Research roundup

• Three cognitive networks share similar alterations across various psychiatric conditions. Biological Psychiatry
• New biomarkers may help scientists improve clinical trials of neurodevelopmental conditions. Nature Reviews Drug Discovery
• ‘Camouflaging,’ or masking certain aspects of one’s behavior to fit in, can be distressing for autistic men and women, although they tend to do it for different reasons. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders
• A mutation in SHANK3, a gene linked to autism, leads to synapse dysfunction, altered social interactions and repetitive behaviors in mice. Molecular Psychiatry
• Differences in the brain’s electrical activity patterns can be used to distinguish between children with mild and severe forms of autism. Behavioural Brain Research
• Autistic brains assimilate new sensory information more slowly than typical brains. Nature Neuroscience

Science and society

• Parents of children with rare diseases are often involved in recruiting participants for clinical trials and speeding up the approval of therapies. Nature
• Advocates hope to improve access to housing, job and other support services for people with severe autism. Psychology Today
• Using a combination of gene-editing and brain-imaging tools, researchers are compiling a connectivity atlas for the mouse brain. NIH Director’s Blog
• Individuals with autism are less likely than others to benefit from cognitive behavioral therapy for depression. Genetic Literacy Project
• If the partial U.S. government shutdown continues, it may affect the Food and Drug Administration’s ability to approve new drugs. STAT
• Brain ‘assembloids’ — compound organoids built from multiple cell lineages — can help researchers understand the interactions between different neural networks. Science

Autism and the arts

• Two nonprofits are inviting autistic individuals to submit art and music creations for a contest in May. The Art of Autism

Publishing

• Scientists submitting abstracts to a conference on research integrity are not immune from plagiarism themselves. Retraction Watch

Job moves

• Annie Ciernia, previously at the University of California, Davis, is now assistant professor of biochemistry and molecular biology at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada. Ciernia Lab