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.

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.

A multi-site collaborative venture between the U.S., Canada and Europe has created nearly 17,000 mouse embryonic stem cell lines, each lacking one of the genes in the mouse genome.

MeCP2, the protein that’s missing or mutated in Rett syndrome, is crucial for remodeling neural circuits in response to vision, according to a study published in April in Neuron.

A powerful cell that dampens electrical signaling in the brain could help unravel the disrupted brain wiring seen in people with autism, according to results presented yesterday at the Wiring the Brain meeting in Ireland.

Researchers have created a mouse carrying a deletion in SHANK3, an autism candidate gene, they reported yesterday in Nature. This is the second model of SHANK3 mutations but shows markedly more behavioral and brain defects compared with the first.

A partial mutation that leads to a milder form of fragile X syndrome causes deficits in learning and memory in mice, and alters the connections between their neurons, according to a study published in January in Neurobiology of Disease.

A new technique allows researchers to watch the long-term effects of disease on the brain, according to a study published in the February Nature Medicine. The approach could help scientists study changes in the brain that result from neurological disorders such as autism.

Scientists have created mice that carry mutations in SHANK3, one of the strongest candidate genes for autism. The animals have behavioral and neurobiological features reminiscent of autism, researchers reported 17 December in Molecular Autism.