TMS

Recent articles

Photo: Autistic woman Becky Audette lies on a couch under a purple blanket.

Rebooting Becky’s brain

An electrical brain implant all but erased the obsessions that had consumed Becky Audette, years after her autism diagnosis. Could similar implants help other people with severe autism?

By Ingrid Wickelgren
12 September 2018 | 28 min read
magnetic stimulation of human brain

Magnetic stimulation bares imbalance of activity in fragile X brains

Researchers have used transcranial magnetic stimulation to show that people with fragile X syndrome have weak ‘inhibitory’ signals, those that dampen neuronal activity in the brain.

By Bahar Gholipour
14 November 2017 | 3 min read
Spectrum from The Transmitter.

Takeaways from IMFAR 2016

Researchers, advocates and others from the autism community came together for the 2016 International Meeting for Autism Research in Baltimore.

By Claire Cameron
16 May 2016 | 2 min read
Spectrum from The Transmitter.

Reactions from IMFAR 2016

Scientists give their perspectives on work presented at the 2016 International Meeting for Autism Research.

By Claire Cameron
14 May 2016 | 9 min read
Spectrum from The Transmitter.

Magnetic promise: Can brain stimulation treat autism?

There are hints that transcranial magnetic stimulation, which uses electricity to change how brain cells function, might improve the symptoms of autism. But hopes are running way ahead of the facts.

By Lydia Denworth
23 September 2015 | 13 min read
Spectrum from The Transmitter.

Flexible brain

Transcranial magnetic stimulation may provide a noninvasive approach to studying how connections in the human brain change in response to new information, and how that process is altered in autism, says Lindsay Oberman.

By Lindsay Oberman
8 February 2013 | 3 min read
Spectrum from The Transmitter.

Magnet reveals differences in Asperger syndrome brains

A powerful magnet that alters brain activity has shown that a brain region responsible for language may function differently in adults with Asperger syndrome than in controls, according to a study published in the July issue of the European Journal of Neuroscience.

By Jessica Wright
6 July 2011 | 2 min read

Explore more from The Transmitter

Dendritic spine images.

Targeting NMDA receptor subunit reverses fragile X traits in mice

The subunit acts as a “volume control” on signaling that shapes the density of dendritic spines, the new work suggests.

By Angie Voyles Askham
6 March 2025 | 5 min read
A pregnant woman seen in profile, sitting on the edge of a bed.

Maternal infection’s link to autism may be a mirage

Family-linked factors explain most associations between maternal illness and autism, a study of 1.1 million Danish children finds.

By Charles Q. Choi
6 March 2025 | 3 min read
Headshots of Michelle Monje and Frank Winkler.

2025 Brain Prize honors pair of cancer neuroscientists

Michelle Monje and Frank Winkler share the $1.4 million award for their discovery of synapses between brain cancer cells and neurons.

By Sydney Wyatt
5 March 2025 | 3 min read