Autistic people and their families are increasingly experimenting with marijuana to try to ease problems such as insomnia, epilepsy and chronic pain — and traits of autism. But there is little evidence for its safety or effectiveness.

A new method that suppresses gene expression in the embryos of fish and mice may help researchers study autism genes in early development.

Mice missing the autism gene NLGN3 have altered social behaviors and brain responses to the hormone oxytocin, both of which improve after treatment with a drug that helps regulate protein production.

An experimental drug silences a DNA segment and seems to prevent seizures and death in a condition related to autism.

About 6.5 percent of autistic people in the United States also have dyslipidemia, a condition characterized by abnormal lipids levels in the blood.

Doctors and scientists should consider sleep problems an integral part of autism and begin to study them in more rigorous ways.

A new wireless device switches oxytocin-producing neurons on and off in mice as they interact, showing the hormone’s effects depend on social context.

A new treatment prevents seizures and improves memory in a mouse model of fragile X syndrome, according to a new study.

Dampening overactive brain circuits alleviates social and memory problems in a mouse model of 22q11.2 deletion syndrome.

Mutations in both copies of a gene called ACTL6B lead to autism, epilepsy and intellectual disability.