The Brain

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

New open-source software helps scientists pinpoint where electrical signals are produced in the brain.

An unprecedented look at gene expression in tens of thousands of brain cells from autistic people suggests important roles in the condition for a neuronal subtype and for microglia.

Mice lacking one copy of a gene linked to autism are small and show striking changes in the number and quality of their cries.

A pregnant mouse’s response to infection alters the immune cells in her pups’ brains, and this may contribute to their autism-like behaviors.

Girls and boys with autism show different patterns of brain activity in response to sensory stimuli.

In mice exposed to maternal inflammation in the womb, a key chemical messenger never makes the switch from exciting brain signals to inhibiting them.

Rats exposed prenatally to a cocktail of ‘autoimmune’ molecules have altered levels of two types of compounds needed for brain development.

People with autism have more gray matter — or neuronal matter — in their brains overall than their typical peers do.

A top autism gene called SCN2A plays a role at neuronal connections into adulthood, offering hope for treating mutations after infancy.