Like so many other events this year, autism’s biggest annual conference — the International Society for Autism Research meeting — was forced to go virtual because of the coronavirus pandemic.

The autism gene SHANK3 is crucial for the development and function of muscles and the motor neurons that control them.

Correcting an autism gene mutation in fetal mice lessens some autism-like behaviors after birth.

The mood-stabilizing drug lithium seems to ease repetitive behaviors seen in mice missing SHANK3, an autism gene.

Mice missing an autism gene called SHANK3 tend to be hypersensitive to touch, which may stem from underactivity of neurons that normally dampen sensory responses.

Lowering the levels of a protein called tau, best known for its involvement in Alzheimer’s disease, improves behavior in two mouse models of autism.

Associated primarily with its role in movement, the striatum may also influence the social difficulties of autistic people.

Mouse models of two genetic conditions related to autism show abnormalities in their movement patterns.

Loss of certain neurons on one side of the brain may explain why some autistic people are hypersensitive to touch.