WCPG 2011

Recent articles

Spectrum from The Transmitter.

Ambitious U.K. project set to sequence 10,000 genomes

The largest and most ambitious genome-sequencing project to date aims to identify rare variants and study their association to disease traits in 10,000 people.

By Deborah Rudacille
15 September 2011 | 3 min read
Spectrum from The Transmitter.

Autism exome study pinpoints mutations in brain genes

Children with autism carry many more spontaneous point mutations in genes expressed in the brain compared with their unaffected siblings, according to unpublished findings presented Monday at the World Congress of Psychiatric Genetics in Washington, D.C.

By Deborah Rudacille
14 September 2011 | 4 min read
Spectrum from The Transmitter.

Researchers identify gene regulating amygdala volume

A variant of the FGF14 gene may decrease the volume of the amygdala, a brain structure needed to interpret emotions in facial expressions, according to results presented on Sunday at the World Congress of Psychiatric Genetics in Washington, D.C.

By Deborah Rudacille
13 September 2011 | 3 min read

Explore more from The Transmitter

Headshots of Karl Deisseroth, Peter Hegemann and Georg Nagel.

How Nobel Prize-winning optogenetics has revolutionized neuroscience

The technique has enabled neuroscientists to target brain circuits and cells with unprecedented specificity, transforming the study of memory, interoception, brain disorders and reward, among other domains.

Illustration of two cats jumping to opposite buildings in a city.

Is confidence a second thought—or part of the first one?

In some settings, neural circuits may calculate confidence in a decision simultaneously with the choice itself. That changes the types of questions researchers should ask.

By Ariel Zylberberg
5 October 2026 | 6 min read
Illustration of a plate with a cherry in front of a computer server.

What AI can learn from hunger

To enhance AI safety, take a lesson from biological brains; a small set of wants maintains durable control over a much larger cognitive system.

By Anthony Zador
5 October 2026 | 6 min read