SFN 2021

Recent articles

Including immune cells in brain organoids improves model’s accuracy

Cortical organoids that contain non-neuronal brain cells called microglia may reflect human neurodevelopment more faithfully than those that don’t.

By Peter Hess
15 November 2021 | 3 min read

New studies reveal how autism might alter synapse formation, pruning

The work fills in gaps about how synapses change before and after birth — essential knowledge for understanding whether synapse development differs in autism.

By Angie Voyles Askham
12 November 2021 | 4 min read

Gene therapy for rare form of autism may treat another

A MECP2 gene therapy for Rett syndrome eases repetitive behaviors, anxiety and hyperactivity in a mouse model of Pitt-Hopkins syndrome.

By Laura Dattaro
11 November 2021 | 3 min read

Dispatches from SfN 2021: Mitochondria, Rett therapy and oxytocin

These short reports from Spectrum journalists highlight some of the autism-related findings that caught our attention at the meeting this past week.

By Angie Voyles Askham, Laura Dattaro, Anna Goshua, Peter Hess
11 November 2021 | 9 min read
No signal error screen.

Technical issues force SfN presenters to improvise

Technical issues have plagued the 2021 Society for Neuroscience annual meeting, with presenters unable to log in for their virtual poster sessions and battling auto-captioning quirks.

By Peter Hess
10 November 2021 | 6 min read
Three mice sniffing each other.

Reversing mutations in top autism-linked gene makes adult mice more social

Treatments that counteract the effects of an SCN2A mutation in mice increase the animals’ sociability in adulthood, according to a new unpublished study.

By Laura Dattaro
10 November 2021 | 3 min read

Despite calls to action, Black scientists remain underrepresented at neuroscience meetings

The percentage of Black researchers presenting at neuroscience conferences has increased by only a meager amount since the Black Lives Matter protests of 2020.

By Peter Hess
8 November 2021 | 3 min read

Auto-antibodies shape brain development in myriad ways

Animal models of autism rooted in exposure to maternal antibodies hint at different mechanisms.

By Angie Voyles Askham
8 November 2021 | 5 min read

Explore more from The Transmitter

Illustration of a shrew, sandpiper, locust, axolotl, monarch butterfly, African killifish, naked mole rat, octopus, bat and cichlid.

The non-model organism “renaissance” has arrived

Meet 10 neuroscientists bringing model diversity back with the funky animals they study.

Assembloids illuminate circuit-level changes linked to autism, neurodevelopment

These complex combinations of organoids afford a closer look at how gene alterations affect certain brain networks.

By Sarah DeWeerdt
19 December 2024 | 0 min watch
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Rajesh Rao reflects on predictive brains, neural interfaces and the future of human intelligence

Twenty-five years ago, Rajesh Rao proposed a seminal theory of how brains could implement predictive coding for perception. His modern version zeroes in on actions.

By Paul Middlebrooks
18 December 2024 | 97 min listen