Individuals with an extra copy of MeCP2, the gene mutated in Rett syndrome, have severe developmental delay accompanied by seizures, respiratory infections, poor motor skills and features of autism, according to two new case studies.

The amygdala, an almond-shaped nub of brain tissue that processes emotions, has specialized neurons that respond to facial expressions and eye contact, according to unpublished work presented Monday at the 2012 Society for Neuroscience annual meeting in New Orleans.

An in-depth analysis of tissue from a large number of autism brains eases some of the qualms about their use in research, according to a poster presented Monday at the 2012 Society for Neuroscience annual meeting in New Orleans.

Two well-known mouse models of autism show abnormal reactions to an eye-blinking test that relies on the cerebellum, a brain region that helps integrate sensory information and plan movements. The unpublished results were presented in a poster Monday at the 2012 Society for Neuroscience annual meeting in New Orleans.

Rapid progress in gene discovery and an emerging map of the molecular landscape of normal brain development are presenting unprecedented opportunities to unravel the biology of autism spectrum disorders, say Matthew State and Nenad Sestan.

People with a certain variant in RBFOX1, a gene linked to autism risk, have a smaller temporal lobe than those with other variants, according to research presented Monday at the 2012 Society for Neuroscience annual meeting in New Orleans.

Some song-related areas in the zebra finch brain and language areas in the human brain show strikingly similar patterns of gene expression, according to unpublished research presented Sunday at the Society for Neuroscience annual meeting in New Orleans.

An analysis of the expression patterns of 26 autism candidate genes identifies 4 whose expression coincides in a part of the cerebellum, according to research presented at the 2012 Society for Neuroscience annual meeting in New Orleans.

One of the challenges for brain imaging is generating data from enough people to draw conclusions about the subtle features of a disorder. In a video interview at the 2012 Society for Neuroscience annual meeting, Randy Buckner shared images made by combining the brain activity of 1,000 individuals.

A drug that mimics the neurotransmitter acetylcholine relieves repetitive behaviors in a mouse model of autism, according to a poster presented Monday at the Society for Neuroscience annual meeting in New Orleans.