Katherine Gotham is assistant professor of psychiatry at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee.
Katherine Gotham
Assistant Professor of Psychiatry
Rowan University
From this contributor
Measuring alexithymia in autistic people
Despite the growing interest in alexithymia in autism research, the tools commonly used to measure this trait may not work reliably in autistic populations. A new scoring method fills that gap.

Measuring alexithymia in autistic people
Suicidal tendencies hard to spot in some people with autism
To effectively screen for suicidality in people with autism, we need to learn how to ask questions that lead to real answers.

Suicidal tendencies hard to spot in some people with autism
Understanding aggression in autism
Two new studies explore the link between autism and aggression — a controversial connection that weighs heavily on individuals with the disorder and their families.

Understanding aggression in autism
How persistent worrying might cause the blues
When individuals with autism see themselves as impaired and get stuck on those thoughts, they may become and stay depressed, says Katherine Gotham.

How persistent worrying might cause the blues
Explore more from The Transmitter
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.
Astrocytes sense neuromodulators to orchestrate neuronal activity and shape behavior
Astrocytes serve as crucial mediators of neuromodulatory processes previously attributed to direct communication between neurons, four new studies show.

Astrocytes sense neuromodulators to orchestrate neuronal activity and shape behavior
Astrocytes serve as crucial mediators of neuromodulatory processes previously attributed to direct communication between neurons, four new studies show.