Meng-Chuan Lai is associate professor of psychiatry at the University of Toronto in Canada.
![](https://www.thetransmitter.org/wp-content/uploads/image-archive/images/authors/mengchuanlai.jpg)
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.
![Illustration shows white doctor's hands holding up a male figure cut in paper over a young African-American girl.](https://www.thetransmitter.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/20180925-McLai-844.jpg)
Quashing sex bias in autism research calls for participant rainbow
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.
![](https://www.thetransmitter.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/20151016VPGirlVsBoyBrain-600.jpg)
Brains of girls, boys may mark distinct paths to autism
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
New connectomes fly beyond the brain
Researchers are mapping the neurons in Drosophila’s ventral nerve cord, where the central nervous system meets the rest of the body.
![Research image of neurons in the fly’s ventral nerve cord.](https://www.thetransmitter.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/lede-motormodules-1200-1024x692.webp)
New connectomes fly beyond the brain
Researchers are mapping the neurons in Drosophila’s ventral nerve cord, where the central nervous system meets the rest of the body.
Building an autism research registry: Q&A with Tony Charman
A purpose-built database of participants who have shared genomic and behavioral data could give clinical trials a boost, Charman says.
![Illustration of researchers talking to laypeople amidst strands of DNA.](https://www.thetransmitter.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/1200_Charman-1024x687.webp)
Building an autism research registry: Q&A with Tony Charman
A purpose-built database of participants who have shared genomic and behavioral data could give clinical trials a boost, Charman says.
Cerebellar circuit may convert expected pain relief into real thing
The newly identified circuit taps into the brain’s opioid system to provide a top-down form of pain relief.
![](https://www.thetransmitter.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/paincircuit-1200-1024x692.webp)
Cerebellar circuit may convert expected pain relief into real thing
The newly identified circuit taps into the brain’s opioid system to provide a top-down form of pain relief.