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Inspiring stories and practical advice for neuroscientists
Why practical summer courses in neuroscience matter
Among other reasons, this tradition helps researchers rekindle the unfettered joy that initially brought them to the field.
![Multiple people look together at a whiteboard in a lab.](https://www.thetransmitter.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/lede-1200-tuthill-neuroscience-summer-courses-5-1024x683.webp)
Why practical summer courses in neuroscience matter
Among other reasons, this tradition helps researchers rekindle the unfettered joy that initially brought them to the field.
In your New Year’s resolutions for 2025, consider public outreach
If every person in the neuroscience community committed to doing one thing, imagine the cumulative difference it would make.
![A disembodied arm holds a megaphone.](https://www.thetransmitter.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Science-Communication-Rust-1200-1024x692.png)
In your New Year’s resolutions for 2025, consider public outreach
If every person in the neuroscience community committed to doing one thing, imagine the cumulative difference it would make.
The Transmitter’s favorite essays and columns of 2024
From sex differences in Alzheimer’s disease to enduring citation bias, experts weighed in on important scientific and practical issues in neuroscience.
![Illustration of distorted lines of different colors being pulled into a box where they are smoothed in a single multicolored line.](https://www.thetransmitter.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Averaging-Humphries-neuro-1200-1024x683.png)
The Transmitter’s favorite essays and columns of 2024
From sex differences in Alzheimer’s disease to enduring citation bias, experts weighed in on important scientific and practical issues in neuroscience.
Open-access neuroscience comes to the classroom: Q&A with Liz Kirby
Neuroscience textbooks can be prohibitively expensive for some undergraduate students. A new open-access alternative seeks to change that.
![Illustration of an open book with the pages creating a brain shape, and with a tassel resembling a DNA sequence.](https://www.thetransmitter.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Kirby-Open-Neuro-textbook-1200-1024x683.png)
Open-access neuroscience comes to the classroom: Q&A with Liz Kirby
Neuroscience textbooks can be prohibitively expensive for some undergraduate students. A new open-access alternative seeks to change that.
An eye for science: Q&A with Bryan W. Jones
The researcher explains how the beauty of the retina drew him into the vision field and why photography reminds him of the value of that work.
![Black-and-white photograph of Bryan W Jones holding a camera and pointing it back at the photographer.](https://www.thetransmitter.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/BryanJonesLede-1200-1024x692.png)
An eye for science: Q&A with Bryan W. Jones
The researcher explains how the beauty of the retina drew him into the vision field and why photography reminds him of the value of that work.
How to be a multidisciplinary neuroscientist
Neuroscience subfields are often siloed. Embracing an integrative approach during training can help change that.
![Illustration of overlapping silhouettes of two faces in profile facing a matrix of dots of various colors and sizes.](https://www.thetransmitter.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Coley-Multidisciplinary-neuro-1200-1024x614.webp)
How to be a multidisciplinary neuroscientist
Neuroscience subfields are often siloed. Embracing an integrative approach during training can help change that.
From bench to bot: How important is prompt engineering?
To draft the most effective prompt, assume the stance of teacher.
![Computer-generated illustration of a black box with many lines coming into its left side and a compressed stream coming out of its right side.](https://www.thetransmitter.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/AIprompts-requarth-1200-1024x692.webp)
From bench to bot: How important is prompt engineering?
To draft the most effective prompt, assume the stance of teacher.
The case for redefining ‘theory of mind’: Q&A with François Quesque
In a new commentary, Quesque and 44 experts in neuroscience and psychology propose a standardized lexicon for research on the attribution of mental states.
![Two surreal heads touch each other’s faces.](https://www.thetransmitter.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/VeronykaJelinek-Point-of-view-1024x692.gif)
The case for redefining ‘theory of mind’: Q&A with François Quesque
In a new commentary, Quesque and 44 experts in neuroscience and psychology propose a standardized lexicon for research on the attribution of mental states.
How neuroscience comics add KA-POW! to the field: Q&A with Kanaka Rajan
The artistic approach can help explain complex ideas frame by frame without diluting the science, Rajan says.
![Illustrated portrait of Kanaka Rajan.](https://www.thetransmitter.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/KanakaRajanLedeportrait-1200-1024x692.webp)
How neuroscience comics add KA-POW! to the field: Q&A with Kanaka Rajan
The artistic approach can help explain complex ideas frame by frame without diluting the science, Rajan says.
Tips to navigate SfN as a trainee
As the mammoth annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience kicks off, here is some guidance to get the most out of it—plus a request for principal investigators to train students in “soft skills.”
![Stock photograph of several groups of people in business attire standing and having conversations.](https://www.thetransmitter.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/1200-neuroscience-transmitter-tips-navigate-sfn-1024x683.webp)
Tips to navigate SfN as a trainee
As the mammoth annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience kicks off, here is some guidance to get the most out of it—plus a request for principal investigators to train students in “soft skills.”
Explore more from The Transmitter
‘Digital humans’ in a virtual world
By combining large language models with modular cognitive control architecture, Robert Yang and his collaborators have built agents that are capable of grounded reasoning at a linguistic level. Striking collective behaviors have emerged.
‘Digital humans’ in a virtual world
By combining large language models with modular cognitive control architecture, Robert Yang and his collaborators have built agents that are capable of grounded reasoning at a linguistic level. Striking collective behaviors have emerged.
Food for thought: Neuronal fuel source more flexible than previously recognized
The cells primarily rely on glucose—rather than lactate from astrocytes—to generate energy, according to recent findings in mice.
![Research image of brain glucose levels in mice.](https://www.thetransmitter.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/1200-transmitter-neuroscience-lactate-shuttle-astrocyte-1024x683.png)
Food for thought: Neuronal fuel source more flexible than previously recognized
The cells primarily rely on glucose—rather than lactate from astrocytes—to generate energy, according to recent findings in mice.
Claims of necessity and sufficiency are not well suited for the study of complex systems
The earliest studies on necessary and sufficient neural populations were performed on simple invertebrate circuits. Does this logic still serve us as we tackle more sophisticated outputs?
![Abstract illustration of overlapping lines.](https://www.thetransmitter.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Necessary-sufficient-neuro-1200-1024x692.png)
Claims of necessity and sufficiency are not well suited for the study of complex systems
The earliest studies on necessary and sufficient neural populations were performed on simple invertebrate circuits. Does this logic still serve us as we tackle more sophisticated outputs?