Sensory responses in the brain of an individual with autism vary much more than in someone without the disorder, according to a study published 20 September in Neuron. This may explain why some people with autism are extremely sensitive to lights and sounds.

The cost of caring for individuals with autism increases throughout childhood and adolescence, by approximately five percent with each year of age.

Mice lacking EN2, an autism-linked gene, have a range of behavioral problems, including social deficits, problems with learning and memory, and motor abnormalities, according to a study published 19 July in PLoS One.

A drug called arbaclofen improves behavioral problems in people with fragile X syndrome, an inherited condition that can lead to mental retardation and autism, according to the results of a clinical trial published today in Science Translational Medicine. A second study published in the same journal showed that the drug restores normal brain function in a mouse model of the disorder.

Researchers have developed an index that can predict the age of developing interneurons, which inhibit signals in the brain, according to a study published 24 August in PLoS One. They then used this measurement to show that interneurons are immature in autism brains.

Traditional prenatal testing cannot distinguish between large disruptive chromosomal duplications and multiple harmless repeats, according to a study published 25 July in the European Journal of Human Genetics.

Children with autism are being incorrectly diagnosed with developmental delay, and Hispanic children with developmental delay are going undiagnosed, according to a study in California.

Undergoing fertility treatments, such as in vitro fertilization, does not increase the risk of having a child with autism, according to two epidemiology studies published this July.

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

Mice that lack the autism-linked gene neuroligin-3 show similar deficits in neuronal connections to those seen in fragile X syndrome, an inherited form of mental retardation, according to research published 13 September in Science. Restoring the gene in adolescent mice reverses the problem, suggesting a potential pathway for treatment.