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

Nearly 40 percent of people with Down syndrome also meet the criteria for an autism spectrum disorder, suggests a U.K. study of nearly 500 children, published in Autism Research.

The protein missing in fragile X syndrome is necessary for mice to respond to the stimulant cocaine, according to a study published 7 May in Neuron.

A single dose of a drug used to treat African sleeping sickness temporarily improves symptoms of autism in a mouse model, according to a study published last week in Translational Psychiatry.

The severity of core autism symptoms in young children goes hand in hand with the degree of the children’s difficulty with motor tasks.
 

Two new rat models of autism don’t roughhouse like normal rats do, and show some compulsive behaviors, according to a study published in April in Behavioral Neuroscience. The models underscore the advantage rats have over mice in modeling complex social behaviors. 

Inducing seizures in young mice leads to autism-like social behavior, as well as problems with learning and memory, according to a paper published 29 March in Experimental Neurology.