People with autism show unique patterns of brain activation when thinking about social words, such as ‘hug.’ But new findings highlight the dangers of using thoughts as biomarkers for the disorder.

An overabundance of neuronal connections in the brains of people with autism may contribute to the motor impairments associated with the disorder.
 

The colorful brain maps created with diffusion imaging — a technique that uses the flow of water as a proxy for nerve tracts — are unlikely to represent the brain’s anatomy with accuracy, says a new study.

Several brain regions in people with autism become enlarged earlier than usual during childhood and shrink too soon during adulthood, finds an eight-year imaging study.

A customized microscope with moveable arms lets researchers simultaneously watch neurons fire in two areas of a mouse brain.
 

A new method called iDISCO makes tissue more transparent and permeable to antibodies, allowing researchers a deeper view into the brain and other organs.

Pivotal response treatment, an effective form of behavioral therapy for autism, normalizes brain activity in children with the disorder, according to a small study published earlier this month in Brain Imaging and Behavior. This suggests that brain imaging can signal early responses to autism treatments.

A transparent sensor crafted from thin sheets of carbon allows researchers to record brain activity in mice, reports a paper published 20 October in Nature Communications.

Scientists reflect on the current state of autism research as the 2014 Society for Neuroscience annual meeting in Washington, D.C. comes to a close.

Researchers have developed a way to capture dynamic changes in the part of the neuron that sends out signals, they reported yesterday at the 2014 Society for Neuroscience annual meeting in Washington, D.C.