SHANK is a scaffold protein located in excitatory synapses and is essential for the normal development and function of synapses.[21, 45] The SHANK protein family, encoded by the SHANK1, SHANK2, and SHANK3 genes, undergoes alternative promoter usage and splicing, generating multiple mRNA transcripts and protein isoforms.[20] Although SHANK gene mutations have been extensively linked to autism spectrum disorders, the physiological role of SHANK proteins in other contexts, such as cognitive decline, remains underexplored. Here, SHANK2 is linked to autism spectrum disorder.