Jon Brock is a former autism researcher who is now a science writer, medical grant writer and co-founder of Frankl Open Science.
Jon Brock
Research fellow
Macquarie University
From this contributor
Virtual reality yields clues to social difficulties in autism
Assessing social ability in adults with autism requires controlled tests involving real-time social interactions. Virtual reality makes this possible.
Virtual reality yields clues to social difficulties in autism
Quest for autism biomarkers faces steep statistical challenges
Finding a difference between people with and without autism is only the first step toward identifying a clinically useful marker of the condition.
The elusive essence of autism
Researchers must make heterogeneity in autism the object of their investigation, rather than treating it as an excuse for inconsistent results or an inconvenience in their quest to understand the disorder’s essence, argues Jon Brock.
Registered reports
The more researchers poke around, the more likely they are to find a significant effect — and the more likely that the effect they end up reporting is just a fluke. A new kind of journal article, the 'registered report,' may address this problem, says Jon Brock.
Six questions for connectivity theory research
'Underconnectivity' is considered one of the best-supported theories for the neural basis of autism. But many questions remain unanswered, says Jon Brock.
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Dispute erupts over universal cortical brain-wave claim
The debate highlights opposing views on how the cortex transmits information.
Dispute erupts over universal cortical brain-wave claim
The debate highlights opposing views on how the cortex transmits information.
Waves of calcium activity dictate eye structure in flies
Synchronized signals in non-neuronal retinal cells draw the tiny compartments of a fruit fly’s compound eye into alignment during pupal development.
Waves of calcium activity dictate eye structure in flies
Synchronized signals in non-neuronal retinal cells draw the tiny compartments of a fruit fly’s compound eye into alignment during pupal development.
Among brain changes studied in autism, spotlight shifts to subcortex
The striatum and thalamus are more likely than the cerebral cortex to express autism variants or bear transcriptional changes, two unpublished studies find.
Among brain changes studied in autism, spotlight shifts to subcortex
The striatum and thalamus are more likely than the cerebral cortex to express autism variants or bear transcriptional changes, two unpublished studies find.