Manifolds

Recent articles

Tatiana Engel explains how to connect high-dimensional neural circuitry with low-dimensional cognitive functions

Neuroscientists have long sought to understand the relationship between structure and function in the vast connectivity and activity patterns in the brain. Engel discusses her modeling approach to discovering the hidden patterns that connect the two.

By Paul Middlebrooks
3 December 2025 | 1 min read
Illustration of a colorful, donut-shaped object resting on a distorted plane with its own topography.

Neural manifolds: Latest buzzword or pathway to understand the brain?

When you cut away the misconceptions, neural manifolds present a conceptually appropriate level at which systems neuroscientists can study the brain.

By Matthew Perich
2 October 2024 | 8 min read

Explore more from The Transmitter

New projectome captures ‘complex beast’ of serotonin system in mice

The whole-brain map—the first of its kind in a vertebrate—identifies five distinct neuron groups.

By Madeline Shaw
2 October 2026 | 0 min watch
Research image showing a grid of MRI images.

Silent, motion-resistant fMRI expands scans in behaving mice

The method, called SORDINO, captures brain images in animals while they move and interact.

By Diana Kwon
2 October 2026 | 5 min read
Illustration of DNA with genetic code.

Autism-linked variants converge on two molecular patterns in mouse brains

Gene activity across 17 autism mouse models occurs in either of two opposing transcriptomic states, supporting the idea that diverse genetic changes may converge on a few recurring biological patterns.

By Giorgia Guglielmi
1 October 2026 | 4 min read