News

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 brains of people with autism are structurally different from those of controls, with more folds and a thicker cortex in certain regions, according to two studies published in the past few months.

New techniques to scan the brain can produce exquisitely detailed views of white matter, which contains the long cellular fibers that connect neurons. Many of the advances are emerging from the Human Connectome Project, a five-year push to map the brain’s wiring.

RORA, an autism candidate gene, encodes a protein that binds more than 2,500 other genes and alters the expression of some of those genes, according to a study published 22 May in Molecular Autism.

Deleting both copies of a gene linked to tuberous sclerosis complex, an autism-related disorder, in only a subset of brain cells recapitulates many of the disorder’s symptoms in mice, according to a study published 9 May in Neuron.