However, while SHANK3 has been the subject of extensive research in the field of autism spectrum disorder, its role in age-related cognitive disorders, such as AD, remains unclear (Gong et al., 2009; Pham et al., 2010; Grabrucker et al., 2011b; Guilmatre et al., 2014). The gene discussed is SHANK3; the disease is Alzheimer disease.