risk factors between autism and major mental disorders * Foreword by Eugene Roberts

The Reeler mutation was so named because of the alterations in gait that characterize homozygous mice. Several decades after the description of the Reeler phenotype, the mutated protein was discovered and named Reelin (Reln). Reln controls a number of fundamental steps in embryonic and postnatal brain development. A prominent embryonic function is the control of radial neuronal migration. As a consequence, homozygous Reeler mutants show disrupted cell layering in cortical brain structures. Reln also promotes postnatal neuronal maturation. Heterozygous mutants exhibit defects in dendrite extension and synapse formation, correlating with behavioral and cognitive deficits that are detectable at adult ages. The Reln-encoding gene is highly conserved between mice and humans. In humans, homozygous RELN mutations cause lissencephaly with cerebellar hypoplasia, a severe neuronal migration disorder that is reminiscent of the Reeler phenotype. In addition, RELN deficiency or dysfunction is also correlated with psychiatric and cognitive disorders, such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and autism, as well as some forms of epilepsy and Alzheimer's disease. Despite the wealth of anatomical studies of the Reeler mouse brain, and the molecular dissection of Reln signaling mechanisms, the consequences of Reln deficiency on the development and function of the human brain are not yet completely understood. This Research Topic include reviews that summarize our current knowledge of the molecular aspects of Reln function, original articles that advance our understanding of its expression and function in different brain regions, and reviews that critically assess the potential role of Reln in human psychiatric and cognitive disorders.

In the decade since the first edition of The Neurobiology of Autism was published, research has revealed valuable new information about the nature and origins of autism, including genetics and abnormalities in such neurotransmitters as acetylcholine and serotonin. For this long-anticipated new edition, neurologists Margaret L. Bauman and Thomas L. Kemper bring together leading researchers and clinicians to present the most current scientific knowledge and theories about autism. The contributors cover genetics, imaging studies, physiology, neuroanatomy and neurochemistry, immunology, brain function, the epidemiology of the disease, and related disorders. Thoroughly updated, The Neurobiology of Autism remains the best single-volume work on the wide array of research being conducted into the causes, characteristics, and treatment of autism. Contributors: George M. Anderson, Yale Child Study Center; Tara L. Arndt, University of Rochester Medical Center (URMC); Trang Au, University of Massachusetts Medical School (UMMC); Jocelyne Bachevalier, University of Texas Health Science Center; Irina N. Bespalova, Seaver Autism Research Center, Mt. Sinai School of Medicine (SARC); Gene J. Blatt, Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM); Susan E. Bryson, IWK Health Centre–Dalhousie University; Timothy M. Buie, Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH); Joseph D. Buxbaum, SARC; Kathryn M. Carbone, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine (JHUSM); Diane C. Chugani, Wayne State University; Daniel F. Connor, UMMC; Edwin H. Cook, Jr., University of Chicago; S. Hossein Fatemi, University of Minnesota Medical School; Susan E. Folstein, Tufts University School of Medicine; Eric Fombonne, McGill University; Randi Jenssen Hagerman, UC Davis Medical Center; Elizabeth Petri Henske, Fox Chase Cancer Center, Philadelphia; Jeannette J. A. Holden, Queen's University; Ronald J. Killiany, BUSM; Omanand Koul, UMMC; Mandy Lee, Newcastle General Hospital, U.K.; Xudong Liu, Queen's University; Tara L. Moore, BUSM; Mark B. Moss, BUSM; Karin B. Nelson, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke; Phillip G. Nelson, National Institute of Child Health and Human Development; Elaine Perry, Newcastle General Hospital; Jonathan Pevsner, JHUSM; Mikhail V. Pletnikov, JHUSM; Stephen W. Porges, University of Illinois at Chicago; Lucio Rehbein, Universidad de la Frontera, Chile; Jennifer Reichert, SARC; Patricia M. Rodier, URMC; Beth Rosen-Sheidley, MGH; Susan L. Smalley, UCLA Neuropsychiatric Research Institute; Ronald J. Steingard, UMMC; Helen Tager-Flusberg, BUSM; Gary L. Wenk, University of Arizona; Andrew W. Zimmerman, JHUSM

In vitro, in vivo, and in silico preclinical models hold a widely acknowledged potential, yet complex limitations. For this reason, which has been known for a long time by experimenters and modelers, the translation of “science products” to the clinic is still far. Therefore, there is a raising awareness of the need to bridge this gap by developing integrated and innovative models. Organ and tissue bioengineering is an ideal approach to foster innovative strategies in significant research and clinical areas. Similarly, in translational neuroscience research, this challenge has been taken up by intriguing fish models. However, much research based on novel methodologies has still to be performed to get the bench closer to the bedside.

