Sydney Wyatt is a reporting fellow for The Transmitter. Before joining The Transmitter in 2025, she spent two years in Salem, Oregon, covering health-care inequities for the Statesman Journal.
Sydney Wyatt
Reporting fellow
The Transmitter
From this contributor
Spatial learning circuitry fluctuates in step with estrous cycle in mice
Cyclic shifts in estradiol levels coincide with changes in dendritic spine density and the activity of place cells in the CA1 region of the hippocampus, a new study shows.
Spatial learning circuitry fluctuates in step with estrous cycle in mice
By
Sydney Wyatt
25 June 2025 | 6 min listen
The big idea with Diego Bohórquez
His theories around the neuropod have challenged the boundaries of classic ideas regarding gut-brain communication.
Learning in living mice defies classic synaptic plasticity rule
Donald Hebb’s theory—memorably summarized as “cells that fire together, wire together”—does not explain the shifting hippocampal connections in mice learning to navigate a virtual environment, according to a new study.
Learning in living mice defies classic synaptic plasticity rule
By
Sydney Wyatt
28 May 2025 | 6 min listen
Exclusive: Layoffs revoked at U.S. National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke
After more than a month of uncertainty, 30 previously purged employees at the institute no longer face termination.
‘Ancient’ brainstem structure evolved beyond basic motor control
The human red nucleus may also help coordinate action, reward and motivated behavior, a new study suggests.
‘Ancient’ brainstem structure evolved beyond basic motor control
By
Sydney Wyatt
16 May 2025 | 5 min read
Explore more from The Transmitter
Are brains and AI converging?—an excerpt from ‘ChatGPT and the Future of AI: The Deep Language Revolution’
In his new book, to be published next week, computational neuroscience pioneer Terrence Sejnowski tackles debates about AI’s capacity to mirror cognitive processes.
Are brains and AI converging?—an excerpt from ‘ChatGPT and the Future of AI: The Deep Language Revolution’
In his new book, to be published next week, computational neuroscience pioneer Terrence Sejnowski tackles debates about AI’s capacity to mirror cognitive processes.
By
Terrence Sejnowski
21 October 2024 | 12 min read
Hessameddin Akhlaghpour outlines how RNA may implement universal computation
Could the brain’s computational abilities extend beyond neural networks to molecular mechanisms? Akhlaghpour describes how natural universal computation may have evolved via RNA mechanisms.
Hessameddin Akhlaghpour outlines how RNA may implement universal computation
Could the brain’s computational abilities extend beyond neural networks to molecular mechanisms? Akhlaghpour describes how natural universal computation may have evolved via RNA mechanisms.
By
Paul Middlebrooks
26 November 2024 | 107 min listen
Immune cell interlopers breach—and repair—brain barrier in mice
The choroid plexus, the protective network of blood vessels and epithelial cells that line the brain’s ventricles, recruits neutrophils and macrophages during inflammation, a new study shows.
Immune cell interlopers breach—and repair—brain barrier in mice
The choroid plexus, the protective network of blood vessels and epithelial cells that line the brain’s ventricles, recruits neutrophils and macrophages during inflammation, a new study shows.
By
Claudia López Lloreda
20 November 2024 | 6 min listen