• An autism-linked mutation of the delta-catenin gene in mice shifts the excitation-inhibition balance and alters social behavior. PNAS
• Genetic analysis of rare and common variants linked to autism are associated with sex-based differences in placental gene expression and sex-steroid-related phenotypes, respectively. Frontiers in Endocrinology
• Autistic children whose repetitive behaviors take the form of self-injury or an insistence on sameness tend to have both internalizing traits, such as anxiety, and externalizing ones, such as aggression. Spectrum previously covered efforts to better subtype repetitive behaviors. BMC Psychiatry
• Across five mouse models of autism, changes to the proteome of their hippocampal synapses converge. Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience
• People referred to outpatient psychiatric care who have autism or autism traits tend to have more co-occurring psychiatric conditions than those without autism traits, according to a small study. BJPsych Open
• Neurodivergent physicists have plenty to contribute to research endeavors but may need accommodations and understanding to fulfill their potential. Symmetry
• Autistic and non-autistic youth had similar levels of internalizing symptoms linked to anxiety and depression in the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic, but those with autism reported decreases in those symptoms over the next six months, according to a small study. Autism Research
• Neonatal jaundice is associated with diagnoses of autism and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, according to a retrospective cohort study in Taiwan. Spectrum has previously covered links between autism, pregnancy complications and jaundice. Journal of the Formosan Medical Association
  

  Folding finesse: Neurotrophic factors help guide postnatal cerebellar development.

• Electroencephalographic profiles are qualitatively similar in three popular analytic software tools, although the voltage magnitudes show some variability. NeuroImage: Reports
• Some autistic people are consulting ChatGPT to help them brainstorm their way through social situations. Wired
• Certifying pediatricians as developmentally trained may improve the timeliness of autism evaluations in children. Journal of Developmental & Behavioral Pediatrics
• A wide variety of treatment providers see autistic children with feeding problems and may not know how to help, according to a survey. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders
• Aspects of experimental design besides increasing sample size can yield higher effect sizes in MRI studies seeking to find brain correlates of behavior, according to a preprint. Spectrum reported on the low power of neuroimaging studies last year. bioRxiv
• Neurotrophic factors that contribute to or interfere with cerebellar development can lead to neurodevelopmental conditions such as autism and schizophrenia, according to a review. Frontiers in Molecular Neuroscience
• A review of case reports of euthanasia in the Netherlands found 39 cases involving people with autism or intellectual disability, in which physicians justified the action because these conditions were deemed untreatable with “no prospect of improvement.” BJPsych Open
• Though studied less often than regional connectivity, the shape of the brain may influence the function of neural activity — especially wave-like activity — just as much. Nature
• The Biden administration appears poised to select Mandy Cohen, a physician and public-health expert, as the next director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The Washington Post

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Cite this article: https://doi.org/10.53053/WGSX1494