Rebecca Saxe’s work addresses the human brain’s capacity for abstract thought and the origins of ‘theory of mind,’ the ability to understand the beliefs, hopes and plans of other people.
Rebecca Saxe
Professor
Massachussetts Institute of Technology
From this contributor
U.S. agency backtracks on broad interpretation of ‘clinical trial’
Autism researchers need no longer worry that their basic research will become entangled in the red tape associated with clinical trials.

U.S. agency backtracks on broad interpretation of ‘clinical trial’
1985 paper on the theory of mind
In 1985, Simon Baron-Cohen, Alan Leslie and Uta Frith reported for the first time that children with autism systematically fail the false belief task.
Explore more from The Transmitter
Escaping groupthink: What animals’ behavioral quirks reveal about the brain
Neuroscientists have long ignored the variability in animals’ behavioral responses in favor of studying differences across groups. But work on the brain differences that underlie that variability is beginning to pay off.
Escaping groupthink: What animals’ behavioral quirks reveal about the brain
Neuroscientists have long ignored the variability in animals’ behavioral responses in favor of studying differences across groups. But work on the brain differences that underlie that variability is beginning to pay off.
Immune cells block pain in female mice only
Regulatory T cells in the spinal meninges release endogenous opioids in a sex-specific manner, new work shows.

Immune cells block pain in female mice only
Regulatory T cells in the spinal meninges release endogenous opioids in a sex-specific manner, new work shows.
Exclusive: Layoffs revoked at U.S. National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke
After more than a month of uncertainty, 30 previously purged employees at the institute no longer face termination.

Exclusive: Layoffs revoked at U.S. National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke
After more than a month of uncertainty, 30 previously purged employees at the institute no longer face termination.