Vocalization
Recent articles
Hitting city streets to record rat behaviors: Q&A with Emily Mackevicius, Ralph Peterson
Capturing the rodents’ vocalizations and movements in the wild offers an opportunity to study naturalistic behaviors in a complex urban environment, Mackevicius and Peterson say.
Hitting city streets to record rat behaviors: Q&A with Emily Mackevicius, Ralph Peterson
Capturing the rodents’ vocalizations and movements in the wild offers an opportunity to study naturalistic behaviors in a complex urban environment, Mackevicius and Peterson say.
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.

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.
Abundant motor proteins disrupt cries in FOXP2 mice
Knocking down the gene that codes for the proteins normalizes the vocalizations.

Abundant motor proteins disrupt cries in FOXP2 mice
Knocking down the gene that codes for the proteins normalizes the vocalizations.
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.

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.
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.

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.
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.

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.
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.

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.
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.

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.
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.

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.
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.

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.
Explore more from The Transmitter
Worms help untangle brain structure/function mystery
The synaptic connectome of most animals bears little resemblance to functional brain maps, but it can still predict neuronal activity, according to two preprints that tackle the puzzle in C. elegans.

Worms help untangle brain structure/function mystery
The synaptic connectome of most animals bears little resemblance to functional brain maps, but it can still predict neuronal activity, according to two preprints that tackle the puzzle in C. elegans.
Microglia nurture young interneurons
The immune cells secrete a growth factor that “sets the supply of GABAergic interneurons in the developing brain.”

Microglia nurture young interneurons
The immune cells secrete a growth factor that “sets the supply of GABAergic interneurons in the developing brain.”
Xaq Pitkow shares his principles for studying cognition in our imperfect brains and bodies
Pitkow discusses how evolution's messy constraints shape optimal brain algorithms, from Bayesian inference to ecological affordances.
Xaq Pitkow shares his principles for studying cognition in our imperfect brains and bodies
Pitkow discusses how evolution's messy constraints shape optimal brain algorithms, from Bayesian inference to ecological affordances.