Spectrum: Autism Research News

A protective molecular tag on neurons can prevent microglia, the brain’s immune cells, from trimming away their connections with other neurons.

A small number of autism genes are located in fragile regions of the genome — those prone to breaking when cells copy DNA.

Triggering an immune defense in newborn male mice missing a copy of TSC2, a gene linked to autism, impairs the mice’s social memory.

Specialized neurons called chandelier cells, which dampen brain signals, make unusually few connections in the brains of people with autism.

Babies eventually diagnosed with autism learn to detect speech sounds later than their typical peers do.

Applying sound waves to a mouse’s brain provides a safe way to push molecular probes into the brain to manipulate activity there.

Children with autism tend to have low levels of the hormone vasopressin in their brain, according to the largest study yet to look at the levels.

In mice exposed to maternal inflammation in the womb, a key chemical messenger never makes the switch from exciting brain signals to inhibiting them.

A pregnant mouse’s response to infection alters the immune cells in her pups’ brains, and this may contribute to their autism-like behaviors.

New results from brain scans of adults with autism are at odds with the popular theory that the condition involves weak brakes on brain activity.