Veronique Greenwood
Contributing Editor
Spectrum
From this contributor
Autism may disrupt the body’s circadian clock
Sleep problems in autism may stem from the same biological changes that underlie the core features of the condition.

Autism may disrupt the body’s circadian clock
Automated tool records behavior of autism mouse models
A new tracking system automatically logs and scores mouse behavior as well as a human observer does, according to a paper published 31 December 2013 in Journal of Neuroscience Methods.

Automated tool records behavior of autism mouse models
Clinical research: Low thyroid in pregnancy linked to autism
Low levels of a thyroid hormone during pregnancy raise the risk of autism-like symptoms in the child by fourfold, according to a study published 13 August in Annals of Neurology.

Clinical research: Low thyroid in pregnancy linked to autism
Molecular mechanisms: Timothy syndrome neurons defective
Neurons from people with Timothy syndrome, and from mouse and rat models of the disorder, have defects in the growth of their branches, according to a study published 13 January in Nature Neuroscience.

Molecular mechanisms: Timothy syndrome neurons defective
Cognition and behavior: Attention early indicator of autism
Infants who are later diagnosed with autism are less attentive to the presence of a person onscreen at 6 months of age than their typically developing peers are, according to a study published 14 January in Biological Psychiatry.

Cognition and behavior: Attention early indicator of autism
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Emotion research has a communication conundrum
In 2025, the words we use to describe emotions matter, but their definitions are controversial. Here, I unpack the different positions in this space and the rationales behind them—and I invite 13 experts to chime in.

Emotion research has a communication conundrum
In 2025, the words we use to describe emotions matter, but their definitions are controversial. Here, I unpack the different positions in this space and the rationales behind them—and I invite 13 experts to chime in.
Autism-linked copy number variants always boost autism likelihood
By contrast, varied doses of the same genes decrease or increase the odds of five other conditions, with distinct biological consequences, two new preprints show.

Autism-linked copy number variants always boost autism likelihood
By contrast, varied doses of the same genes decrease or increase the odds of five other conditions, with distinct biological consequences, two new preprints show.
Everything everywhere all at once: Decision-making signals engage entire brain
The findings, gleaned from the most comprehensive map yet of brain activity during decision-making in mice, show that the process is even more distributed than previously thought.

Everything everywhere all at once: Decision-making signals engage entire brain
The findings, gleaned from the most comprehensive map yet of brain activity during decision-making in mice, show that the process is even more distributed than previously thought.