Superior temporal sulcus

Recent articles

‘Social brain’ activity may not differ in some autistic people

People with autism may have patterns of brain activity that are similar to those in typical people when interpreting social interactions.

By Lauren Schenkman
16 March 2020 | 5 min read
Child in MEG with eeg cap

Autistic children may have to mute own perspective to grasp others’

To understand another person's point of view, children with autism may need to actively suppress their own.

By Bahar Gholipour
6 December 2018 | 5 min read
child sticking tongue out and making a face while holding chopsticks

In autism, food quirks show up in social brain areas

Young adults with autism who have intense sensitivity to taste show increased activation in social areas of the brain when they taste something sweet.

By Sarah DeWeerdt
15 November 2017 | 3 min read
Spectrum from The Transmitter.

How dining out with my daughter inspired my autism studies

Restaurants can be stressful for my daughter Frances, who has autism, but her difficulties led me to try to better understand and treat her type of situational anxiety.

By Kevin Pelphrey
12 May 2016 | 7 min read
Spectrum from The Transmitter.

Researchers map spot in brain for tracking others’ eyes

Following another person’s gaze is a task distinct from recognizing and reading faces.

By Sarah DeWeerdt
19 October 2015 | 4 min read

Brain’s face detector lights up questions about autism’s origins

Lower activity in a key face processing region of the brain hints that people with autism could benefit from training to become ‘face experts.’

By Sarah DeWeerdt
15 October 2015 | 0 min watch
Spectrum from The Transmitter.

Landscape of brain ridges may vary with gender in autism

A region of the brain involved in interpreting social cues is unusually smooth in boys and men with autism, but normal in girls and women with the disorder.

By Nicholette Zeliadt
31 July 2015 | 4 min read
Spectrum from The Transmitter.

In autism, RNA snippets vary little by brain region, age

The expression patterns of microRNAs vary less by brain region and age in people with autism than in controls. Researchers presented the unpublished findings Tuesday at the 2014 Society for Neuroscience annual meeting in Washington, D.C.

By Nicholette Zeliadt
20 November 2014 | 3 min read
Spectrum from The Transmitter.

Therapy for autism may alter brain activity, behavior

After four months of a behavioral therapy known as pivotal response training, children with autism show improved behavior and enhanced activity in brain regions that process social information. Researchers presented these preliminary results from a trial yesterday at the 2014 Society for Neuroscience annual meeting in Washington, D.C.

By Nicholette Zeliadt
19 November 2014 | 4 min read
Black-and-white collage of mouths and noses.

People with autism have trouble processing sight, sound

People with autism tend to be less efficient than controls at integrating what they hear with what they see, according to unpublished results presented today at the 2014 Society for Neuroscience annual meeting in Washington, D.C.

By Sarah DeWeerdt
17 November 2014 | 3 min read

Explore more from The Transmitter

Hands cut a ribbon.

What Trump’s psychedelics executive order means for basic neuroscience

The order provides a potential path to remove some psychedelic drugs from the strictest regulatory category, yet it “may not be the breakthrough the basic research community has been looking for,” says neuroscientist Shawn Lockery.

By Calli McMurray
24 April 2026 | 4 min read
Research image visualizing neuronal activity.

Switching neural code may solve ongoing face-recognition debate

Face patch cells in macaque monkeys initially respond to images of any object but rapidly transition to attend to faces exclusively, a new study finds.

By Holly Barker
23 April 2026 | 5 min read

Liset de la Prida explains how neuron subtypes may control the activity of large neural populations, from manifolds to ripples

De la Prida's work analyzing the varieties of sharp wave ripples in the hippocampus led to her discovery that specific types of neurons control the properties of neural manifolds.

By Paul Middlebrooks
22 April 2026 | 104 min listen