The Transmitter stories

Recent articles

Stories about developments in neuroscience.

Black-and-white illustrated portrait of Jonathan Green.

‘Emergent and transactional’: How Jonathan Green is rethinking autism and interventions

The experienced clinician discusses writing his recent paper, and its reception in the field.

By Brady Huggett
28 August 2023 | 1 min read
Black and white watercolor-style portrait of Cheryl Dissanayake.

The story of autism research in Australia: A conversation with Cheryl Dissanayake

With the help of a generous benefactor, autism research in Australia is gathering critical mass.

By Brady Huggett
25 July 2023 | 1 min read
Images of Marie-Eve Lefebvre and Punit Shah sitting at their laptops.

New journals seek to fill neurodiversity gap

The two journals, although differing in initial support, both realized the need for a publication focused exclusively on the neurodiverse experience.

By Brady Huggett
8 March 2023 | 42 min listen
Triangle that looks like a play button in a delicate collage of squares and circles on a cream colored background.

Writing a ‘new history of autism’

Spectrum talks with David Dobbs about researching his latest article, and what he found.

By Brady Huggett
8 November 2022 | 17 min listen
portraits of four black autism researchers

What it’s like to be a Black autism researcher

Spectrum spoke to four Black autism researchers about what it’s like to be in a field that’s overwhelmingly white, how police violence against Black people has affected them, and the joy of finding one another in ‘Black In Neuro.’

By Chelsey B. Coombs
22 October 2020 | 1 min read
two people social distancing

Spectrum stories: Life in lockdown with autism

Host Chelsey B. Coombs talks to clinicians and people with autism about their experience of the pandemic, how their routines have changed and some of the unexpected benefits.

By Chelsey B. Coombs
17 June 2020 | 1 min read
man's hand on woman's shoulder creating a sensory reaction visualized by illustrated lines

Spectrum Stories: What social touch says about autism

Understanding how touch is altered in autism could yield an early marker of the condition.

By Kaitlyn Schwalje
18 June 2019 | 1 min read
Illustration shows woman connecting digitally with other parents

Spectrum Stories: How social media aids discovery and diagnosis of autism-linked conditions

Social media is connecting families with researchers who study rare conditions related to autism — to the benefit of both.

By Kaitlyn Schwalje
6 May 2019 | 1 min read
Spectrum stories podcast logo.

Spectrum Stories: The benefits of genetic testing in autism

Finding a mutation linked to autism traits can have life-changing consequences for autistic individuals and their families.

By Ben Kuebrich
18 March 2019 | 1 min read
Boy during test with researcher

Spectrum Stories: Tapping intelligence in minimally verbal people with autism

Scientists are finding new ways to test cognition in autistic individuals who speak little or not at all.

By Ben Kuebrich
23 January 2019 | 1 min read

Explore more from The Transmitter

Research image of protein synthesis in mice.

NIH neurodevelopmental assessment system now available as iPad app

Here is a roundup of autism-related news and research spotted around the web for the week of 24 March.

By Jill Adams
25 March 2025 | 2 min read
Illustration of a face covered by several black rectangles.

Keep sex as a biological variable: Don’t let NIH upheaval turn back the clock on scientific rigor

Even in the absence of any formal instruction to do so, we should continue to hold our ourselves and our neuroscience colleagues accountable for SABV practices.

By Rebecca Shansky
25 March 2025 | 7 min read
Research image of cell types in the human brain.

Single-cell genomics technologies and cell atlases have ushered in a new era of human neurobiology

Single-cell approaches are already shedding light on the human brain, identifying cell types that are most vulnerable in the early stages of Alzheimer’s disease, for example.

By Ed Lein, Hongkui Zeng
24 March 2025 | 7 min read