Mutant mice with autism-like behaviors have fewer behavioral impairments when provided with toys, exercise wheels and contact with other mice, than do those that live in typical laboratory cages, according to a study published 5 April in Human Molecular Genetics. 

By manipulating the location of a protein that detects capsaicin, the molecule responsible for the burn in hot chili peppers, researchers can activate subpopulations of neurons and alter the behavior of mice. The results were published 20 March in Nature Communications.

Researchers have used gene expression data to create a map of the layers within the neocortex, a brain region involved in sensory perception, motor control and language, of rhesus macaques. The results were published 22 March in Neuron.

Mice with an extra copy of MeCP2, the Rett syndrome gene, have impaired signaling between neurons in the hippocampus, a brain region that plays an important role in memory, according to a study published 29 February in The Journal of Neuroscience.

Warning signs of autism, such as deficits in social ability and fine motor skills, are apparent as early as 6 months of age, according to a large longitudinal study published in the March issue of the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.

Mice with mutations in a gene tied to language impairment and to autism have trouble learning to associate sounds with motor patterns, says a study published last week in PLoS ONE.

Adults with autism have regional differences in brain volume in areas that play a role in social behavior and communication compared with controls, according to a large study published in the February issue of Archives of General Psychiatry. The differences correlate with the severity of autism symptoms, the study also shows.

Mutations in more than 100 autism-associated genes lead to shared neurobiological deficits in mice, including alterations in the shape of their brains and changes to the electrical properties of neurons, according to a study published 20 February in Molecular Autism.

Engineers have debuted several new robots to help children with autism, including a boy that can sense when it’s touched, a female head that expresses a wide range of emotions and a low-cost fuzzy penguin that can track a child’s eye movements.

Two genes may be responsible for autism symptoms in mice with extra copies of the Rett syndrome gene, according to a study published 8 January in Nature Genetics.