DSM-5

Recent articles

An illustration of a magnifying glass, checklists, and anonymous figures.

‘Prototypical autism’ research is likely a dead end

Efforts to define “frank” or “classic” forms of the condition build on several assumptions that the science has not yet borne out.

By Deborah Fein, David Amaral, Einat Waizbard-Bartov
25 January 2024 | 8 min read
A person stands in front of a neatly organized dresser drawer.

Teasing apart insistence on sameness with Mirko Uljarević

The hallmark autism trait has multiple facets, Uljarević and his colleagues have found.

By Lauren Schenkman
30 October 2023 | 6 min read
Young child stacks colored blocks on a table.

High prevalence of developmental delay strains Australia’s support systems

The nation needs to build capacity to support the roughly 20 percent of children in Australia who have developmental delay.

By Andrew Whitehouse
1 September 2023 | 5 min read
Collage of multiple figures on a hillside looking at a large blue book in the distance.

Debate remains over changes in DSM-5 a decade on

Changes to the DSM-5’s diagnostic criteria for autism were meant to add clarity, but they also generated new questions.

By Shaena Montanari
31 May 2023 | 12 min read
A cross-section of the human brain and limbic system

Amygdala-linked brain areas grow differently in autism

The growth differences vary between autistic boys and girls and are most apparent among children with prominent social difficulties.

By Charles Q. Choi
13 July 2022 | 5 min read

DSM-5 revision tweaks autism entry for clarity

Two new words and a text swap in the American Psychiatric Association’s diagnostic “bible” are unlikely to affect clinical practice, experts say.

By Peter Hess
17 March 2022 | 4 min read
Children scattered around a grid with a beam counting them

Autism prevalence in the United States, explained

The bulk of the increase in autism prevalence stems from a growing awareness of the condition and changes to the diagnostic criteria.

By Jessica Wright
3 September 2020 | 8 min read

How the loss of Asperger syndrome has lasting repercussions

Some people who have lost the diagnosis of Asperger syndrome say they feel a loss of identity and worry about a loss of services.

By Sandra Jones
19 May 2020 | 6 min read
Illustration shows a boy with converging patterns overlapping; these lines signify autism and intellectual disability.

The blurred line between autism and intellectual disability

Doctors often conflate autism and intellectual disability, and no wonder: The biological distinction between them is murky. Scientific progress depends on knowing where the conditions intersect — and part ways.

By Emily Sohn
15 April 2020 | 15 min read
Group of children walking in the countryside in Vietnam.

Large survey of children hints at true autism prevalence in Vietnam

Less than 1 percent of young children in northern Vietnam have autism, but this prevalence is higher than in previous reports.

By Sarah DeWeerdt
10 June 2019 | 4 min read

Explore more from The Transmitter

Nearly 400 compounds affect behaviors tied to autism-linked genes in zebrafish

Estropipate, paclitaxel and levocarnitine altered behaviors tied to SCN2A and DYRK1A variants specifically, a new open-source platform revealed.

By Charles Q. Choi
16 April 2026 | 4 min read

What neuroscientists want from a new NINDS director

The search is underway for the next director of the U.S. National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, who will face a range of challenges, neuroscientists say, but will also have an “immense opportunity to do good things.”

By Helena Kudiabor
15 April 2026 | 4 min read
3D illustration of arterial blood supply in the human brain.

Arousal neurons’ activity explains brain’s blood flow dynamics in mice

The findings could influence how researchers interpret signals from techniques that use blood flow as a surrogate for neuronal activity.

By Claudia López Lloreda
15 April 2026 | 5 min read