Autism is not the only brain disorder that is more common in one sex than in the other.

New evidence implicates the neurotransmitter glycine, which dampens brain signals, in autism.

Autism will cost the U.S. $268 billion this year — a price expected to balloon to $461 billion by 2025.

Researchers have discovered an enzyme that lowers brain levels of FMRP, the protein missing in people with fragile X syndrome. Blocking the enzyme may ease fragile X symptoms in people with the disorder who have low levels of FMRP and mild symptoms.

The social deficits and repetitive behaviors seen in boys with fragile X syndrome seem to stem from their cognitive difficulties, rather than arising independently as they do in autism.

A new mathematical method confidently ranks genes based on their likely impact in a disorder. The approach may help researchers home in on important autism genes.

The new diagnosis for intellectual disability emphasizes what children with the disorder can do rather than what they cannot. Some researchers are arguing for a similar ‘ability framework’ for autism.     

An online catalog helps clarify the roles of thousands of spontaneous mutations in four neuropsychiatric disorders, including autism.

Treatments for fragile X syndrome may be more successful if they block direct targets of the key missing protein, says Eric Klann.

Mutations in the gene DYRK1A underlie a type of autism marked by an unusually small head. The new work expands the breadth of symptoms included under the autism umbrella.