Over the last several years scientists at Ben-Gurion University (BGU) have created the leading autism research center in Israel. Together with physicians from Soroka University Medical Center (SUMC), we have created the first regional autism database in Israel. This database already contains data from more than 400 children with autism and their families. The families were recruited by dedicated research assistants who have been integrated into the autism clinics at SUMC and have become very proficient at collecting and organizing a wide variety of data from participating children/families for research purposes. The collected data is utilized by a multi-disciplinary team of BGU scientists to study the causes and mechanisms of autism
⏩ Visit the Negev Autism Research Center's website
Current research projects include:
Behavioral assessments using standardized ADOS and Bayley tests (internationally accepted tests for assessing autism symptoms and cognitive levels respectively). There tests are performed in a dedicated room that enables audio and video recording of the interaction between the clinician and child. This information is available for all children diagnosed with autism at SUMC since January 2015. In the past six months these tests have been performed in a new room where we record video from four HD cameras together with high quality audio. In addition, we simultaneously collect motion capture information using four Kinect cameras that enable us to quantify body movements and motor proficiency in each child.
Electronic patient records of participating families are extracted from the Soroka database and incorporated into our autism database. Since over 90% of the children who receive an autism diagnosis at SUMC were also born and receive most of their health services at SUMC, we have been able to extract extensive clinical information regarding the pregnancy, birth, and early life history of the vast majority of children in the database. This enables ongoing studies to identify pregnancy and birth risk factors, as well as other clinical characteristics associated with early autism development. We are specifically focusing on data extracted from the Neurology, Radiology, and Neonatal departments.
Genetic analysis is carried out using saliva samples from children with autism and their parents. DNA extracted from the saliva samples is sequenced through our partnership in the international Autism Sequencing Consortium. This is the first and only large-scale genetic study of ASD conducted in Israel to date. This effort will enable us to identify specific genetic abnormalities. Recruitment to this study began in September 2016 and is progressing at a rate of ~100 families per year.
Eye tracking is carried out in a dedicated room using an EyeLink 1000+ head-free system, which allows the research team to perform experiments with children. These experiments enable us to examine whether the child looks at faces and other social stimuli in an appropriate way. Some children with autism have difficulty looking at faces, which means that they are not likely to learn how to identify facial expressions and gestures. Recruitment to this study began in December 2016 and is progressing at a rate of ~100 children with autism per year.
Overnight EEG exams are carried out at the SUMC Sleep Lab. Participating parents bring their children in the evening and meet a representative of the research team who, together with a sleep lab technician, connect the child to a SomniPro Deymed EEG system. The child and parent can then sleep in one of the private rooms at the sleep lab while the brain activity of the child is recorded. This enables us to identify children with abnormal sleep architecture and/or abnormal brain activity Recruitment to this study began in March 2017 and is progressing at a rate of ~60 children with autism per year.
Our Researchers:
An interdisciplinary team of BGU carry out a wide variety of research in neuroscience, genetics, molecular biology, epidemiology, engineering, and developmental psychology. We strongly believe that advances in the field of autism will only be possible by combining scientific research with clinical knowledge.
Dr. Gal Meiri (Child Psychiatry): Individuals with autism exhibit a long and heterogeneous list of behavioral and clinical symptoms. A critical component of meaningful autism research is to carefully characterize the clinical and behavioral symptoms of each child (e.g. severity of social problems and repetitive behaviors, specific type of sensory abnormalities and sleep problems, the existence of epilepsy, intellectual disability, attention deficit disorder, etc…). This characterization is important for defining more homogeneous clinical/behavioral subgroups and for determining, which type of therapy works best for each subgroup. A main goal of the Pre-School Psychiatric Unit at SUMC is to better understand these issues to improve patient care and enable more meaningful research.
Dr. Ilan Dinstein (Neuroscience): The Dinstein lab uses magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and electroencephalograph (EEG) methods to study how brain function and structure differ in children who develop autism with a particular emphasis on early development (age 1-4 years old). We examine behavioral characteristics, genetic profiling, and clinical records to identify specific toddlers with autism who are more likely to have homogenous underlying biology. For example, we are currently identifying toddlers with autism who have a history of regression (loss of social and communication capabilities) and/or epilepsy. We then examine brain function (e.g., EEG recordings during sleep) and structure (e.g., structural MRI scans) from the toddlers to determine how brain development may differ in specific sub-groups of toddlers. The goal of such research is to develop targeted diagnosis and treatment tools for each of the sub-groups. For additional information please see – www.dinshi.com
Dr. Idan Menashe (Genetics & Epidemiology): The Menashe lab uses Bioinformatic techniques to identify genetic and environmental risk factors in large databases of individuals with autism and their families. Given the large heterogeneity across the autism population, a particular emphasis is given to the classification of more homogeneous autism sub-groups according to different behavioral, clinical, and molecular criteria. For additional information please see - http://midan34.wix.com/
Dr. Hava Golan (Molecular Biology & Genetics): The Golan lab studies how genetic, epigenetic, and environmental factors influence key cellular metabolic processes, which are critical for typical brain development. Work is conducted in parallel with mice models of autism as well as with children who have been diagnosed with autism at SUMC. A major focus of the lab is on understanding how specific metabolic deficiencies may increase the risk for autism and can be ameliorated with administration of dietary supplements. For additional information see - http://fohs.bgu.ac.il/golanlab
Dr. Florina Uzefovsky (Developmental Psychology & Molecular Biology): The Uzefovsky lab was opened in October 2016 and adds vital capabilities to the inter-disciplinary autism research effort at the university. The Uzefovsky lab combines behavioral and genetics research while taking advantage of the regional autism database and the available recruitment infrastructure. One arm of the lab uses developmental psychology methodologies to assess whether abnormalities in the development of emotional and cognitive empathy during the first year of life may indicate risk for developing autism. The other arm of the lab uses biological methodologies to investigate how specific genes and levels of gene expression may impact the development of empathy in toddlers. The goal of this research is to identify specific biological mechanisms that characterize particular sub-groups of toddlers with autism.
⏩ Visit the Negev Autism Research Center's website
