People with autism often suffer from gut problems, but nobody has known why. Researchers have now discovered the same gene mutations -- found both in the brain and the gut -- could be the cause. The discovery confirms a gut-brain nervous system link in autism, opening a new direction in the search for potential treatments that could ease behavioural issues associated with autism by targeting the gut. Chief Investigator Associate Professor Elisa Hill-Yardin, RMIT University, said scientists trying to understand autism have long been looking in the brain, but the links with the gut nervous system have only been recently explored.