A new study shows that long-term treatment with oxytocin, a hormone that typically enhances social bonds, can have unexpected consequences, says Sue Carter, a research scientist at RTI International.

Lessons learned from postmortem studies of schizophrenia are applicable to research on autism, a disorder for which brain tissue has not been as well studied, say Allison Curley and David Lewis.

Rodent and stem cell models remain challenging for developing psychiatric drugs, says Michael Ehlers, chief scientific officer of neuroscience at Pfizer.

New standards for animal studies, including an emphasis on replicating results and the publication of negative findings, are vital for research progress, says Jacqueline Crawley.

Rapid progress in gene discovery and an emerging map of the molecular landscape of normal brain development are presenting unprecedented opportunities to unravel the biology of autism spectrum disorders, say Matthew State and Nenad Sestan.

Sharing data and tools is universally efficient, but the study of autism in particular presents challenges that can benefit from an open-science framework, says Randy Buckner.

Amphetamines and other compounds with stimulant properties may improve social behaviors in a subset of individuals who have autism with hyperactivity, says Jill Silverman.

As the central organ regulating maternal-fetal interactions, the placenta is perfectly positioned to mediate environmental and genetic risk factors during prenatal development. It may also relay risk factors for autism to the fetus, says Paul Patterson.

New analysis of an in-depth study of autism rates in Utah in the 1980s highlights how changing diagnostic guidelines may be contributing to the rise in prevalence.

Studying the well-characterized Williams syndrome could help researchers understand autism and discover new therapeutic targets, says Andreas Meyer-Lindenberg.