After a brain transplant of reprogrammed human cells, the animals can for the first time recapitulate some neuronal changes seen in people with fragile X syndrome.

The technique involves editing the cellular instructions to make MECP2 protein and partially restores its levels in the brainstem.

A 341-repeat mutation from a person with fragile X does not lead to the syndrome’s traits or function the same way in mice, highlighting a need for different animal models.

The brains of mice carrying different mutations in the autism-linked gene TBR1 display different molecular changes yet similar structural changes, resembling those previously found in autistic people with TBR1 mutations.

Sleep disruption early in life has long-lasting consequences for mice missing a copy of the autism-linked gene SHANK3.

Mice with a mutated copy of SHANK3 fail to establish normal sleep patterns during development.

This week, we’re bringing you some labors of love: a thread lamenting the autism field’s focus on gene lists, a study introducing genetic diversity in mouse models, and long-awaited results from a biomarker study.

A researcher’s existential crisis led to a scientific breakthrough.

People’s brains have a larger network of inhibitory interneurons than mouse brains do, according to a new study. Changes to that network could contribute to autism or other conditions, says lead investigator Moritz Helmstaedter.

By breaking rodent vocalizations into parts, TrackUSF distinguishes rats with mutations in the SHANK3 gene from their wildtype counterparts.