Inducing seizures in young mice leads to autism-like social behavior, as well as problems with learning and memory, according to a paper published 29 March in Experimental Neurology.

People with duplications of the 15q11-13 chromosomal region, which is linked to certain neurological disorders, can experience a variety of seizures, according to a study published 6 February in Epilepsia. They may also respond better to some seizure medications than others.

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.

Thought until recently to only coordinate motor skills, the cerebellum is involved in diverse cognitive functions such as language and social interaction, and may play a role in autism, says Emanuel DiCicco-Bloom.

In families with a history of autism, the affected children are seven times more likely to also have epilepsy than their unaffected siblings, according to a study published 1 December in Molecular Autism. The results suggest that epilepsy and autism share some risk factors.

In utero exposure to the epilepsy drug valproic acid, which ups the risk of autism, may alter the composition of gut bacteria in rodents, according a study published 11 December in Brain Behavior and Immunity.

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.

Some children diagnosed with autism may fall into distinct subgroups based on their symptoms and other diagnoses, researchers report in the January issue of Pediatrics.

It’s common for children with autism to take more than one medication to improve symptoms, despite the dearth of information about the drugs’ long-term safety, according to two new studies.

A subset of neurons in the amygdala is dedicated to recognizing eyes. But in people with autism, they may respond instead to the mouth, according to a report published 20 November in Neuron.