Somer Bishop is a clinical psychologist and professor in residence of psychiatry at the University of California, San Francisco.
Somer Bishop
Assistant professor
University of California, San Francisco
From this contributor
Rethinking autism assessments in the time of COVID-19: Q&A with Bishop, Zwaigenbaum
Moving most clinical assessments online during the coronavirus pandemic has created a digital divide while closing some geographical ones, say Somer Bishop and Lonnie Zwaigenbaum.
Rethinking autism assessments in the time of COVID-19: Q&A with Bishop, Zwaigenbaum
By
Jonathan Moens
2 November 2021 | 7 min read
Questions for Bishop, Havdahl: Tantrums trick autism tests
Children with low intelligence or behavioral issues — but not autism — may meet the criteria for autism on standard diagnostic tests.
Questions for Bishop, Havdahl: Tantrums trick autism tests
By
Ann Griswold
1 November 2016 | 5 min read
Seeking precise portraits of girls with autism
Researchers need to consider new ways of capturing how autism manifests in girls, who may find clever ways of camouflaging their symptoms.
Gauging intelligence in autism over time
Adapting traditional tests of intelligence for people with intellectual disability can deflate their scores over time. Somer Bishop calls for tests that more accurately assess intelligence in this group.
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This paper changed my life: John Tuthill reflects on the subjectivity of selfhood
Wittlinger, Wehner and Wolf’s 2006 “stilts and stumps” Science paper revealed how ants pull off extraordinary feats of navigation using a biological odometer, and it inspired Tuthill to consider how other insects sense their own bodies.
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12 January 2026 | 7 min read
Some facial expressions are less reflexive than previously thought
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Some facial expressions are less reflexive than previously thought
A countenance such as a grimace activates many of the same cortical pathways as voluntary facial movements.
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8 January 2026 | 5 min read
Cracking the neural code for emotional states
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Cracking the neural code for emotional states
Rather than act as a simple switchboard for innate behaviors, the hypothalamus encodes an animal's internal state, which influences behavior.
By
Natalia Mesa
8 January 2026 | 8 min read