The Brain

The mutation that causes Angelman syndrome makes neurons hyperexcitable, which may explain the frequent seizures that most people with the syndrome have.

Electronic neurons made from silicon mimic brain cells and could be used to treat conditions such as autism.

An immune molecule produced during a fever improves sociability in three mouse models of autism.

A magnetic scanner fitted within an ordinary bicycle helmet may make it easier to visualize autistic children’s brains.

A shortage of CUL3, a leading autism gene, may impair social behavior in mice by ramping up protein production in neurons.

People with mutations in CHD8, a top autism gene, tend to be tall and have large heads.

The drug popularly known as ecstasy may boost sociability through brain circuits distinct from that underlying its ‘high.’