Itziar Barrios
Illustrator
From this contributor
Year in Review: Spectrum’s best in 2023
Here are five must-reads from our coverage of autism research over the past 12 months.
Letter to the editor: Researchers must bridge disconnect at ‘autism crossroads’
Two groups of researchers respond to Spectrum’s article about the power struggle among researchers, self-advocates and families, calling on their autistic and non-autistic colleagues to work collaboratively and promote equity in autism research.
Autism research at the crossroads
The power struggle between researchers, autistic self-advocates and parents is threatening progress across the field.
Explore more from The Transmitter
‘Digital humans’ in a virtual world
By combining large language models with modular cognitive control architecture, Robert Yang and his collaborators have built agents that are capable of grounded reasoning at a linguistic level. Striking collective behaviors have emerged.
‘Digital humans’ in a virtual world
By combining large language models with modular cognitive control architecture, Robert Yang and his collaborators have built agents that are capable of grounded reasoning at a linguistic level. Striking collective behaviors have emerged.
Food for thought: Neuronal fuel source more flexible than previously recognized
The cells primarily rely on glucose—rather than lactate from astrocytes—to generate energy, according to recent findings in mice.

Food for thought: Neuronal fuel source more flexible than previously recognized
The cells primarily rely on glucose—rather than lactate from astrocytes—to generate energy, according to recent findings in mice.
Claims of necessity and sufficiency are not well suited for the study of complex systems
The earliest studies on necessary and sufficient neural populations were performed on simple invertebrate circuits. Does this logic still serve us as we tackle more sophisticated outputs?

Claims of necessity and sufficiency are not well suited for the study of complex systems
The earliest studies on necessary and sufficient neural populations were performed on simple invertebrate circuits. Does this logic still serve us as we tackle more sophisticated outputs?