A protein that regulates the development of serotonin-producing neurons in the brain is associated with autism.

Methylation marks were thought to be permanent features of the genome, but a new study challenges that idea.

Probiotic bacteria alleviate stress in healthy mice and modify the expression of receptors for a chemical messenger that inhibits signaling in the brain.

A new atlas of gene expression patterns in the adult mouse brain shows how thousands of genes are turned on in specific layers of the cortex.

A variant of the FGF14 gene may decrease the volume of the amygdala, a brain structure needed to interpret emotions in facial expressions, according to results presented on Sunday at the World Congress of Psychiatric Genetics in Washington, D.C.

The offspring of older male mice are 16 times more likely to harbor a spontaneous copy number variation — a deletion or duplication of genetic material — than are the offspring of young males, according to a new study.

Researchers have created the first mouse model of Timothy syndrome, a rare genetic disorder that causes heart defects and autism. The findings appeared 30 August in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

A protein linked to language development, FOXP2, regulates the autism candidate gene MET, according to a study published 10 August in the Journal of Neuroscience.

Some of the same genetic risk factors may underlie both autism and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, according to a study published 10 August in Science Translational Medicine.

MeCP2, the protein missing in people with Rett syndrome, enhances learning and memory by binding to key genes and either activating or inhibiting their expression, according to a study published 17 July in Nature Neuroscience. Adding a phosphate to the protein in response to neuronal activity releases MeCP2 from these genes, the study found.