Loss of one copy of the autism-linked gene PTEN in mouse neurons boosts production of a certain ion channel, and decreases the neurons’ firing rate, according to a study published 21 October in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Mutations in the autism-linked protein NHE6 may block the development of neuronal junctions by interfering with a growth factor called BDNF, according to a study published 2 October in Neuron.

A new online database lists the likely RNA-binding sites of more than 8,000 proteins from 289 species. Researchers debuted the resource in the 11 July issue of Nature.

A number of autism risk factors converge on one cellular pathway: abnormal remodeling of the cell’s structural systems through the signaling protein Rho, says SFARI’s associate director for research, Alan Packer.

Neurons from people with Timothy syndrome, and from mouse and rat models of the disorder, have defects in the growth of their branches, according to a study published 13 January in Nature Neuroscience.

Using a sensitive new imaging molecule, researchers can watch neurons in the larval zebrafish brain spring into action when the fish sees a potential meal, according to a study published 29 January in Current Biology.

A boy with autism lacks one copy of SHANK2 and has a duplication of CHRNA7, two genes that have been linked together to autism risk, according to a case study published 25 January in Clinical Genetics.

Bumetanide, a drug that’s long been used to treat high blood pressure, modestly improves social behaviors in children with mild forms of autism, according to the results of a small trial published in December in Translational Psychiatry.

Researchers have made neurons from the skin cells of mice that model Rett syndrome, according to a study published in the December issue Molecular Psychiatry.

Mitochondrial deficits may account for the range of symptoms and neurological deficits seen in autism and explain why it preferentially affects boys, says Douglas Wallace.