Spectrum: Autism Research News

The motion perception difficulties seen in people with fragile X syndrome, a leading cause of autism, may stem from a faulty visual circuit.

Autism is more heritable than anorexia, alcohol dependence, depression and obsessive-compulsive disorder, according to an analysis of data from nearly 4.5 million people.

Traits linked to autism and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder tend to co-occur even in adulthood.

People who have a mutation linked to autism plus a second genetic glitch tend to have more severe symptoms than those with the mutation alone.

Variants that control gene expression are often involved in whether a mutation ends up being harmful, and how harmful it is.

The active ingredient in the drug popularly known as ecstasy eases social anxiety in people with autism.

Many drugs for fragile X syndrome have failed in large clinical trials, but candidates that target new aspects of the condition may fare better.

Nearly half of American children with autism aged 10 to 17 are overweight or obese.

The protein missing in fragile X syndrome, FMRP, facilitates the production of hundreds of unusually large proteins, some of which are linked to autism.

The brain’s immune cells, called microglia, function differently in male and female rodents. In people, a similar phenomenon may make male brains more vulnerable to autism.