John F. Cryan
Professor of Anatomy and Neuroscience and Principal Investigator
Alimentary Pharmabiotic Centre at University College Cork, Ireland
From this contributor
Gut bacteria’s influence on brain development
Researchers should consider the influence of gut bacteria on brain function, especially when studying neurodevelopmental disorders such as autism, say John Cryan and Roman Stilling.

Gut bacteria’s influence on brain development
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INSAR takes ‘intentional break’ from annual summer webinar series
The International Society for Autism Research cited a need to “thoughtfully reimagine” its popular online program before resuming it in 2026.

INSAR takes ‘intentional break’ from annual summer webinar series
The International Society for Autism Research cited a need to “thoughtfully reimagine” its popular online program before resuming it in 2026.
Null and Noteworthy: Neurons tracking sequences don’t fire in order
Instead, neurons encode the position of sequential items in working memory based on when they fire during ongoing brain wave oscillations—a finding that challenges a long-standing theory.

Null and Noteworthy: Neurons tracking sequences don’t fire in order
Instead, neurons encode the position of sequential items in working memory based on when they fire during ongoing brain wave oscillations—a finding that challenges a long-standing theory.
How to teach this paper: ‘Neurotoxic reactive astrocytes are induced by activated microglia,’ by Liddelow et al. (2017)
Shane Liddelow and his collaborators identified the factors that transform astrocytes from their helpful to harmful form. Their work is a great choice if you want to teach students about glial cell types, cell culture, gene expression or protein measurement.

How to teach this paper: ‘Neurotoxic reactive astrocytes are induced by activated microglia,’ by Liddelow et al. (2017)
Shane Liddelow and his collaborators identified the factors that transform astrocytes from their helpful to harmful form. Their work is a great choice if you want to teach students about glial cell types, cell culture, gene expression or protein measurement.