MAPK3 and autism: Altered Ras/MAPK signaling has been identified as a common downstream mediator of divergent genetic mutations linked to autism, and MAPK3/ERK1 is present in a region of 16p11.2 mutated in ~1% of cases of autism (Eichler and Zimmerman, 2008; Gilman et al., 2012; Gilman et al., 2011; Kumar et al., 2008; Pinto et al., 2010; Pucilowska et al., 2015; Weiss et al., 2008).