Timothy Roberts is Oberkircher Family Chair in Pediatric Radiology and vice-chair of radiology research at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. He is also professor of radiology at the University of Pennsylvania.
Timothy Roberts
Professor of radiology
Children's Hospital of Philadelphia
From this contributor
In quest for autism biomarkers, this technique has magnetic appeal
To find biological markers of autism, scientists would be wise to measure the brain's electrical activity along with the resulting magnetic fields.

In quest for autism biomarkers, this technique has magnetic appeal
When tracking brain activity, timing can be key
A brain imaging technique called magnetoencephalography characterizes not just what is happening in the brain, but also where and when, making it ideally suited for studying autism.

When tracking brain activity, timing can be key
Imaging biomarkers could signal autism spectrum disorder
There does not appear to be a single genetic or environmental cause of autism, and given the heterogeneity of symptoms, coming up with a clear yes or no test for autism is challenging. Timothy Roberts argues that imaging and electrophysiology are key in the search for autism biomarkers.

Imaging biomarkers could signal autism spectrum disorder
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.