A partial mutation that leads to a milder form of fragile X syndrome causes deficits in learning and memory in mice, and alters the connections between their neurons, according to a study published in January in Neurobiology of Disease.

Children with autism who communicate well are just as likely to suffer from tantrums and other aggressive behaviors as those who have more trouble expressing themselves.

A new technique allows researchers to watch the long-term effects of disease on the brain, according to a study published in the February Nature Medicine. The approach could help scientists study changes in the brain that result from neurological disorders such as autism.

Two new studies of families carrying glitches on a region of chromosome 16, which has been strongly associated with autism, reveal the wide range of effects caused by the variant and narrow the list of possible culprit genes.

Teenagers with autism can reliably measure their own quality of life and are more satisfied with it than are their parents, who over-emphasize their children’s social and emotional difficulties, according to a study published in February in The Journal of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics.

Children with autism or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are both more motivated by money than by praise, according to a study published in January in the Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry.

A genome-wide association study has identified risk factors for Asperger syndrome, some of which overlap with chromosomal regions implicated in autism, according to a study in the December issue of Autism Research.

Four years after scientists devised a way to paint individual mouse neurons in different colors, two independent groups have adapted the technique for use in the fruit fly. Both papers, replete with stunning images of fly neurons, appeared 6 February in Nature Methods.

Men with fragile X syndrome have larger brains overall than controls do, but less matter in regions involved in language and social interaction.

The National Institutes of Health is adding a new $1 billion institute for early-stage drug development. But the agency’s plan to fund it by closing the National Center for Research Resources is causing some consternation.