Specific neurons that secrete oxytocin in the brain are disrupted in a mouse model of autism, neuroscientists have found. Stimulating these neurons restored social behaviors in these mice. These findings could help to develop new ways to treat autism.

[u/mvea]

https://www.riken.jp/en/news_pubs/research_news/rr/20250207_1/index.html

[u/bigasssuperstar]

Scientists' presumptions that what looks like autism in their judgment of mouse behaviour is the same thing as what they think looks like autism in human behaviour is still stuck in the idea that what makes humans autistic can be understood from analysis of behaviour by non-autistic people.

IOW, they think they understand human autism; they think mouse autism is that, too; they think helping mouse autism will help autistic humans. But I don't believe they understand human autism at the start of that chain.

I don't question the methods they're using to test their hypotheses, but this is so many steps removed from autistic adults and what they say about their experience of the world that I don't trust it to be applicable to human autism.

[u/bielgio → u/[deleted]]

Of course they assume things

Their best guess is an assumption, even in mathematics we need to assume our axioms are true

[u/TTEH3 → u/bielgio]

You're right, but that isn't really what they meant.

Of course all of science rests on certain axioms, but "scientists don't assume anything" in this context obviously just means "scientists don’t take their hypotheses as true without testing; they check and refine them".

[u/bielgio → u/TTEH3]

Plenty of research on autism sets good traits as maladaptive, be it trust in others, taking advantage of others, I am skeptical about research on cure for autism

A guess is literally an assumption, don't "obviously they meant" me, words have meanings

And, of course, you say "they tested it" but do not cite why this rat model is used as an autism model for humans