Behavioural methods used in rodent models of autism spectrum disorders: Current standards and new developments.

Highlights: [•] Autism severity scores: important starting point for treatment studies in rodents. [•] Scent marking behaviour: an ethologically valid measure for rodent communication. [•] Social facilitation, observational learning, and empathy: new behavioural endpoints. [•] Generation of rat knockout models: several advantages for behavioural phenotyping. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]