2013: Year in review

Recent articles

Spectrum from The Transmitter.

Lab Libs 2013: A playful look back and ahead

What would you do with a carload of money? Which scientist secretly wants to be an NFL coach? Autism researchers fill in the year’s blanks … Mad Libs-style. Read and submit your own.

By Greg Boustead
19 December 2013 | 1 min read
Spectrum from The Transmitter.

Top quotes of 2013

Our favorite quotes from autism researchers in SFARI.org articles throughout the year.

By Amedeo Tumolillo
19 December 2013 | 1 min read
Spectrum from The Transmitter.

Photographs: On the spectrum

In her quest to capture people's true selves on film, the photographer Stacie Turner launched a project focusing solely on children with autism.

By Amedeo Tumolillo
19 December 2013 | 1 min read
Spectrum from The Transmitter.

Notable papers of 2013

Our annual list of the most influential papers in the autism field is culled from suggestions solicited from SFARI staff, as well as from experts in the field. Below is a selection of just some of these papers, presented in chronological order.

By Amedeo Tumolillo
19 December 2013 | 4 min read
Spectrum from The Transmitter.

Director’s column: 2013 in review

The past half-decade has seen dramatic advances in our understanding of the complexity of genomic variation in autism. Several papers published this year increase our knowledge of relevant genetic variation and indicate where in the brain these variants alter brain function to cause autism-like behaviors, says Louis F. Reichardt.

By Louis Reichardt
19 December 2013 | 8 min read
Spectrum from The Transmitter.

Top tools and techniques of 2013

In 2013, neuroscience sought clarity, whether by looking directly into a transparent brain, building neurons in the dish with greater precision and accuracy than ever before, or manipulating a mouse’s brain while it’s on the run.

By Amedeo Tumolillo
19 December 2013 | 1 min read
Spectrum from The Transmitter.

Most-viewed articles of 2013

This is a list of the ten stories that most caught our readers’ attention this year.

By Amedeo Tumolillo
19 December 2013 | 6 min read
Spectrum from The Transmitter.

Hot topics in 2013

This year saw the emergence of a few unexpected twists in autism research, and provided fresh insights into some of the usual suspects. Based on suggestions from several researchers and SFARI staff, here’s our list of the top ten topics this year.

By Amedeo Tumolillo
20 December 2012 | 10 min read

Explore more from The Transmitter

Research image of EEG scans showing dopamine levels in human brains.

Null and Noteworthy: Learning theory validated 20 years later

The first published paper from the EEGManyLabs replication project nullifies a null result that had complicated a famous reinforcement learning theory.

By Laura Dattaro
30 May 2025 | 4 min read
Gerry Fischbach.

Neuroscientist Gerry Fischbach, in his own words

In 2023, I had the privilege of sitting down with Gerry over the course of several days and listening as he told the story of his life and career—including stints as dean or director of such leading institutions as Columbia University and NINDS—so that we could record it for posterity.

By Ivan Oransky
30 May 2025 | 2 min read
Amina Abubakar, dressed in yellow, stands outside and looks into the camera lens.

Amina Abubakar translates autism research and care for Kenya

First an educator and now an internationally recognized researcher, the Kenyan psychologist is changing autism science and services in sub-Saharan Africa.

By Ruth Kadide Keah
29 May 2025 | 7 min read