The principal goal of the Molecular Biomarkers Core is to identify patterns of altered gene expression that form a significant association with autism in human populations, or which are coupled to specific environmental factors in animal models. The core will utilize both broad-spectrum and focused microarrays to support the human and animal studies described in Research Projects I-III. To meet these needs, Core II will provide uniform handling, extraction, and isolation of mRNA from tissue samples generated by Center investigators. In addition, the core will use both human and mouse genomic libraries to create targeted microarrays. An essential component of the Core s efforts will be to further develop methods of analysis for microarray data in an effort to both better define, and reduce the errors associated with the interpretation of microarray information.