This book is a comprehensive overview of the clinical and scientific aspects of Autism from the leading experts in the field. The clinical section covers everything from epidemiological features to epigenetic regulation to behavioral therapies and much in between. The basic science section presents the latest knowledge on the underlying causes of the disorder including the role of various neurotransmitters, neurexins and neuroligins, reelin, and other proteins. Chapters also explore the cognition and motor control in autism and the connection between oxidative stress and mitochondrial dysfunction and autism. The thorough description of these underlying causes may help researchers and clinicians find more effective treatments and therapies for the 1 in 68 American children who have been diagnosed with Autism.

This eBook is a collection of articles from a Frontiers Research Topic. Frontiers Research Topics are very popular trademarks of the Frontiers Journals Series: they are collections of at least ten articles, all centered on a particular subject. With their unique mix of varied contributions from Original Research to Review Articles, Frontiers Research Topics unify the most influential researchers, the latest key findings and historical advances in a hot research area! Find out more on how to host your own Frontiers Research Topic or contribute to one as an author by contacting the Frontiers Editorial Office: frontiersin.org/about/contact.

Translating bench-based research into effective bedside practice, this source provides a clear understanding of the neurobiology and neurogenetics of psychiatric disorders, the genes responsible for specific psychiatric disorders, and the implications of genetic roots and underlying biology on the development of new diagnostic approaches and treatment therapies.

Edited by renowned protein scientist and bestselling author Roger L. Lundblad, with the assistance of Fiona M. Macdonald of CRC Press, this fifth edition of the Handbook of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology gathers a wealth of information not easily obtained, including information not found on the web. Presented in an organized, concise, and simple-to-use format, this popular reference allows quick access to the most frequently used data. Covering a wide range of topics, from classical biochemistry to proteomics and genomics, it also details the properties of commonly used biochemicals, laboratory solvents, and reagents. An entirely new section on Chemical Biology and Drug Design gathers data on amino acid antagonists, click chemistry, plus glossaries for computational drug design and medicinal chemistry. Each table is exhaustively referenced, giving the user a quick entry point into the primary literature. New tables for this edition: Chromatographic methods and solvents Protein spectroscopy Partial volumes of amino acids Matrix Metalloproteinases Gene Editing Click Chemistry

Most clinical laboratory tests utilize interstitial and extravascular such as blood, urine, cerebral spinal fluid (CSF), and saliva. For example, CSF is monitored in the context of cancer for both diagnostic and therapeutic reasons. And yet, our understanding of the makeup of interstitial fluids, their relationships to disease, as well as their commercial importance in therapeutics and diagnostics remains rudimentary. Although sometimes perceived as static, interstitial and extravascular fluids are surprisingly dynamic. More than half of serum albumin is in the extravascular space. These fluids move rapidly between the intravascular and extravascular spaces - one entire plasma volume is exchanged very nine hours. In the first half of the book, the authors cover fundamental concepts of interstitial fluids, including their composition and function. They then further review the mechanisms by which interstitial fluids are regulated, characterizing the importance of hyaluronan – a major constituent of interstitial spaces and an a component of synovial fluid; and, outlining the regulation of proteolysis in the interstitial space. In the second half of the book, the authors focus on the coagulation system. This system has been studied extensively in the context of vascular spaces. But many of its components exist in the interstitial spaces. Chapters are devoted to the fibrinolytic system, kallikrein, matrix metalloproteinases, coagulation factors, and protease inhibitors – all are interstitial. By covering a unique array of topics with broad application to biomedical scientists, this book expands our understanding of the importance of interstitial spaces and the fluids that move through and reside in this extravascular environment.