As the use of induced pluripotent stem cells grows, researchers are searching for ways to make them behave more predictably. 

Multiple levels of complexity make it challenging to develop drugs to treat autism.

Individuals with autism are more likely than controls to have small, rare duplications or deletions of stretches of DNA in genes that play a role in dampening signals in the brain, according to a study published 2 April in Molecular Autism.

Social impairments in autism are likely a consequence of deficits in social motivation that start early in life and have profound developmental consequences, says psychologist Robert Schultz.

Autism and antisocial disorder are separate conditions, with distinct differences in underlying brain structure, according to a neuroimaging study of the general population. The results were published 4 April in The Journal of Neuroscience.

A promising approach to treating fragile X syndrome could benefit people even after the critical window of early brain development, and alleviate core symptoms of autism, according to two studies published this month.

Two studies report abnormalities in the system that mediates the body’s response to stress in two mouse models of autism-related diseases: Angelman syndrome and Rett syndrome. The results were published in the April issue of Human Molecular Genetics.

Researchers are developing a resource that will allow scientists to engineer mice lacking one of 162 microRNAs — non-coding regions of the genome that regulate gene expression. The results were published 19 April in Cell Reports.

Individuals with autism may belong to one of four groups with discrete sets of symptoms, the most distinct of which includes immune system abnormalities accompanied by sleep problems and sensory sensitivity. The results were published in the April issue of Autism Research.

Postmortem brain tissue from people with autism shows differences in the expression of genes involved in a number of molecular pathways, including those that control cortical patterning, programmed cell death and differentiation, according to research published last month in PLoS Genetics.