Vocalization

Recent articles

Conceptual image of colorful falling letters, casting shadows on a white wall.

Some minimally verbal autistic people show signs of written-language familiarity, study suggests

But researchers not involved in the work worry the findings could be used to support discredited facilitated-communication techniques.

By Calli McMurray
9 May 2024 | 7 min read
Research image of neurons.

Abundant motor proteins disrupt cries in FOXP2 mice

Knocking down the gene that codes for the proteins normalizes the vocalizations.

By Laura Dattaro, Maaisha Osman
28 July 2023 | 3 min read
Research image showing FOXP1 gene expression in female zebra finch brains.

Lacking autism-linked gene, female birds tune out favorite songs

The gene, FOXP1, influences an animal’s motivation to listen to social communication, a new study suggests.

By Sarah DeWeerdt
21 April 2023 | 5 min read
Constantina Theofanopoulou strikes a dancer's pose in her lab.

Beyond the bench: Learning new moves with dancer-scientist Constantina Theofanopoulou

Theofanopoulou shares how flamenco stepped up the pace of her social-communication research, and what’s behind the ‘no fear’ ethos in her new lab.

By Sarah DeWeerdt
13 September 2022 | 7 min read

New software flags autism rat model’s telltale squeaks

By breaking rodent vocalizations into parts, TrackUSF distinguishes rats with mutations in the SHANK3 gene from their wildtype counterparts.

By Peter Hess
29 July 2022 | 3 min read

Researchers publish new dataset on minimally verbal autistic people

Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology published the first repository of vocalizations from minimally verbal autistic people. Those with few or no spoken words still produce a range of phonemes, or units of sound, that may serve as developmental markers or intervention targets.

By Shelby Grebbin
18 May 2022 | 4 min read

Birdsong-related DNA sequences tied to autism-linked genes

Genes that appear to play a role in some birds' ability to learn songs are frequently mutated in autistic people.

By Laura Dattaro
6 December 2021 | 4 min read
Colorful illustration shows a boy talking and a bird singing, with the sounds merging between them.

Tuning into bird songs for clues to autism

Parallels between how birds learn to sing and how children learn to speak provide a window into the roots of language difficulties in autism.

By Sarah DeWeerdt
8 September 2021 | 5 min listen
Brown rat mother and pup in rustic setting with burlap and wheat.

Maternal antibodies tied to autism bind to budding rat neurons

Certain antibodies may shape neurodevelopment by attaching to and invading new neurons in the brain.

By Angie Voyles Askham
6 May 2021 | 3 min read
Singing zebra finches

Autism gene interference silences song memory in birds

Muffling expression of an autism-linked gene in a key song-related area of the brain renders young zebra finches unable to learn songs from older birds.

By Sarah DeWeerdt
19 February 2021 | 6 min read

Explore more from The Transmitter

Research image of brain organoids with astroglia formation represented in green.

Personalized medicine; astroglia organoids; fast track for fragile X drug

Here is a roundup of autism-related news and research spotted around the web for the week of 20 January.

By Jill Adams
21 January 2025 | 2 min read
Illustration of clinicians, a pill bottle, a speech bubble and shadowy figures.

Neuroscientists need to do better at explaining basic mental health research

The knowledge gap between scientists, health-care professionals, policymakers and people with mental health conditions is growing, slowing the translation of basic science to new treatments. Like lawyers learning to present a case to the court, scientists should learn to educate nonscientists about their findings.

By Omar Abubaker, Karla Kaun, Eric J. Nestler
21 January 2025 | 7 min read
Grid of human brain scans.

Dose, scan, repeat: Tracking the neurological effects of oral contraceptives

We know little about how the brain responds to oral contraceptives, despite their widespread use. I am committed to changing that: I scanned my brain 75 times over the course of a year and plan to make my data openly available.

By Carina Heller
20 January 2025 | 7 min read