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Research image of brain signaling.

Depression perception; MYT1L mice; brain signal variability

Here is a roundup of autism-related news and research spotted around the web for the week of 17 February.

By Jill Adams
18 February 2025 | 1 min read
A young child in a blue shirt sits in a red chair and speaks to an adult at the edge of the frame.

AI tool estimates social ability by analyzing speech

The system’s code and training data—drawn from one of the largest databases of speech recordings from autistic people—are openly available.

By Charles Q. Choi
13 February 2025 | 5 min read
Image of a disintegrating dollar bill.

About-faces in U.S. federal science funding put neuroscientists on edge

“It’s hard to know what’s real,” says neuroscientist Josh Dubnau after a dizzying week in which diversity-related grant applications were pulled from study sections only to be reinstated five days later, among other reversals.

By Angie Voyles Askham
12 February 2025 | 5 min read
Research image of serotonin and dopamine neurons manipulated simultaneously in mice.

Dopamine ‘gas pedal’ and serotonin ‘brake’ team up to accelerate learning

Mice learn fastest and most reliably when they experience an increase in dopamine paired with an inhibition of serotonin in their nucleus accumbens, a new study shows, helping to resolve long-standing questions about the neuromodulators’ relationship.

By Angie Voyles Askham
12 February 2025 | 5 min read
Research image of neural rosettes.

TSC2 gene; cortical thickness; long noncoding RNA

Here is a roundup of autism-related news and research spotted around the web for the week of 10 February.

By Jill Adams
11 February 2025 | 1 min read
Research image of brain glucose levels in mice.

Food for thought: Neuronal fuel source more flexible than previously recognized

The cells primarily rely on glucose—rather than lactate from astrocytes—to generate energy, according to recent findings in mice.

By Giorgia Guglielmi
7 February 2025 | 6 min read
Research image of a mouse brain slice stained in purple and yellow.

Subthalamic plasticity helps mice squelch innate fear responses

When the animals learn that a perceived threat is not dangerous, long-term activity changes in a part of the subthalamus suppress their instinctive fears.

By Sydney Wyatt
6 February 2025 | 5 min read

Plaque levels differ in popular Alzheimer’s mouse model depending on which parent’s variants are passed down

5XFAD model mice that inherit two disease-related genes from their fathers have double the plaques seen in those with maternal inheritance, a new study shows.

By Shaena Montanari
4 February 2025 | 0 min watch
Research image of mouse olfactory bulbs.

Olfaction; autism-linked genes in monkeys; eye movements

Here is a roundup of autism-related news and research spotted around the web for the week of 3 February.

By Jill Adams
4 February 2025 | 1 min read
Two bats in flight in black space.

Coding bonus: Bats’ hippocampal cells log spatial, social cues

The neurons represent not only an animal’s place in space, but also the distinguishing features of its fellow bats, including their sex and social status.

By Claudia López Lloreda
30 January 2025 | 5 min read

Explore more from The Transmitter

Illustration of two silhouettes overlaid by opaque square panels.

Why hasn’t genetics taught us more about schizophrenia?

Large-scale genomics studies have failed to identify specific pathways that go awry in schizophrenia. Alternative approaches focusing on cellular, molecular and systems-level changes may be needed.

By Joshua R. Sanes
18 February 2025 | 8 min read
Computer-generated illustration of a brain with a faint outline of another brain superimposed slightly above it.

Does the solution to building safe artificial intelligence lie in the brain?

Now is the time to decipher what makes the brain both flexible and dependable—and to apply those lessons to AI—before an unaligned agentic system wreaks havoc.

By Patrick Mineault
17 February 2025 | 6 min read
Grid of black-and-white headshots of neuroscience trainees.

‘A gut punch:’ How U.S. neuroscience trainees are grappling with diversity-based funding flux

Ten trainees spoke with The Transmitter about how the precarious state of U.S. federal funding is affecting their research and career plans.

By Calli McMurray, Angie Voyles Askham, Claudia López Lloreda
14 February 2025 | 2 min read