The level of activity of a cellular signaling pathway correlates with the degree of social and cognitive impairments in children with an autism-linked genetic abnormality, according to unpublished research presented Sunday at the 2013 Society for Neuroscience annual meeting in San Diego.

Boys with tuberous sclerosis complex, an autism-related disorder, have more disorganized nerve fibers in some regions of the brain than do girls with the disorder, according to unpublished work presented Sunday at the 2013 Society for Neuroscience annual meeting in San Diego.

The largest genetic analysis yet conducted of people lacking a brain structure called the corpus callosum shows that the condition shares many risk factors with autism. The study was published 3 October in PLoS Genetics. 

A new test of mouse intelligence closely mimics the types of assays used with people and detects a subtle learning deficit reminiscent of one seen in teenagers with autism, according to findings presented Saturday at the 2013 Society for Neuroscience annual meeting in San Diego.

Researchers have mined the medical records of more than 100 million people and found close to 3,000 associations between single-gene diseases, such as cystic fibrosis, and complex genetic disorders such as autism. The results were published 26 September in Cell.

SHANK3, one of the strongest candidate genes for autism, has the potential to be a molecular entry point into understanding the synaptic, developmental and circuit origins of the disorder.
 

Children with poor vision or a hearing loss are more likely to be diagnosed with autism than are those in the general population, reports a large epidemiological study published in October.

Two new studies examine disruptive behavior and loneliness among adults with autism, generally a poorly studied group. 

Guidelines for the use of electroencephalography in autism will ensure that researchers have a common set of standards, which will speed up discovery, say Sara Jane Webb and Raphael Bernier.

A gene’s length may influence its expression, and this has implications for autism, which tends to be linked to particularly long genes, says Mark Zylka.