Autism breakthrough: Key gene in brain `discovered` London: In
what could lead to new tests and treatments for autism,
scientists claim to have discovered a key gene in the brain,
which is linked to the condition.An international team, led by
the University of California, has shown for the first time how
the CNTNAP2 gene linked to autism rewires the brain`s
connections, a finding which could lead to new tests and
treatments. In children with the gene, the brain`s frontal lobe,
which plays a key role in learning, is poorly linked to the rest
of the brain, the `Daily Mail` reported. Lead scientist Ashley
Scott-Van Zeeland said: "In children who carry the risk gene,
the front of the brain seems to mainly talk to itself. It
doesn`t communicate as much with other parts of the brain and
lacks long-range connections to the back of the brain." There
were also fewer connections between the frontal lobe and the
left side of the brain, which is key to speech and understanding
language. Team member Dr Daniel Geschwind, a