A technique for detecting gene expression that detects short RNA messages is better suited than traditional methods for analyzing postmortem brain tissue, according to a study published 10 September in BMC Genomics.

Postmortem brains from adults with autism have lower-than-normal levels of the fragile X mental retardation protein, which is missing in individuals with fragile X syndrome.

A well-studied mouse model of autism has a smaller-than-normal volume in several autism-associated brain regions.

A five-minute online questionnaire can diagnose autism with as much accuracy as the so-called gold standard diagnostic tests, according to unpublished findings presented Tuesday at the Autism Consortium 2011 symposium in Boston.

A massive association study links five new genetic regions to schizophrenia and implicates MIR137, a regulatory RNA that plays a role in neuron development, in the disorder.

In families that have more than one child with autism, the middle children, particularly those born second, have a higher risk of developing autism than other children in the family, according to a study published 19 October in PLoS One. In families that have only one child with autism, however, risk of the disorder rises with each additional birth, the study found.

A new study describes a mutant mouse that, despite missing an autism-linked gene, doesn’t show any autism-like behaviors.

An autism-linked protein helps wire neurons together, according to two studies published in late September.

Boys with autism have a distinct facial structure that differs from that of typically developing controls, according to a study published 14 October in Molecular Autism.

Stem cells reprogrammed to become neurons can provide a picture of gene expression in neurons that is traditionally available only from brain tissue.