The Transmitter: Neuroscience News and Perspectives
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What infant fMRI is revealing about the developing mind
Bespoke photometry system captures variety of dopamine signals in mice
Latest
This paper changed my life: Stephanie Palmer on the ties between human speech and birdsong—and her ‘informal life coach’
Thanks to new technologies, neuroscientists have more direct access to the human brain than ever before
Lions and tigers and bears: Long-lived zoo animals offer a promising venue to study mental health and neurodegenerative disorders
Today’s action potentials
”There’s a lot of talk about how impossible [infant fMRI] is. And I think we’re showing that it’s not completely impossible. — TRISTAN YATES, POSTDOCTORAL RESEARCH SCIENTIST, COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY
Molecular changes after MECP2 loss may drive Rett syndrome traits
Sequencing study spotlights tight web of genes tied to autism
Upcoming Online Seminars
How to communicate the value of curiosity-driven research
Neuroscience Ph.D. programs adjust admissions in response to U.S. funding uncertainty
The last two-author neuroscience paper?
Author lists on papers have ballooned, and it’s getting hard to discern contribution.
Static pay, shrinking prospects fuel neuroscience postdoc decline
Postdoctoral researchers sponsored by the National Institutes of Health now toil longer than ever before, for less money. They are responding accordingly.
Keeping it personal: How to preserve your voice when using AI
From bench to bot: How important is prompt engineering?
From bench to bot: Does AI really make you a more efficient writer?
Amid confusion around U.S. science, some neuroscientists prepare to rally
Eight neuroscientists at different career stages spoke with The Transmitter about whether they plan to participate in the upcoming “Stand Up for Science” demonstrations across the United States on 7 March.
‘A gut punch:’ How U.S. neuroscience trainees are grappling with diversity-based funding flux
To keep or not to keep: Neurophysiology’s data dilemma
The S-index Challenge: Develop a metric to quantify data-sharing success
A README for open neuroscience
‘Bioethics and Brains: A Disciplined and Principled Neuroethics,’ an excerpt
‘Doctored: Fraud, Arrogance, and Tragedy in the Quest to Cure Alzheimer’s,’ an excerpt
Open-access neuroscience comes to the classroom: Q&A with Liz Kirby
What makes memories last—dynamic ensembles or static synapses?
Teasing out how different subfields conceptualize central terms might help move this long-standing debate forward. I asked eight scientists to weigh in.
What are mechanisms? Unpacking the term is key to progress in neuroscience
Mechanism is a common and powerful concept, invoked in grant calls and publication guidelines. But scientists use it in different ways, making it difficult to clarify standards in the field. We asked nine scientists to weigh in.