Developmental neuroscience

Recent articles

Research image of microglia in organoids.

Microglia nurture young interneurons

The immune cells secrete a growth factor that “sets the supply of GABAergic interneurons in the developing brain.”

By Lauren Schenkman
28 August 2025 | 3 min read

Cell ‘antennae’ link autism, congenital heart disease

Variants in genes tied to both conditions derail the formation of cilia, the tiny hair-like structure found on almost every cell in the body, a new study finds.

By Lauren Schenkman
24 July 2025 | 0 min watch

Keith Hengen and Woodrow Shew explore criticality and cognition

The two discuss their evolving views of brain criticality as a central organizing principle of cognition, development and learning.

By Paul Middlebrooks
16 July 2025 | 94 min listen
Research image of developing axons in the fly brain.

How developing neurons simplify their search for a synaptic mate

Streamlining the problem from 3D to 1D eases the expedition—a strategy the study investigators deployed to rewire an olfactory circuit in flies.

By Calli McMurray
6 June 2025 | 6 min read
Research image of an assembloid.

Organoids and assembloids offer a new window into human brain

These sophisticated 3D cultures reveal previously inaccessible stages of human brain development and enable the systematic study of disease genes.

By Sergiu P. Pasca
31 March 2025 | 6 min read
Cognitive neuroscientist Nick Turk-Browne helps an infant into an fMRI machine.

What infant fMRI is revealing about the developing mind

Cognitive neuroscientists have finally clocked how to perform task-based functional MRI experiments in awake babies—long known for their inability to lie still or take direction. Next, they aim to watch cognition take shape and settle a debate about our earliest memories—with one group publishing a big clue today.

By Calli McMurray
20 March 2025 | 12 min read

Alison Preston explains how our brains form mental frameworks for interpreting the world

Preston discusses her research examining differences in how children, teenagers and adults integrate new information into their memories.

By Paul Middlebrooks
12 March 2025 | 90 min listen
Research image of different cell types in the neocortex.

New human brain atlas charts gene activity and chromosome accessibility, from embryo to adolescence

The resource profiles millions of single cells across the developing cortex, revealing when, where and how certain cell types emerge and illuminating possible origins of autism and other conditions.

By Saima Sidik
30 January 2025 | 5 min read
Research image of mouse brain slices.

Newfound gene network controls long-range connections between emotional, cognitive brain areas

The finding could help unravel gene regulatory networks and explain how genetic and environmental factors interact in neurodevelopmental conditions.

By Charles Q. Choi
14 November 2024 | 4 min read

Karen Adolph explains how we develop our ability to move through the world

How do babies' bodies and their environment teach them to move—and how can robots benefit from these insights?

By Paul Middlebrooks
25 October 2024 | 89 min listen

Explore more from The Transmitter

To persist, memories surf molecular waves from thalamus to cortex

During the later stages of learning, the mouse brain progressively activates transcriptional regulators that drive memory consolidation.

By Claudia López Lloreda
26 November 2025 | 4 min read

Sex hormone boosts female rats’ sensitivity to unexpected rewards

During the high-estradiol stages of their estrus cycle, female rats learn faster than they do during other stages—and than male rats overall—thanks to a boost in their dopaminergic response to reward, a new study suggests.

By Angie Voyles Askham
26 November 2025 | 5 min read

SHANK3 deficiency and behavior in mice; and more

Here is a roundup of autism-related news and research spotted around the web for the week of 24 November.

By Jill Adams
25 November 2025 | 2 min read

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