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Annette Dolphin.

Remembering Annette Dolphin, who helped explain gabapentin’s effects

The "intuitive" neuropharmacologist pushed against the status quo.

By Michael Eisenstein
13 March 2026 | 8 min listen
Data visualization from a genome-wide association study.

Revised statistical bar extracts less-common variants from autism genetics studies

Adjusting genetic analyses could help plug autism’s heritability gap, according to a new preprint.

By Holly Barker
12 March 2026 | 5 min listen
Illustration of dopamine neurons.

This paper changed my life: Talia Lerner reflects on dopamine neuron diversity and the value of simple experiments

In a 2011 Neuron study, Stephan Lammel and his colleagues showed that dopamine neurons with different projections have different physiological properties. The work inspired Lerner to think about how to challenge widely held assumptions in the field.

By Talia Lerner
11 March 2026 | 7 min listen
Research image of a mouse hippocampus.

Hippocampus builds reputation as ‘general-purpose statistical learning machine’

New cross-species findings may help settle a long-standing debate about whether the hippocampus is required for passive learning.

By Natalia Mesa
10 March 2026 | 6 min listen
Illustration of a leaking pipe.

Securing the academic pipeline amid uncertain U.S. funding climate

Finding creative ways to keep early-career researchers in academia—for example, through part-time roles—can help the field weather the storm.

By Lucina Q. Uddin
9 March 2026 | 5 min listen
Research figure of neural patterns in the brain during speech encoding.

Shifting neural code powers speech comprehension

Dynamic coding helps explain how the brain processes multiple features of speech—from the smallest units of sounds to full sentences—simultaneously.

By Claudia López Lloreda
5 March 2026 | 5 min listen
Research image of astrocytes in a mouse brain.

Astrocytes orchestrate oxytocin’s social effects in mice

The cells amplify oxytocin—and may be responsible for sex differences in social behavior, two preprints find.

By Holly Barker
4 March 2026 | 6 min listen
Tick on a leaf raises its forelegs.

Neuro’s ark: Spying on the secret sensory world of ticks

Carola Städele, a self-proclaimed “tick magnet,” studies the arachnids’ sensory neurobiology—in other words, how these tiny parasites zero in on their next meal.

By Calli McMurray
3 March 2026 | 7 min listen
Sheet of paper with a red pencil struck through it.

Lack of reviewers threatens robustness of neuroscience literature

Simple math suggests that small groups of scientists can significantly bias peer review.

By Jakob Voigts
2 March 2026 | 9 min listen
Research image of male mouse placentas.

Post-infection immune conflict alters fetal development in some male mice

The immune conflict between dam and fetus could help explain sex differences in neurodevelopmental conditions.

By Viviane Callier
26 February 2026 | 5 min listen

Explore more from The Transmitter

Tom Griffiths describes how neural networks, logic and probability theory together explain cognition

In his new book, “The Laws of Thought,” Griffiths shows how these three pillars of study complement one another and together form a solid foundation to eventually explain all of our cognition, from brain to mind.

By Paul Middlebrooks
11 March 2026 | 100 min listen
Research figure depicting variation across the alpha subunit of the Nav1.2 sodium channel.

Portfolio of SCN2A gene variants, and more

Here is a roundup of autism-related news and research spotted around the web for the week of 9 March.

By Jill Adams
10 March 2026 | 2 min read
Book cover of The Fox, The Shrew, and You features silhouettes of several animals with their brains highlighted.

‘The Fox, the Shrew, and You: How Brains Evolved,’ an excerpt

In his new book, Rogier Mars provides a detailed account of animal and human brain evolution. In this excerpt from Chapter 1, he starts with the sea squirt—and why it needs the brain it eats after its larval stage.

By Rogier Mars
10 March 2026 | 6 min read

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