Model fish seem to spend more time swimming solo than wildtype zebrafish do, and neurochemicals in their brains respond differently to social interactions.

Intranasal oxytocin may spur new neuron growth and changes in social behavior after a few weeks.

Two types of neurons process social information, a new mouse study suggests, but only one is disrupted in mice missing the autism-linked gene FMR1.

Mice missing the autism gene NLGN3 have altered social behaviors and brain responses to the hormone oxytocin, both of which improve after treatment with a drug that helps regulate protein production.

Like so many other events this year, autism’s biggest annual conference — the International Society for Autism Research meeting — was forced to go virtual because of the coronavirus pandemic.

A new wireless device switches oxytocin-producing neurons on and off in mice as they interact, showing the hormone’s effects depend on social context.

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

The ability to learn from social experiences wanes by adulthood, at least in mice — but the recreational drug ecstasy may bring it back.

Consuming Lactobacillus reuteri, a gut microbe found in yogurt and breast milk, may enhance social interactions in three mouse models of autism.

Boosting the levels of the chemical messenger serotonin makes mice that model autism more social — and brings new hope to a shelved theory in autism.