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Research & Publications


Research Areas


Identifying Autism Early

The Autism Center of Excellence is a leader in developing ways to catch autism early, when the potential for effective interventions is greatest.

cute baby looking at camera

Eye Gaze Research

Thanks to our Eye Gaze Tracking research, we can help parents and pediatricians notice possible warning signs of autism.

About Eye Gaze Tracking


Discovering the Causes of Autism

Research at the UC San Diego Autism Center of Excellence is on the cutting edge of discovery into the causes of Autism Spectrum Disorder. Our studies focus on these main songs:

sleeping baby

Sleep MRI

A new way to understand brain function in infants and toddlers by examining the brain's functional signature.

About Sleep MRI

brain scan

fMRI

Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) helps us map activity in the brain.

About functional MRI

brain scan next to baby touching screen

Structural MRI

Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) reveals the neural underpinnings of autism.

About MRI

DTI white matter

DTI

Diffusion Tensor Imaging (DTI) lets us look into the microstructure of white matter in the brain.

About DTI

graphic of dna in bright blue

Genetics

A specific set of genes appear to operate abnormally during prenatal development in autism.

About Autism Genes

fuzzy, yellow stem cells on green background

Stem Cell

Stem cells may shed light on the underlying genetic, molecular and neural mechanisms of the disorder.

About Stem Cells

graphic of neurons in purple

Brain Cell

Defects in prenatal brain cell development may produce early brain overgrowth that causes autism.

About Brain Tissue