Given the immense complexity of brain organization, neurobiologist Jean-Pierre Changeux has come up with a new research strategy that encourages a more comprehensive understanding of autism. This approach, outlined in the interdisciplinary journal Trends in Cognitive Sciences - which covers topics ranging from neuroscience to social sciences - combines knowledge about the disorder at several different levels: the genes involved, their expression, synapse formation, and connectivity between distant neurons in the brain (known as "long-distance" connectivity). This specific connectivity is thought to be closely linked to the ability to engage in social interaction with others. With his novel approach, Jean-Pierre Changeux is attempting to shed light on the links between genes and social awareness.

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