Up to 80% of children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) suffer from gastrointestinal co-morbidities including diarrhea and constipation. I hypothesized that genes that impact central nervous system development also impact enteric nervous system development, contributing to the development of these gastrointestinal symptoms in children with ASD. I took these images to visualize whether enteric nervous system development is altered by an ASD-associated mutation (Shank3 knock-out). 

These images show that mutations commonly associated with alterations in central nervous system development can also impact enteric nervous system development.