The Brain

Stimulating the vagus nerve may normalize the brain response to sound in a rat model of Rett syndrome. It may also improve rats’ behavioral response to certain speech sounds.

A tiny fraction of the connections between brain regions can identify an individual.

A small number of autism genes are located in fragile regions of the genome — those prone to breaking when cells copy DNA.

Chronic exposure to inflammation in the womb alters autism gene expression and disrupts social behavior in male mice, but not females.

Mice lacking one copy of a leading autism gene have hyperexcitable brains and problems with learning and memory.

Babies eventually diagnosed with autism learn to detect speech sounds later than their typical peers do.

Brain activity governing language can distinguish children with autism into distinct subgroups.

Balls of human neurons transplanted into a rat brain receive blood supply and connect with neural circuits.

Applying sound waves to a mouse’s brain provides a safe way to push molecular probes into the brain to manipulate activity there.

Analyzing large numbers of autism mice, researchers have found that the mice cluster into subtypes based on brain structure and functional connectivity.