Africa IMFAR 2017

Recent articles

An Ethiopian family sitting for a portrait.

Studies highlight need to adapt autism tests for African cultures

Some of the items on a common diagnostic test for autism do not translate well to African cultures.

By Nicholette Zeliadt
11 September 2017 | 6 min read
Children in pre-school sitting around a learning circle.

South African children with autism may lack access to schools

Only about 0.1 percent of children in the Western Cape province of South Africa have autism, according to a review of school records.

By Nicholette Zeliadt
8 September 2017 | 3 min read

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Is our intelligence rooted in how living organisms are organized?

Kathryn Nave explains how a concept called constraint closure may be fundamental to understanding brains, minds and cognition.

By Paul Middlebrooks
15 July 2026 | 1 min read
Soha Ashrafi photo collage art.

Making an impact through academic administration

As executive director of research at Harvard Medical School’s Department of Neurobiology, Soha Ashrafi supports more than 300 scientists, students and staff members.

By Katie Moisse
15 July 2026 | 7 min read
Illustration of birdsong, bird brain, and DNA.

This paper changed my life: Embracing an early model for naturalistic neuroscience

A 1992 PNAS paper showed how birdsong upregulates the expression of an immediate early gene in bird forebrains. The work revealed to Ribeiro the importance of studying molecular responses in naturalistic contexts.

By Sidarta Ribeiro
14 July 2026 | 4 min read