IMFAR 2014

Recent articles

Rats with mutant SHANK genes show autism-like behaviors

Researchers have engineered two new rats with mutations in a family of genes that function at neuronal junctions, they reported today at the 2014 International Meeting for Autism Research in Atlanta.

By Jessica Wright
16 February 2017 | 4 min read
Spectrum from The Transmitter.

Takeaways from IMFAR 2014

A focus on adults with autism and on junior researchers in the field were two of the themes at the 2014 International Meeting for Autism Research in Atlanta, Georgia.

By Greg Boustead
22 May 2014 | 6 min read
Spectrum from The Transmitter.

Distinct differences mark male, female autism brains

Male and female preschoolers with autism have distinct sets of brain regions that distinguish them from typically developing controls, according to unpublished research presented Saturday at the 2014 International Meeting for Autism Research in Atlanta.

By Jessica Wright
20 May 2014 | 3 min read
Spectrum from The Transmitter.

Autism gene may be key to discovering new candidates

CHD8, a gene that has emerged as one of the strongest risk factors for autism, regulates the expression of more than half of a set of 'high-confidence' risk genes for the disorder. The unpublished data were presented Saturday at the 2014 International Meeting for Autism Research in Atlanta.

By Jessica Wright
19 May 2014 | 2 min read
Spectrum from The Transmitter.

Autism development may be obscured by parents’ memory

Parents may notice a loss of skills in their children as it is happening, but do not recall it clearly later on. The unpublished research, presented yesterday at the 2014 International Meeting for Autism Research in Atlanta, hints at a fatal flaw in diagnostic tools for autism that rely on parents’ memory.

By Jessica Wright
17 May 2014 | 4 min read
Spectrum from The Transmitter.

Some infants at risk of autism show improvements at 9 months

Some infant siblings of children with autism initially behave like children with the disorder, but show improvements in their social skills around 9 months of age. The unpublished research, presented yesterday at the 2014 International Meeting for Autism Research in Atlanta, suggests that these children possess a “resilience” that keeps them from developing autism. 

By Jessica Wright
17 May 2014 | 3 min read
Spectrum from The Transmitter.

Adults with autism may have high burden of health problems

Adults with autism may suffer from various health problems, ranging from psychiatric conditions to motor symptoms that resemble Parkinson’s disease, according to two studies presented Thursday at the 2014 International Meeting for Autism Research in Atlanta.

By Jessica Wright
17 May 2014 | 6 min read
Spectrum from The Transmitter.

Autism-linked chromosomal region regulates brain size

The genes in 16p11.2, the autism-linked region on chromosome 16, may directly affect brain size early in development, according to unpublished research presented Thursday at the 2014 International Meeting for Autism Research in Atlanta.

By Jessica Wright
16 May 2014 | 3 min read
Spectrum from The Transmitter.

Reactions from IMFAR 2014

Daily updates and reactions from attendees at the 2014 International Meeting for Autism Research in Atlanta, Georgia.

By Greg Boustead
16 May 2014 | 9 min read

Explore more from The Transmitter

INSAR takes ‘intentional break’ from annual summer webinar series

The International Society for Autism Research cited a need to “thoughtfully reimagine” its popular online program before resuming it in 2026.

By Lauren Schenkman
30 June 2025 | 4 min read
Research image showing that activity in single neurons spikes when a person encodes sequential items into working memory.

Null and Noteworthy: Neurons tracking sequences don’t fire in order

Instead, neurons encode the position of sequential items in working memory based on when they fire during ongoing brain wave oscillations—a finding that challenges a long-standing theory.

By Laura Dattaro
30 June 2025 | 4 min read
A hand points to a chalkboard with an astrocyte on it.

How to teach this paper: ‘Neurotoxic reactive astrocytes are induced by activated microglia,’ by Liddelow et al. (2017)

Shane Liddelow and his collaborators identified the factors that transform astrocytes from their helpful to harmful form. Their work is a great choice if you want to teach students about glial cell types, cell culture, gene expression or protein measurement.

By Ashley Juavinett
30 June 2025 | 10 min read