A new study appearing in the journal Stem Cell Reports shows that inflammation in pregnant mice causes autism-like symptoms in their offspring. To elicit an immune reaction caused by inflammation, researchers injected a pregnant mouse with a very low dose of lipopolysaccharide, a toxin found in E. coli bacteria. The toxin caused excessive growth of neural stem cells and enlarged the infant mice's brains. Enlarged brains in the mice were also associated with autism-like behaviors seen in humans. This may be able to explain why people with autism spectrum disorder often experience a period of accelerated brain growth after birth. Abstract