Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a developmental condition characterized by difficulties in social communication and repetitive behaviors, for which no fundamental treatment currently exists. Now, a collaborative research group from Japan has shown that artificially activating a specific neural circuit in the brain can normalize structural abnormalities in the "axon initial segment" of neurons in an ASD mouse model. Consequently, this intervention successfully improved ASD-like behaviors, such as impaired sociability and increased repetitive actions. This breakthrough demonstrates that neural circuit-level abnormalities in ASD are reversible, highlighting the structural regulation of the axon initial segment as a promising new therapeutic target.

Many parents worry about whether they are doing enough for their child's development: should they read more books, practise numbers and letters, or play educational games more often? Research says that parents should also focus on kindergarten.