Raphael Bernier is professor of psychiatry at the University of Washington and clinical director of the Seattle Children’s Autism Center.
![](https://www.thetransmitter.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/RapheCCCrop.jpg)
Raphael Bernier
Assistant Professor
University of Washington, Seattle
From this contributor
Through play, children with autism can hone thinking skills
Clinicians can use play to deliver therapies that could improve a child’s social skills, language and certain cognitive capacities.
![](https://www.thetransmitter.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/20160531-Play-844.jpg)
Through play, children with autism can hone thinking skills
Best practices
Guidelines for the use of electroencephalography in autism will ensure that researchers have a common set of standards, which will speed up discovery, say Sara Jane Webb and Raphael Bernier.
How do we measure autism severity?
Accurately measuring the severity of autism remains a challenge for the field. The answer may lie in using more than one approach that varies depending on whether it is being applied in a clinical or research context, says Raphael Bernier.
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Cell population in brainstem coordinates cough, new study shows
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![](https://www.thetransmitter.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/1200_coughingmice-1024x720.webp)
Cell population in brainstem coordinates cough, new study shows
The work also adds to a growing body of evidence showing that mice, and their genetic toolbox, can be used to study cough.
In updated U.S. autism bill, Congress calls for funding boost, expanded scope
The current Autism CARES Act sunsets in late September.
![Capitol building](https://www.thetransmitter.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/capitolhill-1200-1024x692.webp)
In updated U.S. autism bill, Congress calls for funding boost, expanded scope
The current Autism CARES Act sunsets in late September.
Ketamine targets lateral habenula, setting off cascade of antidepressant effects
The drug’s affinity for overactive cells in the “anti-reward” region may help explain its rapid and long-lasting results.
![Illustration of ketamine blocking open ion channels in active NMDA receptors, quieting the cells and disrupting downstream signaling involved in depression.](https://www.thetransmitter.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/1200-ketamine-receptor-transmitter-neuroscience-1024x683.webp)
Ketamine targets lateral habenula, setting off cascade of antidepressant effects
The drug’s affinity for overactive cells in the “anti-reward” region may help explain its rapid and long-lasting results.