Autism

Recent articles

Among brain changes studied in autism, spotlight shifts to subcortex

The striatum and thalamus are more likely than the cerebral cortex to express autism variants or bear transcriptional changes, two unpublished studies find.

By Holly Barker
11 December 2025 | 5 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
Research image of parvalbumin expression in mice.

Plumbing the link between anti-CASPR2 antibodies and autism; and more

Here is a roundup of autism-related news and research spotted around the web for the week of 1 December.

By Jill Adams
2 December 2025 | 1 min read
Research image of SHANK3 protein levels in mice.

SHANK3 deficiency and behavior in mice; and more

Here is a roundup of autism-related news and research spotted around the web for the week of 24 November.

By Jill Adams
25 November 2025 | 2 min read
Wood-carved silhouettes of human figures with speech bubbles next to their heads.

Autism scientists push back on CDC’s inaccurate vaccine claims

The CDC website now falsely suggests that autism-vaccine research is still an open question, prompting distrust among researchers—some of whom anticipate “more unreliable statements coming from the junta that took over” the agency.

By The Transmitter
21 November 2025 | 6 min read
Research image of SYNGAP protein in the mouse cortex.

Gene replacement therapy normalizes some traits in SYNGAP1 model mice

The first published virus-based gene therapy for SYNGAP1 deletion yields benefits despite the gene’s long length and complexity.

By Charles Q. Choi
20 November 2025 | 5 min read
Illustration of an open journal featuring lines of text and small illustrations of eyes and mouths.

Role of maternal factors in autism; and more

Here is a roundup of autism-related news and research spotted around the web for the week of 17 November.

By Jill Adams
18 November 2025 | 2 min read
Collage of digestive-system organs, the brain and various shapes and figures.

Going against the gut: Q&A with Kevin Mitchell on the autism-microbiome theory

A new review of 15 years of studies on the connection between the microbiome and autism reveals widespread statistical and conceptual errors.

By Lauren Schenkman
13 November 2025 | 7 min read
Human brain cross-sections.

Teasing out mosaicism cell by cell; and more

Here is a roundup of autism-related news and research spotted around the web for the week of 10 November.

By Jill Adams
11 November 2025 | 2 min read

Explore more from The Transmitter

Dispute erupts over universal cortical brain-wave claim

The debate highlights opposing views on how the cortex transmits information.

By Claudia López Lloreda
12 December 2025 | 5 min read

Waves of calcium activity dictate eye structure in flies

Synchronized signals in non-neuronal retinal cells draw the tiny compartments of a fruit fly’s compound eye into alignment during pupal development.

By Lauren Schneider
12 December 2025 | 0 min watch
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

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