Prefrontal cortex

Recent articles

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 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
Illustration of a neuron with cardinal directions superimposed over it as on a compass.

Neurons’ spikes may convey their whereabouts

The time lag between spurts of activity holds anatomical information, according to a preprint.

By Holly Barker
23 August 2024 | 4 min read
Research image of excitatory synapses in the prefrontal cortex.

Synaptic anomalies in autistic people support imbalance hypothesis

Increased excitatory and decreased inhibitory synapses in the prefrontal cortex of autistic people suggest broader impacts on brain function and connectivity.

By Giorgia Guglielmi
27 June 2024 | 4 min read
A brain slice under a microscope.

Preprint questions validity of postmortem brain studies

But the alternatives, including living-brain biopsies, raise logistical and ethical questions, experts say.

By Katie Moisse
5 June 2023 | 6 min read
Brain scans displaying activity in areas linked with social behavior.

People’s perceptions of ‘social’ animations don’t always square with researchers’ labels

The finding calls into question differences between autistic and non-autistic people on a decades-old theory-of-mind test involving interacting geometric shapes.

By Charles Q. Choi
22 February 2023 | 6 min read
an image of a neuron

Neurons struggle to spike without fragile X gene

FMR1 loss impairs sodium channels, hindering mouse neurons from generating the electrical signals needed to transmit information.

By Laura Dattaro
17 February 2023 | 3 min read
lllustration of the junction between two nerve cells.

Multi-omics study captures CNTNAP2’s far-ranging effects

The in-depth approach shows mutations in the autism-linked gene disrupt neuronal growth and communication, as well as mitochondrial gene expression.

By Charles Q. Choi
8 December 2022 | 4 min read

Autism-linked mutation disrupts brain circuit to change social behavior

Therapies that target the circuit could boost social activity, new findings suggest.

By Charles Q. Choi
24 June 2022 | 4 min read

Histone-modifying drug improves autism-like behaviors in mice

The experimental compound, called GSK-LSD1, enhances social preferences and reduces repetitive grooming in mice, according to a new study.

By Chloe Williams
18 April 2022 | 4 min read

Explore more from The Transmitter

Brain organoid.

What is the future of organoid and assembloid regulation?

Four experts weigh in on how to establish ethical guardrails for research on the 3D neuron clusters as these models become ever more complex.

By Claudia López Lloreda
10 December 2025 | 7 min read
Research image of variants of the ATPase subunit PSMC5/RPT6.

Insights on suicidality and autism; and more

Here is a roundup of autism-related news and research spotted around the web for the week of 8 December.

By Jill Adams
9 December 2025 | 2 min read
A stack of papers topped by many paper shreddings against a red background.

Exclusive: Springer Nature retracts, removes nearly 40 publications that trained neural networks on ‘bonkers’ dataset

The dataset contains images of children’s faces downloaded from websites about autism, which sparked concerns at Springer Nature about consent and reliability.

By Calli McMurray
8 December 2025 | 5 min read

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