Signs and Symptoms

A hand reaches from above to add a pill to a stack that is resting against the x-axis of a graph.

Looking at eye tracking’s potential for clinical trials

This month’s Going on Trial newsletter explores how eye tracking might be used beyond helping with diagnosis, among other drug development news.

By Calli McMurray
28 September 2023 | 6 min read
A young boy sits alone on a bench in a playground.

Mental health issues emerge with shifts in autism traits across childhood

Anxiety and other challenges autistic children experience may stem from an increase in social-communication issues and a decrease in repetitive behaviors from ages 6 to 11.

By Charles Q. Choi
27 September 2023 | 3 min read
Two mice touching.

‘Social touch’ responses in mice gauged with unprecedented control

A new tool could help decipher the brain circuits underlying aversion to social touch, which is common in people with autism.

By Celia Ford
19 September 2023 | 4 min read
Research image of neurons in mice.

Skewed signaling in striatum may spawn repetitive behaviors

Synaptic changes in the brain region could drive a core trait of fragile X syndrome, a new mouse study suggests.

By Holly Barker
6 September 2023 | 3 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
Five high-school-aged students sit on a bench looking at notebooks and a laptop.
Spectrum Microphone

Social skills decline during adolescence for a sliver of autistic youth

Most children with the condition, however, gain communication and social abilities over time.

By Calli McMurray
24 August 2023 | 4 min read
Illustrated portrait of Amy Wetherby.
Spectrum Microphone

Amy Wetherby: Impatient for progress

A speech-language pathologist by training, Wetherby has spent more than four decades developing tools to help identify and treat autism early; now her work has taken on a more personal sense of urgency.

By Daisy Yuhas
26 July 2023 | 13 min read
Black and white watercolor-style portrait of Cheryl Dissanayake.
Spectrum Microphone

The story of autism research in Australia: A conversation with Cheryl Dissanayake

With the help of a generous benefactor, autism research in Australia is gathering critical mass.

By Brady Huggett
25 July 2023 | 1 min read
Illustration of half of a brain on the left and half of a heart on the right
Spectrum Microphone

Change of heart and mind: Autism’s ties to cardiac defects

Children with congenital heart disease have an increased likelihood of autism. Why?

By Lauren Schenkman
21 July 2023 | 12 min read
A brown mouse looks away from a white mouse in a cage to its left.

‘VIP’ interneurons may drive autism traits in Dravet syndrome

The inhibitory cells misfire and contribute to social difficulties in mice that model the syndrome.

By Lauren Schenkman
19 July 2023 | 6 min read

Explore more from The Transmitter

Research image of neurons in the fly’s ventral nerve cord.

New connectomes fly beyond the brain

Researchers are mapping the neurons in Drosophila’s ventral nerve cord, where the central nervous system meets the rest of the body.

By Laura Dattaro
26 July 2024 | 7 min read
Illustration of researchers talking to laypeople amidst strands of DNA.

Building an autism research registry: Q&A with Tony Charman

A purpose-built database of participants who have shared genomic and behavioral data could give clinical trials a boost, Charman says.

By Cathleen O’Grady
25 July 2024 | 8 min read

Cerebellar circuit may convert expected pain relief into real thing

The newly identified circuit taps into the brain’s opioid system to provide a top-down form of pain relief.

By Angie Voyles Askham
24 July 2024 | 6 min read