Infection with group B streptococcus bacteria in pregnant rats triggers brain abnormalities and autism-like behaviors in their pups — especially in males. Researchers presented the unpublished results today at the 2014 Society for Neuroscience annual meeting in Washington, D.C.

Valproic acid, an epilepsy drug that increases the risk of autism, may alter neural circuits by opening up chromatin, a tightly packaged form of DNA in the nucleus. Researchers presented the unpublished data today at the 2014 Society for Neuroscience annual meeting in Washington, D.C.

Some cases of autism may result from glitches in immune cells in the blood: This provocative idea stems from a series of unpublished mouse studies presented yesterday at the 2014 Society for Neuroscience annual meeting in Washington, D.C.

Monkeys exposed in utero to their mother’s immune response to a mock infection show inflammation in their brains four years later. Researchers presented the unpublished work today at the 2014 Society for Neuroscience annual meeting in Washington, D.C.

Children born too soon or too long after their siblings have an increased risk of autism, a new study reports.

Children later diagnosed with autism understand different types of words at 12 months of age than their typically developing peers, according to unpublished research presented Tuesday at the Autism Consortium Research Symposium in Boston.

Mice with an extra copy of the autism-linked gene UBE3A show abnormal social behavior after experiencing recurrent seizures. The findings, presented Tuesday at the Autism Consortium Research Symposium in Boston, provide one possible explanation for why seizures and autism often go hand in hand.

Restricted behaviors in autism represent a genetic link with inattention and hyperactivity in attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, say Tinca Polderman and Henrik Larsson.

Having an infection during pregnancy significantly raises the risk of having a child with autism, finds the largest epidemiological study to date to examine the link.

It’s been 15 years since researchers published an epidemiological study with results so striking they sparked worldwide changes in food fortification. Geneticist Joseph Cubells is revisiting the results to determine whether folate decreases autism risk.