Only a fraction of autism studies use the gold standard tests to diagnose the disorder in study participants.

At a workshop where some of the top scientists in autism research assembled to discuss biomarkers, a 7-year-old girl with the disorder was the real expert.

A variant of neurexin 1, a gene linked to both autism and schizophrenia, is associated with less brain matter than normal in healthy individuals, according to a study published 8 June in PLoS ONE.

The protein missing in people with fragile X syndrome regulates the activity of more than 800 other proteins, including some key players in autism, according to a study published 22 July in Cell. Many of these autism-associated proteins cluster on either side of the synapse, the junction between neurons.

An elegant microscopy technique reveals that neurons can regulate how quickly they recycle chemical messengers, according to a study published in July in Nature Neuroscience. This process is believed to be the limiting step in the speed of signaling across neuronal junctions.

Small fragments of RNA, called microRNAs, can fine-tune the levels of proteins at the junctions between neurons in response to cell signals, according to a study published 10 June in Molecular Cell.

Broken rules are even more distressing to people with autism than being excluded, according to a new study.

Mice lacking SHANK1, a member of a family of autism-associated proteins, communicate less with their mothers and potential mates than controls do, according to a study published 9 June in PLoS One.

Large-scale patterns of methylation throughout the genome affect the expression of many autism-related genes and may contribute to the disorder’s development, according to a study published online Friday in Genome Research. The study is among the first to look at genome-wide patterns of methylation in brain cells.

Neurofeedback studies showing improvement in symptoms in people with autism are deeply flawed, according to a new review.