Adults with high-functioning autism excel at learning visual patterns, according to research published 25 August in Neuropsychology. The findings contrast with a report earlier this year that children with the disorder struggle with visual learning.

As the number of autism rodent models climbs, it is a good time for the field to step back and consider the best practices for assessing autism-like symptoms in rodents, says Jacqueline Crawley.

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 new questionnaire may help assess sensory problems — such as heightened awareness of bright colors or loud noises — in adults with autism.

Some children with autism have trouble learning visual patterns, and others employ a distinctive brain process to do so, suggests a study published 13 May in Developmental Science.

A Swedish twin study plans to search for the shared genetic and environmental origins of autism and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, which are often mistaken for each other.

The common belief that people with autism look at people’s mouths instead of their eyes is inaccurate and has little evidence, say Nouchine Hadjikhani and Quentin Guillon.
 

Proteins that help guide neurons to their correct destination in the brain may be involved in autism, says Christopher Cowan.

Children with autism can be classified into one of four groups based on how they respond to stimuli such as taste, sound and even the orientations of their bodies in space, according to a study published 17 March in Autism Research.

A small study published 3 April in Molecular Autism has found that 98 percent of mothers of children with autism have unusual responses to sensory stimuli, including light, sound and touch.