Attention

Recent articles

Drawing by Santiago Ramón y Cajal of a hypothesis for how signals travel through neurons.

‘Sacred objects’ display discredits Golgi and Ramón y Cajal’s rivalry: Q&A with curator Daniel Colón Ramos

A new exhibit that opened last week shows drawings from the influential duo side by side for the first time and recasts them as collaborators. It also reveals lessons for modern scholars.

By Claudia López Lloreda
10 December 2024 | 7 min read

Autism research hits the road

Some scientists are thinking creatively about how to collect data in flexible environments and meet communities where they’re at.

By Giorgia Guglielmi
8 December 2023 | 0 min watch
A young girl sits on the couch biting her thumb.

Children with autism and ADHD often have additional mental health conditions

The dual diagnosis frequently co-occurs with anxiety, depression and developmental and language delays.

By Maaisha Osman
10 February 2023 | 2 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: Autism and aging, anorexia overlaps, pregnancy effects

In this edition of Null and Noteworthy, researchers replicate encouraging findings on autism and aging and shoot down a host of potential links between pregnancy complications and having a child with autism.

By Laura Dattaro
10 February 2022 | 5 min read

Myelin loss may explain how autism-linked DNA deletion affects cognition

Deleting a copy of the gene TBX1 depletes the fatty myelin insulation that surrounds neurons and reduces cognitive speed in mice.

By Anna Goshua
8 December 2021 | 3 min read
Illustration shows a cartoon-like simple figure made out of a switchboard, with colorful cables converging on an area deep in the brain.

Brain’s sensory switchboard has complex connections to autism

An atypical thalamus may underlie not only sensory issues in autism but also difficulties with social skills, attention and memory.

By Sarah DeWeerdt
15 November 2021 | 9 min read
Annimation of eye tracking application following the pupil in a man's eye.

Web app tracks pupil size in people, mice

The app relies on artificial intelligence and could help researchers standardize studies of pupil differences in autistic people and in mouse models of autism.

By Rahul Rao
8 October 2021 | 3 min read
Two women making eye contact while talking with each other.

Social attention shows sex difference in autism

Autistic boys and men are less attuned to social stimuli than autistic girls and women are, according to new unpublished work.

By Angie Voyles Askham
14 May 2021 | 3 min read
Boy in front of colorful constellation or universe, studying the realms of outer space.

The benefits of special interests in autism

Researchers are studying how the intense passions of autistic people shape the brain, improve well-being and enhance learning.

By Emily Laber-Warren
12 May 2021 | 18 min read
Baby in mother's lap watching her mouth move as she talks.

Infant siblings of autistic children miss language-learning clues

So-called ‘baby sibs’ watch adults’ faces just as much as children without autistic siblings do, but they don’t understand spoken language as well.

By Jaclyn Jeffrey-Wilensky
6 May 2021 | 3 min read

Explore more from The Transmitter

Stimulating the brain with Damien Fair

The MacArthur Foundation “genius” discusses his return to his home state of Minnesota and why it’s important to protect the developing brain.

By Brady Huggett
3 February 2025 | 68 min listen

Roundup: The false association between vaccines and autism

In light of Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s U.S. Senate confirmation hearings this week, The Transmitter has rounded up our past coverage of the false association between vaccines and autism.

By The Transmitter
31 January 2025 | 1 min read

Static pay, shrinking prospects fuel neuroscience postdoc decline

Postdoctoral researchers sponsored by the National Institutes of Health now toil longer than ever before, for less money. They are responding accordingly.

By Katie Moisse
31 January 2025 | 20 min read