The Brain

A new viral tool can selectively control different types of neurons that dampen brain activity in rodents, monkeys and people.

Conversations between an autistic and a typical person involve less smiling and more mismatched facial expressions than do interactions between two typical people.

Mutations in the MECP2 gene, which are associated with autism and Rett syndrome, interfere with a cell’s ability to form droplets of DNA that silence gene expression.

A new study pinpoints the genes and cell types that may underlie the atypical brain structure seen in people with genetic conditions linked to autism.

The brainstem controls such disparate functions as breathing, sensation and sleep — all of which can be altered in autism.

A growing number of studies are revealing circuits that may underlie social challenges in autism — and how to fine-tune them.

Most people with autism have motor difficulties, ranging from an atypical gait to problems with handwriting, but researchers still have much to learn about their causes and consequences.

About 6.5 percent of autistic people in the United States also have dyslipidemia, a condition characterized by abnormal lipids levels in the blood.

A new atlas lays bare how synapses, or the junctions between neurons, change from birth to old age in mice.