Prefrontal cortex

Recent articles

Alison Preston explains how our brains form mental frameworks for interpreting the world

Preston discusses her research examining differences in how children, teenagers and adults integrate new information into their memories.

By Paul Middlebrooks
12 March 2025 | 90 min listen
Research image of mouse brain slices.

Newfound gene network controls long-range connections between emotional, cognitive brain areas

The finding could help unravel gene regulatory networks and explain how genetic and environmental factors interact in neurodevelopmental conditions.

By Charles Q. Choi
14 November 2024 | 4 min read
Illustration of a neuron with cardinal directions superimposed over it as on a compass.

Neurons’ spikes may convey their whereabouts

The time lag between spurts of activity holds anatomical information, according to a preprint.

By Holly Barker
23 August 2024 | 4 min read
Research image of excitatory synapses in the prefrontal cortex.

Synaptic anomalies in autistic people support imbalance hypothesis

Increased excitatory and decreased inhibitory synapses in the prefrontal cortex of autistic people suggest broader impacts on brain function and connectivity.

By Giorgia Guglielmi
27 June 2024 | 4 min read
A brain slice under a microscope.

Preprint questions validity of postmortem brain studies

But the alternatives, including living-brain biopsies, raise logistical and ethical questions, experts say.

By Katie Moisse
5 June 2023 | 6 min read
Brain scans displaying activity in areas linked with social behavior.

People’s perceptions of ‘social’ animations don’t always square with researchers’ labels

The finding calls into question differences between autistic and non-autistic people on a decades-old theory-of-mind test involving interacting geometric shapes.

By Charles Q. Choi
22 February 2023 | 6 min read
an image of a neuron

Neurons struggle to spike without fragile X gene

FMR1 loss impairs sodium channels, hindering mouse neurons from generating the electrical signals needed to transmit information.

By Laura Dattaro
17 February 2023 | 3 min read
lllustration of the junction between two nerve cells.

Multi-omics study captures CNTNAP2’s far-ranging effects

The in-depth approach shows mutations in the autism-linked gene disrupt neuronal growth and communication, as well as mitochondrial gene expression.

By Charles Q. Choi
8 December 2022 | 4 min read

Autism-linked mutation disrupts brain circuit to change social behavior

Therapies that target the circuit could boost social activity, new findings suggest.

By Charles Q. Choi
24 June 2022 | 4 min read

Histone-modifying drug improves autism-like behaviors in mice

The experimental compound, called GSK-LSD1, enhances social preferences and reduces repetitive grooming in mice, according to a new study.

By Chloe Williams
18 April 2022 | 4 min read

Explore more from The Transmitter

Chimpanzee neural organoid.

Viral remnant in chimpanzees silences brain gene humans still use

The retroviral insert appears to inadvertently switch off a gene involved in brain development.

By Siddhant Pusdekar
27 January 2026 | 5 min read
Brain scans showing people with autism have a thinner cortex in many brain regions than do people with ADHD, but greater measures of cortical curvature.

FDA website no longer warns against bogus autism therapies, and more

Here is a roundup of autism-related news and research spotted around the web for the week of 26 January.

By Jill Adams
27 January 2026 | 2 min read

Why emotion research is stuck—and how to move it forward

Studying how organisms infer indirect threats and understand changing contexts can establish a common framework that bridges species and levels of analysis.

By Joshua P. Johansen
26 January 2026 | 0 min watch

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