Signs and Symptoms

Recent articles

Illustration of a child asleep with brainwave-like lines superimposed above them.

Exploring the connection between autism and sleep

The Transmitter rounds up the latest research on autism and sleep.

By Daisy Yuhas
7 November 2024 | 2 min read
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.

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.

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.

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

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

Explore more from The Transmitter

Illustration of an open book with the pages creating a brain shape, and with a tassel resembling a DNA sequence.

Open-access neuroscience comes to the classroom: Q&A with Liz Kirby

Neuroscience textbooks can be prohibitively expensive for some undergraduate students. A new open-access alternative seeks to change that.

By Francisco J. Rivera Rosario
13 December 2024 | 6 min read
Black-and-white image of cubes floating out of the bottom half of a human head.

Solving intelligence requires new research and funding models

Our research ecosystem isn't built to deliver the breakthroughs needed to understand intelligence at scale. We need a dedicated research institution to take up the task.

By David A. Markowitz
13 December 2024 | 6 min read
Research image of brain scans.

Impaired molecular ‘chaperone’ accompanies multiple brain changes, conditions

Rare genetic variants in a protein-folding complex contribute to a spectrum of phenotypes that encompass brain malformations, intellectual disability, autism and seizures, according to a new “hallmark” study.

By Holly Barker
12 December 2024 | 5 min read