Holly Barker is a freelance writer specializing in biology, medicine and psychology. She has a Ph.D. in clinical neuroscience from King’s College London in the United Kingdom and a B.Sc. degree in biochemistry from the University of Manchester. She has previously written for Discover and BioNews. She is based in London.
Holly Barker
Contributing writer
From this contributor
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
By
Holly Barker
29 August 2025 | 9 min listen
Oxytocin prompts prairie voles to oust outsiders, fortifying their friendships
The “love hormone” drives the neurobiology behind platonic bonds in animals usually studied for their romantic attachments.
Oxytocin prompts prairie voles to oust outsiders, fortifying their friendships
By
Holly Barker
8 August 2025 | 8 min listen
Genetic background steers PTEN syndrome traits
People with the syndrome, caused by variants in the gene PTEN, often have autism or cancer, or both, but it depends on the genetic diversity encoded in the components of distinct cell signaling pathways, according to a new study.
Some dopamine neurons signal default behaviors to reinforce habits
Movement-sensing neurons that target the striatum influence a mouse’s choice of action by favoring routine.
Some dopamine neurons signal default behaviors to reinforce habits
By
Holly Barker
11 June 2025 | 5 min listen
Split gene therapy delivers promise in mice modeling Dravet syndrome
The new approach overcomes viral packaging limitations by delivering SCN1A piecemeal and stitching it together in target cells.
Split gene therapy delivers promise in mice modeling Dravet syndrome
By
Holly Barker
10 April 2025 | 5 min read
Explore more from The Transmitter
Long-read sequencing unearths overlooked autism-linked variants
Strips that are thousands of base pairs in length offer better resolution of structural variants and tandem repeats, according to two independent preprints.
Long-read sequencing unearths overlooked autism-linked variants
Strips that are thousands of base pairs in length offer better resolution of structural variants and tandem repeats, according to two independent preprints.
By
Natalia Mesa
18 September 2025 | 6 min read
This paper changed my life: Dan Goodman on a paper that reignited the field of spiking neural networks
Friedemann Zenke’s 2019 paper, and its related coding tutorial SpyTorch, made it possible to apply modern machine learning to spiking neural networks. The innovation reinvigorated the field.
This paper changed my life: Dan Goodman on a paper that reignited the field of spiking neural networks
Friedemann Zenke’s 2019 paper, and its related coding tutorial SpyTorch, made it possible to apply modern machine learning to spiking neural networks. The innovation reinvigorated the field.
By
Dan Goodman
17 September 2025 | 5 min read
Autism and anxiety insights; and more
Here is a roundup of autism-related news and research spotted around the web for the week of 15 September.
Autism and anxiety insights; and more
Here is a roundup of autism-related news and research spotted around the web for the week of 15 September.
By
Jill Adams
16 September 2025 | 2 min read