SFN 2016

Recent articles

Ecstasy ingredient touted as treatment for anxiety in autism

The active ingredient in the drug popularly known as ecstasy eases social anxiety in people with autism.

By Nicholette Zeliadt
25 September 2018 | 4 min read
extra neuronal connections may sprout from the amygdala, a brain region governing fear

In autism, brain’s emotion hub begins with too many cells

The amygdala, a brain region that governs emotions, may be enlarged and overly connected in children with autism, but it shrinks as the children grow up.

By Jessica Wright
6 April 2018 | 5 min read
A microglia cell (red), touches the signal-receiving ends of neurons (green) in the brain

Microglia may have only small appetite for synapses

Microglia come into frequent contact with synapses, the connections between neurons, but they appear to nibble on them rather than engulf and digest them.

By Nicholette Zeliadt
2 April 2018 | 5 min read
closeup of a mouse eye

Gene on chromosome 16 may be valuable player in autism

Deleting one copy of a gene called MVP impairs the brain's ability to adapt to changes in the environment.

By Nicholette Zeliadt
29 March 2018 | 4 min read

Takeaways from SfN 2016

Spectrum’s team reported about 50 stories at the Society for Neuroscience annual meeting in San Diego. One big theme this year: how autism relates to bigger questions in neuroscience.

By Claire Cameron
17 November 2016 | 3 min read

New test scores emotional weight of parent-child connections

Videos of mothers and their infants interacting with each other may contain clues to autism risk.

By Sarah DeWeerdt
17 November 2016 | 3 min read

Autism treatments may normalize brain volume in adult mice

The effects of autism mutations on brain volume might be reversible, even in a mature brain.

By Jessica Wright
17 November 2016 | 4 min read
Mouse brain hippocampus

New mice expose consequences of key autism gene

Mice with an extra copy of the autism risk gene UBE3A have cognitive deficits and anxiety, but do not show any core features of the condition.

By Nicholette Zeliadt
17 November 2016 | 3 min read

Genes, immune exposure collude to up autism risk

The interplay between a mouse’s immune system and certain mutations in her pups may increase autism-like features in the pups.

By Sarah DeWeerdt
17 November 2016 | 3 min read

New tool takes rapid genetic snapshot of people’s neurons

A new approach quickly captures an individual’s gene expression pattern at the level of a single neuron.

By Ann Griswold
17 November 2016 | 2 min read

Explore more from The Transmitter

A blue comment bubble is pinned down by crisscrossing red threads and pins.

Neuroscience conference policy draws confusion, apology

NeurIPS organizers apologized and altered course after issuing a policy that barred submissions from researchers at U.S.-government-sanctioned institutions.

By Dalmeet Singh Chawla
27 March 2026 | 5 min read
Assembloids in a petri dish.

Funding for animal research alternatives reaches ‘inflection point’

The United States and Europe are dedicating hundreds of millions of dollars in funding to advance novel alternative methods, but not all neuroscientists see this as a positive step.

By Claudia López Lloreda
26 March 2026 | 4 min read
Illustration of a laptop computer superimposed over a scroll.

‘Friction-maxxing’ in school: Students should read primary literature, not AI summaries

Trainees need to learn how to identify a neuroscience paper’s major takeaways and integrate them into their understanding. This skill doesn’t come from outsourcing the work to large language models.

By Nora Bradford
26 March 2026 | 5 min read