• A systematic review documented 64 microRNA genes that are expressed differently in people with autism, but the examined studies contradict one another about the direction of those expression differences. PLOS ONE
• Autistic people score lower on face perception and memory tasks than neurotypical people, but both groups fare similarly in face matching. Psychonomic Bulletin & Review
• The distinction between syndromic and non-syndromic autism may not be helpful for research or clinical practice, two scientists argue. Genetics in Medicine
• New methods to deliver gene therapies replace viruses with nanoparticles derived from lipids, proteins or nucleic acids, which may enable safer and less expensive treatments. Nature Biotechnology
• Autistic people tend to have more neural activity in the occipital lobe than do non-autistic people when doing the Wechsler Block Design test of visual-spatial processing, and other brain areas also seem to correlate with performance on the task. Cerebral Cortex
  

  Pain signals: SHANK2 protein is expressed on the cell body and dendrites of some spinal-cord neurons.

• A new project attempts to link neural processing with comprehensive psychophysiological profiles in 22q11.2 deletion syndrome, which is associated with autism and schizophrenia. BMC Psychiatry
• The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has published draft guidance for clinical trials of psychedelics for behavioral conditions, such as depression. Medscape
• An imaging method to characterize dynamic functional network connectivity can distinguish autistic from non-autistic people with high accuracy. Autism Research
• Mice missing the SHANK2 gene, a model of autism, display altered pain sensitivities to chemical, thermal and mechanical stimuli, as well as dysfunction of SHANK2-expressing neurons in the spinal cord. Molecular Autism
• Genomics research on autism should not overlook social and environmental influences on how autistic people fare in their lives, a pair of scientists write in a commentary. Nature Medicine
• Weak receptive language skills in young children with 22q11.2 deletion syndrome predict subsequent autism-related behaviors. Autism & Developmental Language Impairments

Cite this article: https://doi.org/10.53053/RSVJ2267