Mouse brains exposed to inflammation in the womb become more susceptible to a second challenge.

Maternal immune activation — caused by infection or even psychological stress during pregnancy — is a strong risk factor for neurological conditions such as autism.

The combination of prenatal stress and a preterm labor drug may elicit seizures and autism-like behaviors in rat pups.

The pups of male mice exposed to stress show a muted response to stressful situations of their own, suggesting that environmental effects can last generations.

Older women and men are at high risk of having a child with autism — and so are teenage girls and parents whose age differs by at least a decade, according to a multinational study of more than 5 million children.

Guinea pigs have advantages over other rodent species commonly used to model disorders such as autism, according to preliminary research published Tuesday at the Society for Neuroscience annual meeting in San Diego.