Uneven wiring in the brain’s motor circuitry predicts movement difficulties in children with autism, according to unpublished research presented yesterday at the 2015 International Meeting for Autism Research in Salt Lake City, Utah. The study found that children with severe movement problems show unusually strong connections in motor circuits within the cerebral cortex in the right...

The hormone oxytocin is proceeding into clinical trials for people with Phelan-McDermid syndrome, researchers revealed yesterday at the 2015 International Meeting for Autism Research (IMFAR) in Salt Lake City, Utah. The news comes exactly one year after oxytocin, which is involved in pair-bonding and trust, was shown to ease social deficits in a rat model of the autism-linked disorder. “The...