Adult mice lacking the autism-linked gene SHANK2 emit fewer cries and do so at a lower pitch compared with controls, according to a study published 28 August in Behavioral Brain Research.
Many people diagnosed with a set of rare disorders called RASopathies also have autism, but those symptoms often go untreated.
Children with poor vision or a hearing loss are more likely to be diagnosed with autism than are those in the general population, reports a large epidemiological study published in October.
Rodent models that recapitulate the core features of autism often have additional traits, leading us to ask whether these traits are integral to autism, says Elisa Hill-Yardin.
Triggering immune defenses in pregnant monkeys can lead to repetitive behaviors and social problems in their babies, according to a study published 4 September in Biological Psychiatry.
Researchers have developed a new test that reveals complex repetitive behaviors in BTBR mice, a mouse strain with features resembling those of autism, according to a study published 27 August in the Journal of Neuroscience Methods.
Despite a sizable overlap in symptoms and medications, autism, bipolar disorder and schizophrenia each has a defining signature. The findings are based on an analysis of electronic medical records from California hospitals, published 16 August.
The most popular drugs prescribed for autism in some countries often have serious side effects or have not been vetted in robust clinical trials, finds a study published 5 September in Psychopharmacology.
Mutating MeCP2, the gene linked to Rett syndrome, in zebrafish allows researchers to investigate the disorder early in development, according to a study published 16 July in Frontiers in Neural Circuits.
Children with autism struggle to understand their own card-game strategies, suggesting that they learn differently than controls do, reports a study published 24 July in Autism Research.