Outlook: Autism
Recent articles
Culture: Diverse diagnostics
The study of autism around the globe must account for a variety of behavioural norms in different societies.

Culture: Diverse diagnostics
The study of autism around the globe must account for a variety of behavioural norms in different societies.
Perspective: Imaging autism
Several studies in the past two years have claimed that brain scans can diagnose autism, but this assertion is deeply flawed, says Nicholas Lange.

Perspective: Imaging autism
Several studies in the past two years have claimed that brain scans can diagnose autism, but this assertion is deeply flawed, says Nicholas Lange.
Epidemiology: Complex disorder
Researchers are digging into the myriad causes of autism to refine its definition and find elusive biological signatures.

Epidemiology: Complex disorder
Researchers are digging into the myriad causes of autism to refine its definition and find elusive biological signatures.
Perspective: Brain scans need a rethink
Head movement can bias brain imaging results, undermining a leading theory on the cause of autism, say Ben Deen and Kevin Pelphrey.

Perspective: Brain scans need a rethink
Head movement can bias brain imaging results, undermining a leading theory on the cause of autism, say Ben Deen and Kevin Pelphrey.
Treatments: In the waiting room
After years of making do with drugs developed for other conditions, doctors and scientists are eagerly pursuing drugs that target the social symptoms of autism.

Treatments: In the waiting room
After years of making do with drugs developed for other conditions, doctors and scientists are eagerly pursuing drugs that target the social symptoms of autism.
Diagnosis: Redefining autism
Draft diagnostic guidelines are raising concerns that mild forms of the disorder may no longer be recognized.

Diagnosis: Redefining autism
Draft diagnostic guidelines are raising concerns that mild forms of the disorder may no longer be recognized.
Adulthood: Life lessons
We know little about autism past adolescence, but a well-studied generation of children with autism will change that.

Adulthood: Life lessons
We know little about autism past adolescence, but a well-studied generation of children with autism will change that.
Child development: The first steps
Because infants born into families with autism are more likely to develop the condition, studying them might lead to ways to diagnose people in the general population earlier.

Child development: The first steps
Because infants born into families with autism are more likely to develop the condition, studying them might lead to ways to diagnose people in the general population earlier.
Genetics: Searching for answers
Solving the riddle of autism genetics will require looking beyond the growing list of candidate genes to epigenetics and personalized medicine.

Genetics: Searching for answers
Solving the riddle of autism genetics will require looking beyond the growing list of candidate genes to epigenetics and personalized medicine.
Explore more from The Transmitter
ABCD Study omits gender-identity data from latest release
The removal counteracts the goals of the longitudinal study by “pretending that some aspects of adolescent brain development don’t exist,” says sex differences researcher Nicola Grissom.

ABCD Study omits gender-identity data from latest release
The removal counteracts the goals of the longitudinal study by “pretending that some aspects of adolescent brain development don’t exist,” says sex differences researcher Nicola Grissom.
Neuropeptides reprogram social roles in leafcutter ants
The mechanisms that control the labor roles of ants may also be conserved in naked mole rats, a new study shows.

Neuropeptides reprogram social roles in leafcutter ants
The mechanisms that control the labor roles of ants may also be conserved in naked mole rats, a new study shows.
Perspectives from the field: Opinions in autism research
This collection of Spectrum articles from the past 12 months highlights expert perspectives on autism’s heritability and its link to biological sex, the value of transdiagnostic frameworks, and the field’s future, among other topics.

Perspectives from the field: Opinions in autism research
This collection of Spectrum articles from the past 12 months highlights expert perspectives on autism’s heritability and its link to biological sex, the value of transdiagnostic frameworks, and the field’s future, among other topics.