Dr. Beth Jerskey, May Institute’s VP of Professional Training and Research, Co-authors Research Article in the American Journal of Medical Genetics

“Genetic Variation in the Oxytocin Receptor Gene is Associated With a Social Phenotype in Autism Spectrum Disorders,” an article co-authored by Beth Jerskey, Ph.D., May Institute’s Vice President of Professional Research and Training, was recently published in the American Journal of Medical Genetics Part B: Neuropsychiatric Genetics.

 
The article was also co-authored by:
Ashley J. Harrison (University of Georgia, Athens, Ga.,); Ece D. Gamsiz (Brown University, Providence, R.I., and Emma Pendleton Bradley Hospital, Riverside, R.I.); Isaac C. Berkowitz, and Shailender Nagpal (Brown University, Providence, R.I.)
 
Read Article.
 
From the Authors’ Abstract:
Research supports an association between genetic variation in the oxytocin receptor gene (OXTR) and autism spectrum disorders (ASD). In this study, we examine the association between the OXTR gene and a specific social phenotype within ASD.  Greater impairment on the repetitive behavior scale, social responsiveness scale standardized total score and on several subdomains was observed among individuals with one or more copies of the minor frequency allele in both rs7632287 and rs237884.