Autism News

October 2, 2025

Top Headlines

Junk Food Can Scramble Memory in Just 4 Days

Sep. 29, 2025 — Scientists discovered that high-fat junk food disrupts memory circuits in the brain almost immediately. Within just four days, neurons in the hippocampus became overactive, impairing memory. Restoring glucose calmed the neurons, showing that ...

Autism May Be the Price of Human Intelligence

Sep. 28, 2025 — Researchers discovered that autism’s prevalence may be linked to human brain evolution. Specific neurons in the outer brain evolved rapidly, and autism-linked genes changed under natural selection. These shifts may have slowed brain development in ...

Brain Fat, Not Just Plaques, May Be the Hidden Driver of Alzheimer’s

Sep. 24, 2025 — For decades, scientists believed Alzheimer’s was driven mainly by sticky protein plaques and tangles in the brain. Now Purdue researchers have revealed a hidden culprit: fat. They found that brain immune cells can become clogged with fat, leaving ...

Autism Symptoms Vanish in Mice After Stanford Brain Breakthrough

Sep. 8, 2025 — Scientists at Stanford have found that hyperactivity in the brain’s reticular thalamic nucleus may drive autism-like behaviors. In mouse models, drugs and neuromodulation techniques that suppressed this overactive region reversed symptoms, hinting ...

Lithium Deficiency May Be the Hidden Spark Behind Alzheimer’s

Aug. 29, 2025 — Harvard scientists have uncovered that lithium, a naturally occurring element in the brain, may be the missing piece in understanding Alzheimer’s. Their decade-long research shows that lithium depletion—caused by amyloid plaques binding to ...

Johns Hopkins Scientists Grow a Mini Human Brain That Lights Up and Connects Like the Real Thing

Aug. 4, 2025 — Scientists at Johns Hopkins have grown a first-of-its-kind organoid mimicking an entire human brain, complete with rudimentary blood vessels and neural activity. This new "multi-region brain ...

Alzheimer’s Risk May Start at the Brain’s Border, Not Inside It

Aug. 4, 2025 — Your brain has its own elite defense team — and new research shows these "guardian" cells might be the real battleground for neurological diseases like Alzheimer’s and stroke. Scientists discovered that most genetic risks linked to these ...

Four Hidden Types of Autism Revealed — And Each Tells a Different Genetic Story

July 24, 2025 — Scientists at Princeton and the Simons Foundation have identified four biologically distinct subtypes of autism, using data from over 5,000 children and a powerful new computational method. These ...

Can’t Sleep, Can’t Focus, Can’t Thrive? ADHD and Insomnia May Be a Vicious Cycle

July 16, 2025 — Struggling to sleep might be the hidden reason why adults with ADHD traits often feel less satisfied with life. New research reveals a strong link between insomnia and reduced well-being in people ...

Scientists Just Found a Sugar Switch That Protects Your Brain from Alzheimer's

June 30, 2025 — Scientists have uncovered a surprising sugar-related mechanism inside brain cells that could transform how we fight Alzheimer’s and other dementias. It turns out neurons don’t just store sugar ...

The Gene That Hijacks Fear: How PTEN Rewires the Brain’s Anxiety Circuit

June 29, 2025 — Deleting a gene called PTEN in certain brain cells disrupts the brain’s fear circuitry and triggers anxiety-like behavior in mice — key traits seen in autism. Researchers mapped how this genetic tweak throws off the brain's delicate balance of ...

The Brain’s Sweet Spot: How Criticality Could Unlock Learning, Memory—and Prevent Alzheimer’s

June 25, 2025 — Our brains may work best when teetering on the edge of chaos. A new theory suggests that criticality a sweet spot between order and randomness is the secret to learning, memory, and adaptability. ...

Latest Headlines

updated 10:25am EDT

This Brain Circuit May Explain Fluctuating Sensations—and Autism

July 30, 2025 — Sometimes a gentle touch feels sharp and distinct, other times it fades into the background. This inconsistency isn’t just mood—it’s biology. Scientists found that the thalamus doesn’t just ...

Iron Overload: The Hidden Culprit Behind Early Alzheimer’s in Down Syndrome

June 21, 2025 — USC researchers have uncovered a hidden driver behind the early and severe onset of Alzheimer's in people with Down syndrome: iron overload in the ...

CRISPR-Edited Stem Cells Reveal Hidden Causes of Autism

June 14, 2025 — A team at Kobe University has created a game-changing resource for autism research: 63 mouse embryonic stem cell lines, each carrying a genetic mutation strongly associated with the disorder. By ...

Sugar Shield Restored: The Breakthrough Reversing Brain Aging and Memory Loss

June 13, 2025 — A protective sugar coating on brain blood vessels, once thought to be insignificant, turns out to play a vital role in preventing cognitive decline. ...

Sustained in the Brain: How Lasting Emotions Arise from Brief Stimuli, in Humans and Mice

May 29, 2025 — Humans and mice share persistent brain-activity patterns in response to adverse sensory experience, scientists find, opening a window to our emotions ...

Link Between Mental Health and Personality Traits Uncovered

May 29, 2025 — Common mental health conditions are more closely related to people's personalities than previously thought, a study suggests. Personality traits explain about a quarter of the overall risk of mental ...

Overlooked Cells Might Explain the Human Brain's Huge Storage Capacity

May 28, 2025 — Researchers have a new hypothesis for how brain cells called astrocytes might contribute to memory storage in the brain. Their model, known as dense associative memory, would help explain the brain's ...

