Virginia Gewin is a freelance writer based in Portland, Oregon.
Virginia Gewin
Freelance Writer
SFARI
From this contributor
Scientists find molecular player in Angelman syndrome
Two independent teams have discovered key molecular steps in the way a single gene disrupts the connections between neurons in individuals with Angelman syndrome. Because the gene, UBE3A, has also been linked to autism, the findings could help scientists understand and treat a range of neurodevelopmental disorders.

Scientists find molecular player in Angelman syndrome
Postmortem brains point to impaired inhibition in autism
Researchers have found a higher density of several types of interneurons — nerve cells that connect sensory and motor neurons in the brain— in postmortem brain tissue from individuals with autism, compared with healthy controls. The findings appear in the February issue of Acta Neurologica Scandinavica.

Postmortem brains point to impaired inhibition in autism
Loss of inhibitory neurons marks autism mouse models
Autism may be the result of faulty wiring that occurs during early brain development, according to two independent studies that looked at the origins of circuit disruption.

Loss of inhibitory neurons marks autism mouse models
Autism marked by altered trajectory of brain growth
Although the head overall is bigger in some children with autism, researchers have found more informative differences in size — some smaller, some larger — across regions of the brain.

Autism marked by altered trajectory of brain growth
Eye-tracking brings focus to ‘theory of mind’
People with Asperger syndrome don't automatically show 'theory of mind', the ability to understand the desires and beliefs of others, according to a report published 16 July in Science. Instead, they seem to use deliberate reasoning to understand social behaviors, learned after years of practice in the real world. Watch the video
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Star-responsive neurons steer moths’ long-distance migration
Cells in the bogong moth brain respond to astral landmarks to orient the insects in the direction they need to go.

Star-responsive neurons steer moths’ long-distance migration
Cells in the bogong moth brain respond to astral landmarks to orient the insects in the direction they need to go.
Exclusive: Issues with dozens of papers prompt inquiry into prolific stroke researcher
Two of John H. Zhang’s papers have been retracted, 19 have corrections, and 27 have expressions of concern.

Exclusive: Issues with dozens of papers prompt inquiry into prolific stroke researcher
Two of John H. Zhang’s papers have been retracted, 19 have corrections, and 27 have expressions of concern.
Nicole Rust on her new book, ‘Elusive Cures’
Rust discusses how understanding the brain as a complex dynamical system will help us accelerate treatments for brain disorders.
Nicole Rust on her new book, ‘Elusive Cures’
Rust discusses how understanding the brain as a complex dynamical system will help us accelerate treatments for brain disorders.