Connections between the amygdala — a deep nub involved in processing emotions — and other parts of the brain are more numerous in children than in adults, according to unpublished research presented at the 2011 Society for Neuroscience annual meeting in Washington, D.C.

In high-functioning adults with autism, the signal-to-noise ratio in the outer regions of the brain is significantly lower than in healthy controls, according to unpublished research presented Friday in Washington, D.C.

Mice missing the Rett syndrome gene MeCP2 show a gradual decline in vision, and too much inhibitory signaling in the visual cortex, according to unpublished research presented Thursday in Washington, D.C.

Boys with autism have a distinct facial structure that differs from that of typically developing controls, according to a study published 14 October in Molecular Autism.

Individuals who have autism and dysmorphology comprise a distinct subgroup within the disorder, says geneticist Judith Miles. 

Boys who have autism-like social deficits at 2 years of age retain about the same level of social impairment when they reach age 20.

Healthy parents of children with autism have an atypical brain response to sound frequency changes that mimics the response of individuals with the disorder.

Toddlers with autism are less likely to use gestures to communicate than are typically developing children and those with developmental delay or specific language impairment.

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.

Children who express a subset of genes — including one located in the autism-associated chromosomal region 16p11.2 — at higher or lower levels than normal benefit from treatment with the antipsychotic drug risperidone, according to a study published 7 June in the Pharmacogenomics Journal.