A robot can replace researchers in performing a painstaking technique that records neuronal signals in live animal brains, according to a study published 6 May in Nature Methods.

Neurons lacking PTEN, an autism-associated gene also involved in cancer, are hyperconnected to both near and distant brain cells, according to a study published 1 February in The Journal of Neuroscience.

Adults with autism have regional differences in brain volume in areas that play a role in social behavior and communication compared with controls, according to a large study published in the February issue of Archives of General Psychiatry. The differences correlate with the severity of autism symptoms, the study also shows.

Analyzing the organization of whole-brain structural networks could reveal differences in the way brains of children with autism and other neurodevelopmental disorders are wired.

The etiology of autism may be best understood as an impairment of neuronal circuits, specifically interneurons that dampen signals in the brain, says neuroscientist Gordon Fishell.  

Scientists are analyzing more than 7,000 studies of functional magnetic resonance imaging to refine the role of various regions in the brain, according to unpublished work presented Monday at the 2011 Society for Neuroscience annual meeting in Washington, D.C.

Earl Miller tells SFARI.org how monkeys inspired his theory for the cognitive deficits in autism.

Many children with autism have a range of motor issues — such as head lag, floppy arms and difficulty sitting up — beginning in the first few months of life, according to an emerging body of work.

Neurons in a mouse model of fragile X syndrome make more connections during a critical period in development compared with controls, but are slower to respond to signals.

The brains of boys with autism have a lower-than-normal rate of water diffusion across the inferior fronto-occipital fasciculus — a bundle of neurons that connects all four major lobes of the brain, according to a new study.