Mice missing the FMR1 gene only in star-shaped brain cells called astrocytes recapitulate key features of fragile X syndrome. Researchers presented the unpublished results today at the 2014 Society for Neuroscience annual meeting in Washington, D.C.

Many of the genes that have emerged as the strongest autism candidates have turned out to regulate the expression of hundreds, if not thousands, of other genes. Within these networks, scientists are homing in on pathways that underlie autism.

A brain imaging study of 26 mouse models of autism reveals a broad range of structural abnormalities. The models cluster into groups with similar features, reports a study published 9 September in Molecular Psychiatry.

A new algorithm accurately detects large DNA insertions and deletions in the protein-coding regions of the genome.

The protein missing in fragile X syndrome is necessary for mice to respond to the stimulant cocaine, according to a study published 7 May in Neuron.

A repeated sequence within the gene mutated in fragile X syndrome forms unusual loops of genetic material, reports a study published 17 April in PLoS Genetics. The loops may trigger a cascade of genetic changes that push a precursor mutation into one that causes the disorder.

Two new rat models of autism don’t roughhouse like normal rats do, and show some compulsive behaviors, according to a study published in April in Behavioral Neuroscience. The models underscore the advantage rats have over mice in modeling complex social behaviors. 

The symptom severity of three girls with fragile X syndrome tracks with how much the levels of the fragile X protein in their blood differs from that of their unaffected mothers. If the results, published 29 January in Molecular Syndromology, are confirmed in a larger study, they may help doctors predict how the disorder will manifest in girls.

Proteins that help guide neurons to their correct destination in the brain may be involved in autism, says Christopher Cowan.

FMRP, the protein absent or mutated in fragile X syndrome, aids in strategic elimination of neuronal connections during brain development in mice, according to a study published 26 February in The Journal of Neuroscience.