Researchers have linked the ability to recognize emotions from facial expressions to MET, a well-known autism gene, according to a study published 27 April in PLoS ONE.

Analyzing how mutations in people with autism affect gene expression in blood-derived cells could help researchers pinpoint harmful mutations, according to research published 21 July in The American Journal of Human Genetics.

Researchers have released the first set of data from the Mouse Brain Architecture Project, which uses light microscopy to trace neuronal circuits in the mouse brain.

FMRP, the protein missing in people with fragile X syndrome, localizes in clusters of proteins at neuronal junctions that relay sensory and motor information, according to a study published 23 April in The Journal of Comparative Neurology.

Mice lacking a functional copy of UBE3A, the gene missing or mutated in people with the rare developmental disorder Angelman syndrome, show less inhibitory activity than controls do, according to research published 7 June in Neuron.

Deletions in the second half of the autism-linked gene neurexin-1 are associated with seizures and large head size, according to a study published 23 May in the European Journal of Human Genetics.

We can’t get back the tissue lost in the Harvard freezer malfunction, but we can try to create something positive from this tragic event, says Alison Singer.

Two new strains of mice carrying different mutations in the SHANK2 gene show similar autism-like behaviors but opposing effects on brain signaling, according to two independent studies published 14 June in Nature.

Amyloid-beta, the small protein that forms plaques in the brains of people with Alzheimer’s disease, is more prevalent in postmortem brains from individuals with autism than in those from controls, according to a study published 2 May in PLoS One.

A new approach allows researchers to visualize individual neurons in the small, clear brains of larval zebrafish as they interact with their surroundings, according to a study published 9 May in Nature.