2012: Year in review

Recent articles

Spectrum from The Transmitter.

What stood out to you in 2012?

We packaged the year’s research highlights from our vantage point. What advances stood out to you in 2012? And where do you see the field going?

By Greg Boustead
20 December 2012 | 1 min read
Spectrum from The Transmitter.

Top tools and techniques of 2012

2012 saw many new exciting — and often colorful — technical advances, ranging from tools that build brains from the cell up to robots that can replace neuroscientists.

By Amedeo Tumolillo
20 December 2012 | 1 min read
Spectrum from The Transmitter.

Drugs in development for autism

A look at various drugs attempting to address autism and their stages of development.

By Amedeo Tumolillo
20 December 2012 | 1 min read
Spectrum from The Transmitter.

Top quotes of 2012

The top quotes of 2012.

By Amedeo Tumolillo
20 December 2012 | 1 min read
Spectrum from The Transmitter.

Predictions for 2013

Take a look through SFARI.org’s crystal ball to predict major developments in autism research in 2013.

By Amedeo Tumolillo
20 December 2012 | 2 min read
Spectrum from The Transmitter.

Most-viewed articles of 2012

A list of the ten stories that most caught our readers’ attention this year.

By Amedeo Tumolillo
20 December 2012 | 5 min read
Spectrum from The Transmitter.

Hot topics in 2012

New candidate genes, drugs in development and diagnostic debates were just a few of the themes that garnered intense interest this year.

By Amedeo Tumolillo
20 December 2012 | 9 min read
Spectrum from The Transmitter.

Director’s column: 2012 in review

SFARI director Gerald Fischbach comments on the year’s most notable papers.

By Gerald D. Fischbach
20 December 2012 | 6 min read
Spectrum from The Transmitter.

Notable papers of 2012

Among a wealth of exciting research, ten sets of papers made an impact this year.

By Amedeo Tumolillo
20 December 2012 | 4 min read

Explore more from The Transmitter

Illustration of a series of shapes, with a few resembling human eyes.

The visual system’s lingering mystery: Connecting neural activity and perception

Figuring out how the brain uses information from visual neurons may require new tools. I asked 10 neuroscientists what experimental and conceptual methods they think we’re missing.

By Grace Lindsay
13 October 2025 | 5 min read
Illustration of a neuron.

New questions around motor neurons and plasticity

A researcher’s theory hangs muscle degeneration on a broken neural circuit.

By David Adam
10 October 2025 | 11 min listen
Research image of SCN2A neurons.

Boosting SCN2A expression reduces seizures in mice

A modified form of CRISPR amps up expression of the gene—a strategy that could apply to other gene variations linked to autism.

By Charles Q. Choi
9 October 2025 | 5 min read

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