Spectrum
Recent articles
Spectrum is the go-to destination for the latest news and analysis about autism research and a springboard for scientists and clinicians to forge collaborations that deepen our understanding of autism.
![Illustration of a hand and various blocks, check boxes, and shapes and lines.](https://www.thetransmitter.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Guastella-transdiagnostic-1200-1024x692.png)
To accelerate the study of neurodevelopment, we need a transdiagnostic framework
![Research image of mouse olfactory bulbs.](https://www.thetransmitter.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/202502-SpottedFMR1-1024x692.png)
Olfaction; autism-linked genes in monkeys; eye movements
![A scientist walks down a syringe towards a woman holding a child.](https://www.thetransmitter.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/VaccineNews-1200-1024x692.webp)
Roundup: The false association between vaccines and autism
Action potentials
![Image](https://www.thetransmitter.org/wp-content/themes/transmitter2023/frontend/images/seminar-bg.jpg)
”It’s a new framework to understand how microexons perform their activities. — XAVIER SALVATELLA
![View out a window onto an open plaza in Krakow.](https://www.thetransmitter.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Krakow-square-autism-1200-1024x692.png)
My hope for displaced Ukrainian children with autism, an update
![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
![Illustration of children looking at a gigantic set of building blocks, some of which display genetic sequences on their surfaces.](https://www.thetransmitter.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/autism-heritability-sex-1200-1024x692.webp)
Autism is more heritable in boys than in girls
![Stock photograph of a women and her young child at a clinician’s office.](https://www.thetransmitter.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/evaluation-1200-1024x692.webp)
A genetics-first clinic for catching developmental conditions early: Q&A with Jacob Vorstman
![Sunlit portrait photograph of Christine Wu Nordahl.](https://www.thetransmitter.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/1200-lede-transmitter-neuroscience-nordahl-1024x683.webp)
Christine Wu Nordahl, doing whatever it takes to get good data
![Decorative background of a grid of pale yellow envelopes.](https://www.thetransmitter.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/nl-background-softened-scaled.webp)
![an illustration of scientists parachuting](https://www.thetransmitter.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/ParachuteProb-1200-1024x692.webp)
The perils of parachute research
Scientists who study autism in lower-income countries are working to end practices that exploit or ignore collaborators and communities on the ground.
![Research video of a zebrafish larva (zoomed in on the gut) being given glucose.](https://www.thetransmitter.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/844-peripheral-nervous-system-deep-dive-autism-hp-size.gif)
On the periphery: Thinking ‘outside the brain’ offers new ideas about autism
Neuronal alterations outside the brain may help to explain a host of the condition’s characteristic traits, including sensory changes, gut problems and motor differences.
![Woman in a clinician's office.](https://www.thetransmitter.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/1200-spectrum-autism-prevalence-children-adults2-1024x683.png)
Autism prevalence increasing in children, adults, according to electronic medical records
![Young child stacks colored blocks on a table.](https://www.thetransmitter.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Motor-autism-development-811-1-1024x692.jpg)
High prevalence of developmental delay strains Australia’s support systems
![An illustration of Brian Boyd](https://www.thetransmitter.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/1200-brian-boyd-synaptic-podcast-1024x692.png)
Brian Boyd, classroom-based interventions and the importance of representation
![An illustration of Evodkia Anagnastou](https://www.thetransmitter.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/1200-evdokia-anagnostou-synaptic-podcast-1024x692.png)
Evdokia Anagnostou and the concept of a good life
![Black-and-white illustrated portrait of Jonathan Green.](https://www.thetransmitter.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/1200-jonathan-green-qa-autism-spectrum-stories.png)
‘Emergent and transactional’: How Jonathan Green is rethinking autism and interventions
![Portrait of Matthew Siegel sitting on a staircase.](https://www.thetransmitter.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/1200-lede-siegel-qa-transmitter-neuroscience-1024x683.webp)
Pinning down ‘profound autism’ for reliable research: Q&A with Matthew Siegel
![A patient receives transcranial magnetic stimulation.](https://www.thetransmitter.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/1200-transcranial-magnetic-stimulation-autism-1-1024x692.png)
Magnetic stimulation for autism: Q&A with Xujun Duan
