Researchers have engineered two new rats with mutations in a family of genes that function at neuronal junctions, they reported today at the 2014 International Meeting for Autism Research in Atlanta.

Researchers are grappling with the complexities of transforming oxytocin into a drug for use in the clinic.

The brain’s memory center, the hippocampus, may provide clues to features of autism as disparate as personal relationships and decision-making.

A single species of bacteria reverses autism-like features in mice exposed to a high-fat diet in utero — but researchers question the findings’ relevance to people.

Headlines about “autistic monkeys” are missing the point, prairie voles show empathy, and dogs could offer clues to psychiatric conditions in people.

Inhaling puffs of the hormone oxytocin modestly improves social behaviors, the first trial of the hormone in children with autism has found.

Prairie vole pups exposed to the antidepressant fluoxetine in the womb show autism-like behaviors and lose some receptors for oxytocin and vasopressin.

The environment’s influence on gene expression can vary by sex and affect autism’s expression.

Contrary to its reputation, oxytocin may make monkeys less interested in others’ actions and more focused on their own.

Children with autism who have low vasopressin levels struggle to understand the thoughts of others.