Overimitation Begins in Infancy but Is Not Yet Linked to in-Group Preference

May 26, 2025 — A new study examines the emergence of overimitation in infants aged between 16 and 21 months to see if and how it is linked to social affiliation and ...

AI Is Here to Stay, Let Students Embrace the Technology, Experts Urge

May 26, 2025 — A new study says students appear to be using generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) responsibly, and as a way to speed up tasks, not just boost their ...

Tiny Genetic Switch Found to Control Brain Balance and Behavior

May 26, 2025 — Researchers have identified a remarkably small but critical piece of genetic code that helps determine how brain cells connect, communicate, and function. The discovery not only deepens our ...

Potential New Treatment for Alzheimer's Disease, Other Neurodegenerative Conditions

May 22, 2025 — Worldwide, more than 55 million people suffer from dementia caused by Alzheimer's Disease (AD) and other conditions that destroy cells in the brain and nervous system. While there is no ...

Scientists Design Gene Delivery Systems for Cells in the Brain and Spinal Cord

May 21, 2025 — Research teams have created a versatile set of gene delivery systems that can reach different neural cell types in the human brain and spinal cord with exceptional accuracy. These delivery systems ...

How Molecules Can 'Remember' and Contribute to Memory and Learning

May 20, 2025 — Researchers have discovered how an ion channel in the brain's neurons has a kind of 'molecular memory', which contributes to the formation and preservation of lifelong memories. The ...

Marfan Syndrome Increases Risk of Brain Alterations

May 15, 2025 — A study reveals that inflammation associated with Marfan syndrome increases vulnerability to neurological diseases and complications following strokes, as demonstrated in animal ...

Study Sheds Light on How Autistic People Communicate

May 14, 2025 — There is no significant difference in the effectiveness of how autistic and non-autistic people communicate, according to a new study, challenging the stereotype that autistic people struggle to ...

Postpartum Depression and Bonding: Long-Term Effects on School-Age Children

May 14, 2025 — Postpartum maternal mental health and mother-to-infant bonding are well-established as critical factors in a child's psychosocial development. However, few studies have explored the combined ...

Hormone Cycles Shape the Structure and Function of Key Memory Regions in the Brain

May 13, 2025 — Hormone levels fluctuate like the tides, ebbing and flowing according to carefully orchestrated cycles. These hormones not only influence the body, but can cross into the brain and shape the behavior ...

CAR-T Cell Therapy for Cancer Causes 'Brain Fog,' Study Shows

May 12, 2025 — Cancer treatment with a cell-based immunotherapy causes mild cognitive impairment, a Stanford Medicine team found. They also identified compounds that could treat ...

How Individuals Grasp an Object May Offer Simpler Diagnosis for Autism Spectrum Disorder

May 5, 2025 — Getting a timely diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder is a major challenge, but new research shows that how young adults, and potentially children, grasp objects could offer a simpler way to ...

Gorilla Study Reveals Complex Pros and Cons of Friendship

May 5, 2025 — Friendship comes with complex pros and cons -- possibly explaining why some individuals are less sociable, according to a new study of ...

Teens With Mental Health Conditions Use Social Media Differently Than Their Peers, Study Suggests

May 5, 2025 — One of the first studies in this area to use clinical-level diagnoses reveals a range of differences between young people with and without mental health conditions when it comes to social media -- ...

STEM Students: Work Hard, but Don't Compare Yourself to Others

May 1, 2025 — A new study shows how damaging it can be for college students in introductory STEM classes to compare how hard they work to the extent of effort put in by their ...

Mechanism by Which the Brain Weighs Positive Vs. Negative Social Experience Is Revealed

Apr. 30, 2025 — Researchers have identified the neural mechanisms in the brain that regulate both positive and negative impressions of a social encounter, as well as how an imbalance between the two could lead to ...

Gene Circuits Enable More Precise Control of Gene Therapy

Apr. 28, 2025 — To help achieve more precise control of gene therapy, engineers have designed a new control circuit that can keep gene expression levels within a target range. The method could be used to deliver ...

In Down Syndrome Mice, 40Hz Light and Sound Improve Cognition, Neurogenesis, Connectivity

Apr. 25, 2025 — A new study provides new evidence that sensory stimulation of a gamma-frequency brain rhythm may promote broad-based restorative neurological health ...

Metabolic Syndrome Linked to Increased Risk of Young-Onset Dementia

Apr. 23, 2025 — Having a larger waistline, high blood pressure and other risk factors that make up metabolic syndrome is associated with an increased risk of young-onset dementia, according to a new study. ...

Study Shows Addressing Working Memory Can Help Students With Math Difficulty Improve Word Problem-Solving Skills

Apr. 21, 2025 — Working memory is like a mental chalkboard we use to store temporary information while executing other tasks. Scientists worked with more than 200 elementary students to test their working memory, ...

Engineered Microglia Show Promise for Treating Alzheimer's and Other Brain Diseases

Apr. 21, 2025 — A new way to deliver disease-fighting proteins throughout the brain may improve the treatment of Alzheimer's disease and other neurological disorders, according to scientists. By engineering ...

Simulating Protein Structures Involved in Memory Formation

Apr. 16, 2025 — Complex protein interactions at synapses are essential for memory formation in our brains, but the mechanisms behind these processes remain poorly understood. Now, researchers have developed a ...

Nurturing Now, Thriving Later: The Lasting Power of Affectionate Mothering

Apr. 16, 2025 — Affectionate mothering in childhood may have a lasting impact on important personality traits, potentially influencing life outcomes such as educational achievement, economic success, and health and ...