Lay abstracts

LAY ABSTRACT Autism is a complex disorder, in which there is a strong familial predisposition. Many studies have been performed examining behaviour, anatomy and chemistry of the central nervous system, and the inheritance (genetics) of the spectrum of autistic disorders. One initiative, the Autism Tissue Program, has banked brain samples donated after death, for research use. Our study has extracted DNA from these brain samples, and analyzed them for millions of genetic ‘‘markers’’, in hope that this information can provide insight into the findings of other studies. We have also identified some rare changes in the DNA that may be associated with autism susceptibility, and point to specific genes that may be involved. Nevertheless, our main focus is in providing an ongoing resource of genetic data to the autism research community, so that other researchers can correlate their findings with genetic variation that we have described. All of these data are available to researchers through a peer-reviewed approval process used by the Autism Tissue Program, to ensure appropriate and ethical use of this information. & 2011 INSAR/Wiley Periodicals, Inc.