Accounting for gender increases the power of family-wide studies linking genetic mutations with autism, according to a study published in December in Molecular Psychiatry. The researchers use this approach to identify two candidate genes for the disorder.

Ricardo Dolmetsch is making neurons from induced pluripotent stem cells derived from people with Timothy syndrome, a rare single-gene disorder that causes heart arrhythmias and autism. On Wednesday morning at the Society for Neuroscience annual meeting in San Diego, Dolmetsch talked to SFARI about how this approach could help autism research.

Researchers have designed an automated cage assay to minimize the anxiety mice feel as they are being tested for social behavior. The new technique was presented at the Society for Neuroscience annual meeting in San Diego.

Mice bearing the genetic defect that causes Timothy syndrome show many autism-like behaviors, and may also have enhanced cognitive abilities like those seen in a small number of people with autism, suggests a poster presented Sunday at the Society for Neuroscience annual meeting in San Diego.

Stem cell studies show that a mutation in the neuroligin-4 gene disrupts the normal development of synapses, the junction between neurons, according to unpublished data shown Sunday at the Society for Neuroscience annual meeting in San Diego.

A common variant of a gene called CACNA1G — which makes a channel that helps regulate calcium flow between cells — may increase the risk of developing autism, according to research published in Molecular Psychiatry.

A team of scientists is reprogramming adult stem cells generated from tiny skin samples of people with autism to form nerve cells, creating a powerful research tool for the disorder.