Alterations to chromosome 7 lead to changes in the chemical marks that direct gene expression.

Mice carrying any one of five autism-linked mutations struggle to associate a flash of light with an irritating puff of air. The findings suggest that the mice have trouble integrating information from multiple senses — a skill governed by the cerebellum.

A new computer program can quickly and accurately characterize bird songs and mouse squeaks — showing, for example, that mouse pups with an autism-linked mutation call out for their mothers differently than normal mice do.

After eight years of prominence as an autism risk gene, a new analysis significantly brings down CNTNAP2’s importance in the disorder: According to the study, rare mutations in a single copy of the gene are unlikely to cause autism. 

Oxytocin has long been eyed as a treatment for autism, but trials in people with the disorder have yielded conflicting results. A new study bolsters the case for the so-called ‘trust hormone’ as an autism therapy, finding that it eases social deficits in a mouse model of the disorder.

A brain imaging study of 26 mouse models of autism reveals a broad range of structural abnormalities. The models cluster into groups with similar features, reports a study published 9 September in Molecular Psychiatry.

To understand the role of FOXP2, a gene that links autism and language, researchers should look at its partner genes and at language models such as songbirds, say Genevieve Konopka and Todd Roberts.  

The equivalent of one-tenth of a single pill of the anxiety drug clonazepam alleviates many autism-like behaviors in a mouse model of the disorder, according to a study published 19 March in Neuron.

FOXP2, a language gene that is linked to autism, may regulate active connections between neurons by controlling the levels of a protein called SRPX2, according to a study published 22 November in Science.

Variants in a language gene linked to autism are only modestly associated with the disorder in a large sample, according to a study published 17 October in PLoS One.