Methods

Recent articles

Tic-tac-toe board with pills representing x’s and o’s.

Basic pain research ‘is not working’: Q&A with Steven Prescott and Stéphanie Ratté

Prescott and Ratté critique the clinical relevance of preclinical studies in the field and highlight areas for improvement.

By Sydney Wyatt
18 April 2025 | 7 min read
Research image of olfactory bulb activity.

Smell studies often use unnaturally high odor concentrations, analysis reveals

It’s time to fashion olfactory neuroscience stimuli based on odor concentrations in the wild, say study investigators Elizabeth Hong and Matt Wachowiak.

By Calli McMurray
16 April 2025 | 7 min read
Research image comparing methods of identifying genes and biological processes linked to Alzheimer's disease.

New tool may help untangle downstream effects of autism-linked genes

The statistical approach helps scientists better control for both measured and unmeasured confounders in gene-expression data, revealing causal relationships between autism-linked genetic variants and downstream cellular effects, such as impaired neuron development.

By Giorgia Guglielmi
27 March 2025 | 5 min read
Data streams into a transparent box.

Accepting “the bitter lesson” and embracing the brain’s complexity

To gain insight into complex neural data, we must move toward a data-driven regime, training large models on vast amounts of information. We asked nine experts on computational neuroscience and neural data analysis to weigh in.

By Eva Dyer, Blake Richards
26 March 2025 | 8 min read
Research image of a fiber optic implant in a mouse brain.

Bespoke photometry system captures variety of dopamine signals in mice

The tool tracks the excitation of an engineered protein that senses dopamine’s absolute levels, including fast and slow fluctuations in real time, and offers new insights into how the signals change across the brain.

By Sydney Wyatt
21 March 2025 | 5 min read
Side view of a Tardigrade.

How tiny tardigrades could help tackle systems neuroscience questions

The eight-legged, millimeter-long animals reveal how small nervous systems produce complex behaviors and perceptual abilities, a preprint suggests.

By Dori Grijseels
11 March 2025 | 6 min read
A geometric figure looks out on an abstract horizon.

The limits of neuroscience

Truly understanding the brain requires a set of conditions we’re unlikely to meet: that knowledge about the brain is finite, and that we have both access to that knowledge and the means to understand it.

By Mark Humphries
10 March 2025 | 8 min read
Two scientists walk along interlocking rings.

Breaking the barrier between theorists and experimentalists

Many neuroscience students are steeped in an experiment-first style of thinking that leads to “random walk science.” Let’s not forget how theory can guide experiments toward deeper insights.

By Samuel Gershman
24 February 2025 | 6 min read
Abstract illustration of overlapping lines.

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?

By Grace Lindsay
7 February 2025 | 6 min read

Plaque levels differ in popular Alzheimer’s mouse model depending on which parent’s variants are passed down

5XFAD model mice that inherit two disease-related genes from their fathers have double the plaques seen in those with maternal inheritance, a new study shows.

By Shaena Montanari
4 February 2025 | 0 min watch

Explore more from The Transmitter

Research image of fMRI scans showing decision-making across individuals.

During decision-making, brain shows multiple distinct subtypes of activity

Person-to-person variability in brain activity might represent meaningful differences in cognitive processes, rather than random noise.

By Claudia López Lloreda
18 April 2025 | 5 min read
National Institutes of Health building cleaved in two.

Proposed NIH budget cut threatens ‘massive destruction of American science’

A leaked draft of a Trump administration proposal includes an approximately 40 percent cut to the National Institutes of Health’s budget and a major reorganization of its 27 institutes and centers.

By Angie Voyles Askham
17 April 2025 | 3 min read
Research image of grids of mouse and human brain scans.

Too much or too little brain synchrony may underlie autism subtypes

Functional connectivity differences in autism mouse models point to two subtypes that correspond to patterns seen in some people with the condition.

By Calli McMurray
17 April 2025 | 6 min read