![A dentist examines a young girl’s teeth.](https://www.thetransmitter.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/1200-dentist-sensory-adaptations-autism-1024x692.jpg)
Easing sensory sensitivities in the clinic: Q&A with Leah Stein Duker
![Autism researcher Veronica Martinez Cereno holds a brain in her lab.](https://www.thetransmitter.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/Cerdeno-Autism-brain-cc-844.jpg)
Beyond the bench: At school with Verónica Martínez Cerdeño
![Jill Silverman sits at her desk with her dog.](https://www.thetransmitter.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/cc-lede-844-jill-silverman-autism-research-beyond-the-bench.png)
Beyond the bench: Finding solitude with Jill Silverman
![Gavin Rumbaugh stands on a beach with his family: his wife, dog and child.](https://www.thetransmitter.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/844-lede-gavin-rumbaugh-autism-research.jpg)
Beyond the bench: Finding balance with Gavin Rumbaugh
![Illustration of a form being signed.](https://www.thetransmitter.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/1200-decisional-capacity-1024x683.webp)
Decisional capacity and informed consent, explained
![Illustration of a pregnant woman seated next to a large diagram of the brain featuring chromosomes, bacteria and other microbes.](https://www.thetransmitter.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/1200-maternal-inflamation-1024x683.webp)
The link between maternal infection and autism, explained
![Child stands with back to group of large signs offering directions.](https://www.thetransmitter.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/1200-pathological-demand-avoidance-1024x683.webp)
Pathological demand avoidance in autism, explained
![Illustration of a figure using a nasal spray.](https://www.thetransmitter.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Oxytocin-844-copy.jpg)
The connection between oxytocin and autism, explained
Spectrum books
New human brain atlas charts gene activity and chromosome accessibility, from embryo to adolescence
The resource profiles millions of single cells across the developing cortex, revealing when, where and how certain cell types emerge and illuminating possible origins of autism and other conditions.
![Research image of different cell types in the neocortex.](https://www.thetransmitter.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/1200-transmitter-neuroscience-neocortex-1024x683.webp)
New human brain atlas charts gene activity and chromosome accessibility, from embryo to adolescence
The resource profiles millions of single cells across the developing cortex, revealing when, where and how certain cell types emerge and illuminating possible origins of autism and other conditions.
Cortical myelination; early vocabulary; EEG in tuberous sclerosis
Here is a roundup of autism-related news and research spotted around the web for the week of 27 January.
![Research image of regional structural differences in the brains of neurodiverse people.](https://www.thetransmitter.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/1200-spotted-myelination-vocabulary-sclerosis-1024x683.png)
Cortical myelination; early vocabulary; EEG in tuberous sclerosis
Here is a roundup of autism-related news and research spotted around the web for the week of 27 January.
Protein aggregates gum up ‘master regulator’ of autism-linked genes
The regulator, CPEB4, typically controls protein production for hundreds of autism-linked genes, but an alternative version of it found in autistic people forms irreversible clumps and malfunctions.
![Research image of cells lacking microexon 4.](https://www.thetransmitter.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/1200-prep-1-1024x683.png)
Protein aggregates gum up ‘master regulator’ of autism-linked genes
The regulator, CPEB4, typically controls protein production for hundreds of autism-linked genes, but an alternative version of it found in autistic people forms irreversible clumps and malfunctions.
Personalized medicine; astroglia organoids; fast track for fragile X drug
Here is a roundup of autism-related news and research spotted around the web for the week of 20 January.
![Research image of brain organoids with astroglia formation represented in green.](https://www.thetransmitter.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/1200-transmitter-neuroscience-spotted-20250121-1024x683.png)
Personalized medicine; astroglia organoids; fast track for fragile X drug
Here is a roundup of autism-related news and research spotted around the web for the week of 20 January.
X marks the spot in search for autism variants
Genetic variants on the X chromosome, including those in the gene DDX53, contribute to autism’s gender imbalance, two new studies suggest.
![Research image highlighting different brain regions.](https://www.thetransmitter.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/1200-transmitter-neuroscience-DDX53-genetic-variants-1024x683.png)
X marks the spot in search for autism variants
Genetic variants on the X chromosome, including those in the gene DDX53, contribute to autism’s gender imbalance, two new studies suggest.
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?