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	Podcast:		UC Science Today
	Episode:		How paternal age may impact a child's brain development
	Category:		Science & Medicine
	Duration:		00:01:02
	Publish Date:		2016-05-11 00:00:00
	Description:		Paternal age has long been associated with autism in children, but could it lead to other health problems as well? Recent studies have found that mood disorders and reading disabilities like dyslexia may also be linked to older dads. Neuroscientist Fumiko Hoeft of the University of California, San Francisco is further unraveling the effects of paternal age on a child’s brain development. "What we’re adding to this, in this new study that we’re writing up right now, is a brain imaging piece and a genetic piece, looking at the mechanism in which older dads impact the child negatively." In addition to measuring the reading abilities of these children, Hoeft is looking at de novo mutations in both parents. These are the genetic changes first seen in an egg or sperm. "And then we can look at brain scans to see whether these de novo mutations and these brain structures are functions of paternal age, older dads having a negative impact on the offspring." Hoeft hopes to identity risks when it comes to mood disorders or learning disabilities.
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