The ‘intense world theory’ of autism, which has attracted much interest from the popular press, has received very little academic scrutiny. Uta Frith and Anna Remington ask: Is it as positive as it purports to be, and what does it mean for autism?

Researchers have developed a system that allows them to record the activity of neurons from as many as 20 worm embryos at once, they reported 5 November in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

The motor problems seen in Rett syndrome may be the result of deficits in a reward pathway in the striatum, according to a study published 12 November in Brain Structure and Function. 

Studies at the level of neural circuits are needed to better understand the importance of both increased and decreased connectivity between different regions in the autism brain, say John Rubenstein and Vikaas Sohal.

Emerging findings in children with autism are showing both hyperconnectivity and underconnectivity in different regions and circuits throughout the brain.

A new technique allows researchers to track the movement of a molecule along a single neuron’s projections. The technique, adapted for zebrafish, was presented Monday at the 2013 Society for Neuroscience annual meeting in San Diego.

An eye test that reveals defects in the cerebellum — a brain region that integrates sensory information to fine-tune movement — may help researchers home in on the brain circuits disrupted in autism, according to unpublished findings presented Monday at the 2013 Society for Neuroscience annual meeting in San Diego.

Boys with tuberous sclerosis complex, an autism-related disorder, have more disorganized nerve fibers in some regions of the brain than do girls with the disorder, according to unpublished work presented Sunday at the 2013 Society for Neuroscience annual meeting in San Diego.

Regions of the brain that process vision and control movements are poorly connected in children with autism, according to results presented Saturday at the 2013 Society for Neuroscience annual meeting in San Diego.

Just as search engines comb through the vast expanse of the Internet for information, several online resources are helping scientists browse massive collections of data on the brain. Researchers showcased several of these resources Saturday afternoon at the 2013 Society for Neuroscience annual meeting in San Diego.