Arts

Recent articles

Kieth Hengen looks through a small window, aligning his face with a fancy moustache sticker and rolling his eyes comically to the side.

Computational neuroscientist Keith Hengen explains his work through illustrations

The images help him communicate the “big-picture ideas” behind the mathematical principles of neuronal networks.

By Helena Kudiabor
7 April 2026 | 4 min read
Black-and-white photograph of Bryan W Jones holding a camera and pointing it back at the photographer.

An eye for science: Q&A with Bryan W. Jones

The researcher explains how the beauty of the retina drew him into the vision field and why photography reminds him of the value of that work.

By Angie Voyles Askham
6 December 2024 | 7 min read
Illustrated portrait of Kanaka Rajan.

How neuroscience comics add KA-POW! to the field: Q&A with Kanaka Rajan

The artistic approach can help explain complex ideas frame by frame without diluting the science, Rajan says.

By Olivia Gieger
9 October 2024 | 7 min read
Young researcher sitting in the grass holding a pillow shaped like a fish.

Seeing research through a new lens: Q&A with Pei Yuan Zhang

When she’s not in the lab, the cognitive scientist films documentaries that challenge her love of data and order.

By Olivia Gieger
20 September 2024 | 7 min read
Closeup of jelly on forceps, black background.

The Transmitter Launch: An early-career researcher’s extracurriculars capture beauty in the lab

Doctoral student Thomas Barlow uses photography to illuminate research spaces and show people what scientists do.

By Angie Voyles Askham, Rebecca Horne
8 March 2024 | 5 min read
The band Pavlov's Dogz on stage

When the conference doors close, these scientists rock out

A Pavlov’s Dogz show has become tradition at the annual Society for Neuroscience meeting.

By Angie Voyles Askham
21 November 2023 | 6 min read
Illustration of hybrid objects: part light bulb, part lab vial, some in blue and some in red to signify null and replicated results.

Null and Noteworthy: Reinforcing rigor; medication medley

This month’s newsletter highlights findings on the use of three medication types during pregnancy.

By Emily Harris
14 December 2022 | 4 min read
Ilustration shows a young women with pillows, pies and records flying around her.

Book Review: An autistic writer recounts the fun and futility of trying to fit in

In “I Overcame My Autism and All I Got Was This Lousy Anxiety Disorder,” Sarah Kurchak weaves together jagged honesty, funny anecdotes and occasionally painful doses of self-awareness.

By Sara Luterman
13 October 2020 | 4 min read
The knight Perceval leaves his mother in extreme distress, oblivious to his effect, as he rides into the distance.

The perils of suggesting famous historical figures had autism

Looking for signs of autism in characters from history and literature can offer insight into society’s changing perceptions through time — but it can also increase the risk of stigma against people with the condition.

By Terje Falck-Ytter, Sofia Loden
22 September 2020 | 7 min read
Pen and ink drawings by a father and daughter in a. sketchbook

On the same page: Divorce, drawing, and parenting an autistic child

Shared sketch books chart a father-daughter relationship over time and provide a valuable outlet for self-regulating emotions.

By Rebecca Horne
28 July 2020 | 6 min read

Explore more from The Transmitter

Mice playing, engaged in learning and memory: some of their brains are yellow, and some are red, matching a red and yellow legend that runs through the image to underscore both memory and learning.

This paper changed my life: A technical breakthrough for memory studies

In a 2007 Science paper, Mark Mayford and his colleagues found that some neurons activated during learning are also recruited during memory retrieval. Noelia Weisstaub shares how this study and others drove an era of great progress in tool development.

By Noelia Weisstaub
14 August 2026 | 5 min read

Early experience reshapes zebrafish retinal cells, alters behavior

The cells undergo a classic form of plasticity previously thought to occur only in downstream visual circuits.

By Siddhant Pusdekar
13 August 2026 | 0 min watch
Research image of expression of MEIS2 in PV interneurons.

Loss of interneuron plasticity may be shared hallmark of neurodevelopmental conditions

Restoring an experience-dependent interneuron plasticity gene in adulthood improves memory and cuts seizures in CNTNAP2 knockout mice, a new study shows.

By Claudia López Lloreda
12 August 2026 | 5 min read