Synaptic
Recent articles
This podcast focuses on the people, the science and the challenges in neuroscience.
Stimulating the brain with Damien Fair
The MacArthur Foundation “genius” discusses his return to his home state of Minnesota and why it’s important to protect the developing brain.
![Illustrated portrait of Damien Fair.](https://www.thetransmitter.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/1200-synaptic-damien-fair-1024x683.png)
Stimulating the brain with Damien Fair
The MacArthur Foundation “genius” discusses his return to his home state of Minnesota and why it’s important to protect the developing brain.
Season 2 of ‘Synaptic’ draws to a close
Season 3 will begin next year.
![The logo of the Synaptic podcast.](https://www.thetransmitter.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/1200-synaptic-1024x683.webp)
Season 2 of ‘Synaptic’ draws to a close
Season 3 will begin next year.
Timothy Ryan on his pivotal switch from studying particle physics to decoding synaptic transmission
Dissuaded from pursuing theoretical physics and deterred by the “long feedback loop” in experimental physics, the National Academy of Sciences member took inspiration from “polymath” Watt Webb and “visionary” Stephen Smith—and learned to work “completely outside his comfort zone.”
![Illustrated portrait of Tim Ryan.](https://www.thetransmitter.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Tim-Ryan-art-1200-1024x692.webp)
Timothy Ryan on his pivotal switch from studying particle physics to decoding synaptic transmission
Dissuaded from pursuing theoretical physics and deterred by the “long feedback loop” in experimental physics, the National Academy of Sciences member took inspiration from “polymath” Watt Webb and “visionary” Stephen Smith—and learned to work “completely outside his comfort zone.”
Biosensors and being fearless with Lin Tian
Tian discusses protein function and structure, and the historic city in China where she was born.
![Illustrated portrait of Lin Tian.](https://www.thetransmitter.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/lin-tian-synaptic-1200-1024x683.webp)
Biosensors and being fearless with Lin Tian
Tian discusses protein function and structure, and the historic city in China where she was born.
Male and female brains, Proust, and Catherine Dulac
The 2021 Breakthrough Prize winner explains how reading widely shaped her worldview, and discusses the vomeronasal organ.
![Illustrated portrait of Catherine Dulac.](https://www.thetransmitter.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/CatherineDulac-1200-1024x692.webp)
Male and female brains, Proust, and Catherine Dulac
The 2021 Breakthrough Prize winner explains how reading widely shaped her worldview, and discusses the vomeronasal organ.
Diagnosing autism and teaching neurodiversity with So Hyun “Sophy” Kim
The Korea University professor on her path to autism research and studying in the United States.
![Illustrated portrait of So Hyun “Sophy” Kim.](https://www.thetransmitter.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/1200-sophy-kim-synaptic-1024x683.webp)
Diagnosing autism and teaching neurodiversity with So Hyun “Sophy” Kim
The Korea University professor on her path to autism research and studying in the United States.
Eve Marder, neural circuits and being heard
The National Medal of Science winner explains why she built her career around the crustacean and what it was like attending high school in a Hudson River town.
![Illustrated portrait of Eve Marder](https://www.thetransmitter.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/EverMarder-1200-1024x692.png)
Eve Marder, neural circuits and being heard
The National Medal of Science winner explains why she built her career around the crustacean and what it was like attending high school in a Hudson River town.
Brain connectivity and letting the data speak with Emily Finn
The Dartmouth College researcher talks about her quest to understand behavior and doing neuroscience “in the woods.”
![Illustrated portrait of Emily Finn.](https://www.thetransmitter.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/1200-emily-finn-synaptic-neuroscience-transmitter-1024x692.webp)
Brain connectivity and letting the data speak with Emily Finn
The Dartmouth College researcher talks about her quest to understand behavior and doing neuroscience “in the woods.”
The value of math and spatial learning with Loren Frank
The Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator discusses what drew him to study the brain and his current work at the University of California, San Francisco.
![Illustrated portrait of Loren Frank.](https://www.thetransmitter.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/1200-loren-frank-synaptic-1-1024x683.webp)
The value of math and spatial learning with Loren Frank
The Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator discusses what drew him to study the brain and his current work at the University of California, San Francisco.
Setting up a frog colony and pair bonding with Lauren O’Connell
To become a scientist, O’Connell first needed to leave the family farm.
![Illustrated portrait of Lauren O’Connell.](https://www.thetransmitter.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Lauren0connell-1200-1024x692.webp)
Setting up a frog colony and pair bonding with Lauren O’Connell
To become a scientist, O’Connell first needed to leave the family farm.
Explore more from The Transmitter
Rethinking mental health: The body’s impact on the brain
Mounting evidence illustrates how peripheral molecules can influence brain function, offering new therapeutic targets.
![Illustration of a body, brain visible through a transparent head, looking at orange circles over its hands.](https://www.thetransmitter.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/1200-hodes-body-brain-mental-health-neuroscience-1024x683.png)
Rethinking mental health: The body’s impact on the brain
Mounting evidence illustrates how peripheral molecules can influence brain function, offering new therapeutic targets.
How eight initiatives are tackling neuroscience’s gender gap
In honor of today’s International Day of Women and Girls in Science, The Transmitter spoke with some of the women working to bolster their ranks in the field through storytelling podcasts, speaker repositories, social media networks and other community-based advocacy projects.
![Illustrated collage of women doing scientific tasks: looking at brain slices, pouring a solution into a beaker and looking into a microscope.](https://www.thetransmitter.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/1200-women-neuroscience-gender-imbalance-1024x683.png)
How eight initiatives are tackling neuroscience’s gender gap
In honor of today’s International Day of Women and Girls in Science, The Transmitter spoke with some of the women working to bolster their ranks in the field through storytelling podcasts, speaker repositories, social media networks and other community-based advocacy projects.
TSC2 gene; cortical thickness; long noncoding RNA
Here is a roundup of autism-related news and research spotted around the web for the week of 10 February.
![Research image of neural rosettes.](https://www.thetransmitter.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/1200-spotted-TSC2-RNA-autism-1024x683.png)
TSC2 gene; cortical thickness; long noncoding RNA
Here is a roundup of autism-related news and research spotted around the web for the week of 10 February.