Prefrontal and occipital asymmetry and volume in boys with autism spectrum disorder.

Objective: To examine prefrontal and occipital asymmetry (brain torque) in boys with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and controls. A secondary aim was to study age-related changes in gray and white matter volume.

Background: Several studies have found atypical early cortical development in ASD.

Control elements in the neighboring ATPase gene influence spatiotemporal expression of the human agouti-related protein.

The agouti-related protein (AgRP) is an orexigenic peptide that plays a significant role in the regulation of energy balance. It is expressed in the hypothalamus, the adrenal glands, and the testis, but sequences determining its spatial and temporal expression have not been identified. Using an elaborate in vitro screening approach, we show here that two adjacent enhancers inside the first intron of the neighboring (1.