News & Opinion

The number of autism research studies in the U.K. has doubled in the past decade, but the country still lags behind the U.S. in the amount of funding and the diversity of its projects, according to a report released today at the House of Lords.

A mild form of the fragile X mutation produces an unusual protein that may trigger fragile X-associated tremor/ataxia syndrome, a neurodegenerative disorder, according to a study published 8 May in Neuron.

Studying regression in Rett syndrome may help us understand the phenomenon in autism, as it occurs at the same time in both disorders and includes many of the same features, says Jeffrey Neul.

The mutation that causes tuberous sclerosis complex, an autism-related disorder, may disable calming signals in the brain, leading to hyperactive neurons, according to a study published 8 May in Neuron.

The more researchers poke around, the more likely they are to find a significant effect — and the more likely that the effect they end up reporting is just a fluke. A new kind of journal article, the 'registered report,' may address this problem, says Jon Brock.