But multiple independent researchers say they are not convinced by its results, which fail to confirm high-profile findings from 2017.

The gene-editing advances make it easier to target specific tissues in mice and detect off-target effects.

A shift in astrocyte secretions may explain the atypical firing patterns of neurons derived from people with fragile X syndrome.

Spectrum caught up with the University of California, Davis professor about her passion for volunteering in underserved schools, birding and fossil-hunting.

Brain cell clusters serve as drug screens and reveal connectivity differences for autism-linked conditions, two new models show.

Data from two separate research teams suggest the cells are key to sensory hypersensitivity in fragile X syndrome.

Non-neuronal brain cells called astrocytes secrete proteins that seem to hamper the growth of neurons in people with autism-related syndromes. These proteins could be new drug targets, Allen says.

Long cast in supporting roles in the brain, astrocytes are now emerging as primary players in certain characteristics of autism and related conditions.

Many genes linked to autism are switched on in the brain’s glia, cells that help neurons develop and synapses form.

A MECP2 gene therapy for Rett syndrome eases repetitive behaviors, anxiety and hyperactivity in a mouse model of Pitt-Hopkins syndrome.