Broad 2013

Recent articles

Spectrum from The Transmitter.

Iceland study characterizes autism-linked genetic regions

Duplications and deletions of large chromosomal regions are associated with intellectual disability, cognitive deficits and a low likelihood of having children, according to a population-wide study in Iceland. The results were presented Monday at a conference in Cambridge, Massachusetts. 

By Jessica Wright
11 September 2013 | 4 min read
Spectrum from The Transmitter.

In autism, intellectual disability ramps up new mutations

Spontaneous mutations are elevated in people with autism, but only in those who also have intellectual disability, according to unpublished data presented yesterday at a conference in Cambridge, Massachusetts. 

By Jessica Wright
10 September 2013 | 4 min read

Explore more from The Transmitter

Illustration of an open journal featuring lines of text and small illustrations of eyes and mouths.

Autism-linked genes alter sleep behavior, and more

Here is a roundup of autism-related news and research spotted around the web for the week of 13 April.

By Jill Adams
14 April 2026 | 2 min read
Illustration of a monkey pushing a button.

This paper changed my life: Erin Calipari ponders the nuances of rewarding and aversive stimuli

A 1960s study by Kelleher and Morse found that lever pressing in squirrel monkeys depended not on whether they received a reward or shock, but on the rules of the task. This taught Calipari to think deeply about factors that influence how behavior is generated and maintained.

By Erin Calipari
14 April 2026 | 5 min read
Illustration of a sheet of paper with a topography map-like pattern on it.

Why neural foundation models work, and what they might—and might not—teach us about the brain

These models can partly generalize across species, brain regions and tasks, suggesting that a set of machine-learnable rules govern neural population activity. But will we be able to understand them?

By Juan Gallego
13 April 2026 | 8 min read