Psychiatry
Recent articles
What, if anything, makes mood fundamentally different from memory?
To better understand mood disorders—and to develop more effective treatments—should we target the brain, the mind, the environment or all three?
![Illustration of a sparkly brain.](https://www.thetransmitter.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/1200-nicole-rust-brain-disorder-mood-transmitter-neuroscience-1024x683.webp)
What, if anything, makes mood fundamentally different from memory?
To better understand mood disorders—and to develop more effective treatments—should we target the brain, the mind, the environment or all three?
The creative brain—an edited excerpt from ‘Essays on Art and Science’
In his new book, neuroscientist Eric Kandel explores how sensory perception and higher-order cognitive processes influence our experience of art.
![Portrait of the interior designer Madeleine Castaing by the French painter Chaïm Soutine.](https://www.thetransmitter.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/kandel-art-science-neuroscience-transmitter-1200-landscape-1024x683.webp)
The creative brain—an edited excerpt from ‘Essays on Art and Science’
In his new book, neuroscientist Eric Kandel explores how sensory perception and higher-order cognitive processes influence our experience of art.
Explore more from The Transmitter
Dose, scan, repeat: Tracking the neurological effects of oral contraceptives
We know little about how the brain responds to oral contraceptives, despite their widespread use. I am committed to changing that: I scanned my brain 75 times over the course of a year and plan to make my data openly available.
![Grid of human brain scans.](https://www.thetransmitter.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Heller-hormones-brain-scans-1200-1024x683.png)
Dose, scan, repeat: Tracking the neurological effects of oral contraceptives
We know little about how the brain responds to oral contraceptives, despite their widespread use. I am committed to changing that: I scanned my brain 75 times over the course of a year and plan to make my data openly available.
Cracking the code of the extracellular matrix
Despite evidence for a role in plasticity and other crucial functions, many neuroscientists still view these proteins as “brain goop.” The field needs technical advances and a shift in scientific thinking to move beyond this outdated perspective.
![Colorful illustration of a latticework of proteins.](https://www.thetransmitter.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/ECM-Molofsky-neuroscience-1200-1024x692.png)
Cracking the code of the extracellular matrix
Despite evidence for a role in plasticity and other crucial functions, many neuroscientists still view these proteins as “brain goop.” The field needs technical advances and a shift in scientific thinking to move beyond this outdated perspective.
Huntington’s disease gene variants past a certain size poison select cells
The findings—providing “the next step in the whole pathway”—help explain the disease’s late onset and offer hope that it has an extended therapeutic window.
![A repeated DNA strand extends farther from the left side of the image with each iteration.](https://www.thetransmitter.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/1200-hungintons-disease-repeats-cell-death-neuroscience-1024x683.png)
Huntington’s disease gene variants past a certain size poison select cells
The findings—providing “the next step in the whole pathway”—help explain the disease’s late onset and offer hope that it has an extended therapeutic window.