RESEARCH

Candidate Gene Association Studies

Bhismadev Chakrabarti, Simon Baron-Cohen, Carrie Allison, Allen Chan, Ian Craig

This genetic association study is examining specific candidate genes chosen for their role in neural development or neural function, to see if single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in these candidate genes differ in their frequencey between cases and controls; or if these SNPs are associated with phenotypic measures that we have developed (such as the Autism Spectrum Quotient (AQ)).

We are also conducting full genome association scans using chips with 50,000 SNPs. We aim to test if the same or different associations are found in Asperger Syndrome and classic autism.