Systems neuroscience

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Gloved hand reaches out to touch a mouse.

This paper changed my life: Ishmail Abdus-Saboor on balancing the study of pain and pleasure

A 2013 Nature paper from David Anderson’s lab revealed a group of sensory neurons involved in pleasurable touch and led Abdus-Saboor down a new research path.

By Ishmail Abdus-Saboor
13 February 2026 | 7 min read
A network of connected dots of light hovers inside a translucent human head, with figures in lab coats pointing to it from the foreground.

Computational psychiatry needs systems neuroscience

Dissecting different parallel processing streams may help us understand the mechanisms underlying psychiatric symptoms, such as delusions, and unite human and animal research.

By Michael Halassa
13 January 2026 | 7 min read
Mouse on top of drinking water spout in crowded cage.

Cracking the neural code for emotional states

Rather than act as a simple switchboard for innate behaviors, the hypothalamus encodes an animal's internal state, which influences behavior.

By Natalia Mesa
8 January 2026 | 8 min read
Books.

The Transmitter’s most-read neuroscience book excerpts of 2025

Books by Nachum Ulanovsky, Nicole Rust, and Andrew Iwaniuk and Georg Striedter made the list of some of the year's most engaging neuroscience titles.

By The Transmitter
24 December 2025 | 2 min read
Adam Kampff.

Remembering Adam Kampff, neuroscience educator and researcher

Kampff’s do-it-yourself approach inspired a generation of neuroscientists.

By Lauren Schneider
24 December 2025 | 6 min read

Explore more from The Transmitter

How insights from network theory can boost interdisciplinary efforts

Communication on one interdisciplinary research team improved after the researchers turned an analysis technique used to study the brain on themselves and identified the roles people played in lab meetings.

By Emily Singer
23 February 2026 | 0 min watch
Portrait of Raphe Bernier in front of a collage of a building, a chalkboard, a computer and human silhouettes.

Frameshift: Raphe Bernier followed his heart out of academia, then made his way back again

After a clinical research career, an interlude at Apple and four months in early retirement, Raphe Bernier found joy in teaching.

By Katie Moisse
20 February 2026 | 8 min read
Research image showing gene association.

Organoid study reveals shared brain pathways across autism-linked variants

The genetic variants initially affect brain development in unique ways, but over time they converge on common molecular pathways.

By Giorgia Guglielmi
19 February 2026 | 4 min read

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