IMFAR 2012

Recent articles

Spectrum from The Transmitter.

Brain trust

Preliminary research shows that in people with autism, oxytocin enhances activity in brain areas that process social information.

By Emily Singer
1 June 2012 | 2 min read
Spectrum from The Transmitter.

In autism, head growth patterns vary by gender

Girls diagnosed with autism have slower brain growth in the first year of their life than typically developing children, whereas boys’ brains grow at the same rate as those of typical children, according to a population-based study in Norway.

By Emily Singer
24 May 2012 | 3 min read
Spectrum from The Transmitter.

New report finds DSM-5 criteria unlikely to exclude many

Contrary to previous studies, preliminary results from field trials of the new criteria for diagnosing autism suggest it will capture people on the high-functioning end of the spectrum.

By Emily Singer
24 May 2012 | 7 min read
Spectrum from The Transmitter.

Early data suggest antibiotic helps treat fragile X syndrome

Preliminary results from a placebo-controlled trial of the antibiotic minocycline in children with fragile X syndrome suggest the drug alleviates some aspects of the disorder, according to research presented Friday at the International Meeting for Autism Research in Toronto.

By Emily Singer
19 May 2012 | 3 min read
Spectrum from The Transmitter.

Why it’s good to share your data

Neuroscience funding has plateaued, so researchers need to squeeze every drop from existing data.

By Emily Singer
18 May 2012 | 2 min read
Spectrum from The Transmitter.

Long-term project charts methylation patterns in pregnancy

By studying pregnant women who already have a child with autism, researchers hope to understand how epigenetic changes — those that affect gene expression but don’t directly alter DNA — during pregnancy influences risk of the disorder.

By Emily Singer
18 May 2012 | 3 min read
Spectrum from The Transmitter.

Giving fathers oxytocin boosts levels in babies

Two new studies on oxytocin, the so-called ‘trust hormone,’ suggest new avenues for using the drug to treat autism.

By Emily Singer
17 May 2012 | 3 min read

Explore more from The Transmitter

It’s time to examine neural coding from the message’s point of view

In studying the brain, we almost always take the neuron’s perspective. But we can gain new insights by reorienting our frame of reference to that of the messages flowing over brain networks.

By Daniel Graham
1 April 2025 | 0 min watch
Illustration of an open journal featuring lines of text and small illustrations of eyes and mouths.

Autism traits, mental health conditions interact in sex-dependent ways in early development

Here is a roundup of autism-related news and research spotted around the web for the week of 31 March.

By Jill Adams
1 April 2025 | 2 min read
Research image of an assembloid.

Organoids and assembloids offer a new window into human brain

These sophisticated 3D cultures reveal previously inaccessible stages of human brain development and enable the systematic study of disease genes.

By Sergiu P. Pasca
31 March 2025 | 6 min read