LOS ANGELES (AP) — In an effort to find a treatment for autism, scientists at the University of California, Los Angeles, are leading a $9 million experiment that aims to evaluate the effectiveness of drugs within weeks rather than years.

It’s part of a push by the National Institutes of Health to fast-track the pace of discovery that hopefully will lead to new therapies for several neurological disorders. Besides autism, the federal agency is also backing rapid efforts to seek treatments for schizophrenia and mood and anxiety disorders.