Mice modeling autism have trouble integrating different kinds of sensory information such as sight, sound and touch. A study published 31 July in Neuron reports that an imbalance between signals that calm neurons and those that excite them leads to these sensory problems.

A “beautiful” new study traces a complex repetitive behavior in a mouse model of autism to a subset of neurons in one brain region.

A new method for turning brains transparent and scanning them will make it easier to map neuronal circuits, according to a paper published 24 April in Cell.

Triggering neuron activity with flashes of light allows scientists to tie behaviors in fruit fly larvae to specific neuron groups, reports a study published 25 April in Science. The study catalogs the associations between neurons and the movements they control.

People with autism show diminished language activity in the left halves of their brains but otherwise show typical specialization between hemispheres, according to a study published 6 February in Molecular Autism.

The ‘rich club,’ a higher-order brain network, is anatomically similar but functionally richer in adults compared with children, according to a study published 5 February in PLoS One.

Using newly discovered molecules from algae, researchers can control the activity of two families of neurons in a single mouse or fly, they reported 9 February in Nature Methods.

What evidence supports the idea that autism stems from overactive brain responses to sensory input? Researchers weigh in on this controversial theory.

The blood pressure drug bumetanide normalizes a deficit in brain activity in two rodent models of autism, according to a study published last week in Science. The study hints at a mechanism underlying the drug’s benefits for people with autism.

Rapamycin, a drug given to suppress immune rejection after transplants, improves social behavior in mice with features of autism, reports a study published in the January issue of Brain Research Bulletin.