Autism and Environment

In 2006, researchers at University of California-Davis launched a research program, MARBLES, examining the link between autism and the environment. According to a Psychology in the News article,

Researchers have long suspected that autism’s causes are rooted in one’s genes, combined with some kind of a hit from the environment. But pinpointing the interplay of these factors has been daunting, in part because the probing tends to come after a child is diagnosed.

A new study at the University of California at Davis will examine potential clues pointing to the neurodevelopmental disorder before it occurs — prior to birth and during a baby’s earliest years.

This research builds on another UC Davis study, CHARGE, Childhood Autism Risks from Genetics and the Environment.