Prefrontal cortex

Recent articles

Alison Preston explains how our brains form mental frameworks for interpreting the world

Preston discusses her research examining differences in how children, teenagers and adults integrate new information into their memories.

By Paul Middlebrooks
12 March 2025 | 90 min listen
Research image of mouse brain slices.

Newfound gene network controls long-range connections between emotional, cognitive brain areas

The finding could help unravel gene regulatory networks and explain how genetic and environmental factors interact in neurodevelopmental conditions.

By Charles Q. Choi
14 November 2024 | 4 min read
Illustration of a neuron with cardinal directions superimposed over it as on a compass.

Neurons’ spikes may convey their whereabouts

The time lag between spurts of activity holds anatomical information, according to a preprint.

By Holly Barker
23 August 2024 | 4 min read
Research image of excitatory synapses in the prefrontal cortex.

Synaptic anomalies in autistic people support imbalance hypothesis

Increased excitatory and decreased inhibitory synapses in the prefrontal cortex of autistic people suggest broader impacts on brain function and connectivity.

By Giorgia Guglielmi
27 June 2024 | 4 min read
A brain slice under a microscope.

Preprint questions validity of postmortem brain studies

But the alternatives, including living-brain biopsies, raise logistical and ethical questions, experts say.

By Katie Moisse
5 June 2023 | 6 min listen
Brain scans displaying activity in areas linked with social behavior.

People’s perceptions of ‘social’ animations don’t always square with researchers’ labels

The finding calls into question differences between autistic and non-autistic people on a decades-old theory-of-mind test involving interacting geometric shapes.

By Charles Q. Choi
22 February 2023 | 6 min read
an image of a neuron

Neurons struggle to spike without fragile X gene

FMR1 loss impairs sodium channels, hindering mouse neurons from generating the electrical signals needed to transmit information.

By Laura Dattaro
17 February 2023 | 3 min read
lllustration of the junction between two nerve cells.

Multi-omics study captures CNTNAP2’s far-ranging effects

The in-depth approach shows mutations in the autism-linked gene disrupt neuronal growth and communication, as well as mitochondrial gene expression.

By Charles Q. Choi
8 December 2022 | 4 min read

Autism-linked mutation disrupts brain circuit to change social behavior

Therapies that target the circuit could boost social activity, new findings suggest.

By Charles Q. Choi
24 June 2022 | 4 min read

Histone-modifying drug improves autism-like behaviors in mice

The experimental compound, called GSK-LSD1, enhances social preferences and reduces repetitive grooming in mice, according to a new study.

By Chloe Williams
18 April 2022 | 4 min read

Explore more from The Transmitter

On the importance of reading (just not too much)

The real fun of being a neuroscientist, and maybe the key to asking and answering new questions, is to think big and take intellectual risks.

By Sheena Josselyn
9 June 2025 | 8 min read
Research image of developing axons in the fly brain.

How developing neurons simplify their search for a synaptic mate

Streamlining the problem from 3D to 1D eases the expedition—a strategy the study investigators deployed to rewire an olfactory circuit in flies.

By Calli McMurray
6 June 2025 | 6 min read
Distorted floppy discs.

NIH autism database announcement raises concerns among researchers

The U.S. National Institutes of Health announced a plan to pour $50 million into data science projects intended to investigate the condition’s causes, but the initiative’s short timeline and other atypicalities have prompted questions.

By Angie Voyles Askham
5 June 2025 | 5 min read