A pruning protein reshapes neurons, culture should be a consideration in trials of autism treatments, and another U.S. state adds autism to the list of indications for medical cannabis.

Some genes linked to autism regulate the production of proteins at neuronal junctions, suggesting that disrupted protein synthesis contributes to the condition.

A new study ties autism risk to a core team of proteins that facilitate neuronal signaling as an animal learns.

An autism-linked mutation in the SHANK3 gene alters the protein skeleton of mouse neurons. Repairing the scaffold eases the animals’ social deficits.

Researchers have for the first time isolated and characterized protein complexes found at the points of connection between neurons. Mutations in some of these proteins are linked to autism.

People with autism tend to carry mutations that duplicate or delete several genes at once, according to a large study published 1 May in the American Journal of Human Genetics.

Researchers have charted patterns of gene expression in a three-dimensional representation of the human brain. The results, published 20 September in Nature, show that different brain regions have distinct molecular and functional roles.

Mutations in two genes linked to autism, neurexin and neuroligin, slow down neuronal signaling, according to research published 2 August in Science. Analyzing the mutations in the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans, the study found that mutations in these genes affect signaling in the opposite direction than is typical.

Neurobeachin, or NBEA, an autism–associated gene, may regulate the transport of signaling molecules to neuronal branches, according to a study published 22 November in Nature Communications.

Three mutations in SHANK2, an autism-associated gene, each lead to abnormal synapses, the junctions between neurons, according to a study in Human Molecular Genetics.