What brain mechanisms underlie autism and how do they give rise to autistic behavioral symptoms? This article describes a neural model, called the iSTART model, which proposes how cognitive, emotional, timing, and motor processes may interact together to create and perpetuate autistic symptoms. These model processes were originally developed to explain data concerning how the brain controls normal behaviors. The iSTART model shows how autistic behavioral symptoms may arise from prescribed breakdowns in these brain processes.

PPD occurs in 10% to 20% of postpartum women. Maternal depression can affect a child's development significantly. Pediatricians can screen for maternal psychiatric illness with little effort; of all the health care professionals, they may be in the best position to do so. Pediatricians can help affected mothers obtain appropriate treatment and help mobilize social resources. This simple process can minimize morbidity to pediatric patients.

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PREVIOUSLY healthy 8-year-old boy with no history of trauma was seen during influenza season with a temperature of 100°to 104°F and lower back pain of 4 days' duration, which woke him at night. On examination, he had tense paraspinal muscles with absence of normal lumbar lordosis and normal findings from neurological examination. Possible diagnoses included myositis or possible discitis. Findings from laboratory tests included white blood cell count, 9.9 ϫ 10 9 /L;