An autism-linked protein helps wire neurons together, according to two studies published in late September.

A gene that changed rapidly after the human genome diverged from that of Neanderthals plays a critical role in brain development, according to unpublished results presented Thursday at the International Congress of Human Genetics in Montreal, Canada.

Duplications and deletions of genetic regions linked to autism are rare in individuals referred for genetic testing, but occur at a higher rate than in the general population.

Mice lacking the autism-linked gene CNTNAP2 show many of the behaviors associated with the disorder, and exhibit brain circuit disruptions similar to those seen in people who carry mutations in the gene.

Two new studies suggest that people with autism don’t all have trouble detecting the motion of people and animals. What they do struggle with is picking up social information from bodies in motion.

Researchers have optimized an early social screening questionnaire to distinguish autism from other developmental disabilities in preschool-aged children.

The largest and most ambitious genome-sequencing project to date aims to identify rare variants and study their association to disease traits in 10,000 people.

Nothing is known about how the brain changes in aging individuals with autism, according to a review published online 24 August in Gerontology. Nor do researchers know whether the core symptoms of the disorder improve, worsen or remain unchanged with age.

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.

Contrary to popular assumption, people diagnosed with so-called mild forms of autism don’t fare any better in life than those with severe forms of the disorder. That’s the conclusion of a new study that suggests that even individuals with normal intelligence and language abilities struggle to fit into society because of their social and communication problems.