Auditory system

Recent articles

Neural networks illustration.

This paper changed my life: Appreciating John Hopfield’s brilliant neural network

In a 1982 paper, the Nobel laureate created his namesake recurrent neural network—work that taught Maria Geffen to always ground research questions in biology.

By Maria Geffen
15 May 2026 | 5 min read
Research figure of neural patterns in the brain during speech encoding.

Shifting neural code powers speech comprehension

Dynamic coding helps explain how the brain processes multiple features of speech—from the smallest units of sounds to full sentences—simultaneously.

By Claudia López Lloreda
5 March 2026 | 5 min read
A James Hudspeth.

Remembering A. James Hudspeth, hair cell explorer

Hudspeth, who died 16 August at age 79, devoted his 50-year career to untangling how the ear converts sound into electrical signals.

By Calli McMurray
21 August 2025 | 7 min read
Human head drawn in profile, brain area is red and connected to words spelled out in connected lines with nodes.

Individual neurons tune to complex speech sounds and cues

Neuropixels arrays implanted in people reveal nuances of speech perception and production that confirm results from brain-surface recordings and can even predict what someone is about to say.

By Elissa Welle
15 March 2024 | 7 min read

Tiny eardrum sounds may help sync visual, auditory perception

Studies of the oscillations reveal that horizontal and vertical eye movements generate distinct sounds.

By Shaena Montanari
26 January 2024 | 0 min watch

Explore more from The Transmitter

Illustration of pixelated eye and stacks of paper

Writing science that humans and machines can read

Large language models are now routinely used to search, summarize and synthesize the literature at scales impossible for any individual researcher—yet scientific publishing has not adapted to that reality.

By Rachel Parkinson
15 June 2026 | 7 min read
Mother mouse and her offspring.

Maternity induces lasting gene-expression changes in mouse brains

The findings add to a small but growing body of research on neurological changes linked to pregnancy, birth and parenting.

By Amber Dance
12 June 2026 | 5 min read
Map of socioeconomic opportunity in the United States next to visualizations of functional connectivity and structure in sensory and motor cortices.

IQ’s link to brain structure, function in children may be a mirage

A child’s socioeconomic status, screen time and amount of sleep all show stronger associations with measures of brain structure and function, according to an imaging study of nearly 12,000 9- to 10-year-olds.

By Natalia Mesa
11 June 2026 | 5 min read