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

The brain’s immune cells, called microglia, function differently in male and female rodents. In people, a similar phenomenon may make male brains more vulnerable to autism.

How many cell types does the brain contain? Two new mouse studies bring scientists closer to the answer.

Microglia come into frequent contact with synapses, the connections between neurons, but they appear to nibble on them rather than engulf and digest them.

Women describe relief at finally learning they have autism, a man with epilepsy narrates during stimulation of his brain, and the brain’s immune cells are caught on film nibbling at neuronal connections.

Autism parents fall for the marketing of essential oils, the pruning hypothesis of brain development matures, and an online manual classifies mouse behavior.

Gene expression patterns in the brains of people with autism are similar to those of people who have schizophrenia or bipolar disorder.

Researchers have mapped how immune cells in the brain called microglia change with age in mice.

Mouse pups exposed to an immune response in the womb show autism-like behaviors and altered gene expression in brain cells called microglia.

Immune cells in the brain called microglia play diverse roles in the mouse embryo but assume a common function by adolescence.