Meng-Chuan Lai is associate professor of psychiatry at the University of Toronto in Canada.
Meng-Chuan Lai
Assistant professor
University of Toronto
From this contributor
Quashing sex bias in autism research calls for participant rainbow
Autism researchers must attend to the need for sex and gender diversity in study design as a rule rather than as an exception.
Quashing sex bias in autism research calls for participant rainbow
By
Meng-Chuan Lai
25 September 2018 | 6 min read
Brains of girls, boys may mark distinct paths to autism
Differences between the brains of men and women with autism may help explain why men are more susceptible to the condition and women appear to be protected from it.
Brains of girls, boys may mark distinct paths to autism
By
Meng-Chuan Lai
19 October 2015 | 7 min read
Mind the gender gap
Autism may be male-biased in prevalence, but our understanding of it should not be, argues Meng-Chuan Lai.
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.
By
Laura Dattaro
30 June 2025 | 4 min read
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.
By
Ashley Juavinett
30 June 2025 | 10 min read
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.
By
Claudia López Lloreda
27 June 2025 | 9 min listen