This month’s newsletter explores the pandemic’s effects on autism rates, trends in co-occurring mental health conditions, and the impact of intranasal oxytocin.

The long-standing link between maternal infection during pregnancy and having a child with autism may reflect common genetic or environmental factors instead.

Prenatal exposure to topiramate increases a child’s autism odds, according to the study that prompted the inquiry, but experts caution that pregnant people with epilepsy have few other options for controlling seizures.

When Van de Water isn’t busy mentoring “the next generation of scientists” in her lab, she finds time to paint, watch HGTV and hang out with her horse, Hank.

Women who carry genetic variants tied to autism have an elevated chance of experiencing pregnancy-related events linked to the condition in their children.

In this edition, a diagnostic measure shows no significant differences between sexes, and a survey confirms increased gender diversity among children with autism.

The temporary organ may hold clues about the origins of autism and brain development, Anna Penn says — if only researchers would study it.

The gene, dubbed NHIP, is in a chromosomal region that shows unusually low levels of DNA methylation in placentas from women who gave birth to autistic children.

Inspired by watching her autistic nephew grow up, Croen has also been an advocate for bolstering research and services for autistic adults.

Given the known link between severe maternal infections and autism, some scientists are investigating whether COVID-19 during pregnancy can affect a child’s neurodevelopment.