Assessing social ability in adults with autism requires controlled tests involving real-time social interactions. Virtual reality makes this possible.

Children with autism who are highly anxious tend to move their heads during brain scans and so may be excluded from important studies.

People with autism show an atypical pattern of brain activity when trying to adopt another person’s point of view.

Despite the completion of hundreds of imaging studies in people with autism, researchers have yet to find features that distinguish people with the condition.

Donald Trump seems to see science through the lens of conspiracy, Brexit may spur an exodus of scientific talent from the United Kingdom, and preterm babies show atypical brain activity before birth.

Patterns of activity in certain brain regions may predict how well a child with autism will respond to a behavioral therapy.

Monkeys with multiple copies of the gene MeCP2 have irregular brain waves similar to those seen in some children with autism.

People with autism who are acutely sensitive to smells have unusually weak connections between a brain region that processes social stimuli and one that integrates sensory information.

A new tool spots shared patterns of brain connectivity among people who have autism, schizophrenia or major depressive disorder.

Brain scans of sleeping children with autism reveal reduced synchrony between a brain region that processes emotions and structures involved in social communication.