News Archive

Autistic boys with large brains in early childhood still have large brains in adolescence, challenging the long-standing idea that brain enlargement in autism is temporary.

Researchers have devised a new way of seeing how gene mutations affect cells during development.

Inconsistent and underfunded training programs may hurt more than they help, experts say.

Spectrum is covering the 2020 International SYNGAP1 Scientific Conference, which took place virtually because of the coronavirus pandemic. Here we’re highlighting researchers’ reactions to noteworthy presentations.

Mutations in a top autism gene called SYNGAP1 slow the rate at which zebrafish digest food and pass waste, and may also disrupt gut function in people.

Mice with mutations in the autism-linked gene SYNGAP1 have trouble sensing touch, which may stem in part from brain-circuit alterations and dulled alertness.

Autism with intellectual disability is less heritable than autism alone, according to a new study of how the conditions run in extended families.

A new eye-tracking study highlights how social cues shape attention differently in people with and without autism.

Autistic people’s ability to understand another person’s thinking does not diminish with age, as it does for non-autistic people.

Autistic people who have trouble identifying their emotions are also likely to have anxiety, depression and problems with social communication.