Theories of autism

Recent articles

The signaling imbalance theory of autism, explained

The signaling imbalance theory holds that the brains of autistic people are hyper-excitable because of either excess neuronal activity or weak brakes on that activity.

By Sarah DeWeerdt
1 May 2019 | 4 min read

The female protective effect, explained

One of the leading theories of autism posits that girls and women are biologically protected from the condition.

By Hannah Furfaro
1 May 2019 | 4 min read
Illustration of a strong man holding up a oversized brain

The extreme male brain, explained

The ‘extreme male brain’ theory suggests that autism is an exaggeration of systematic sex differences in ways of thinking.

By Hannah Furfaro
1 May 2019 | 5 min read
Illustration of red figures on a big blue brain are serotonin signaling

Serotonin’s link to autism, explained

Serotonin, the brain chemical best known for its link to depression, may also be involved in autism.

By Nicholette Zeliadt
1 May 2019 | 5 min read
A DNA helix showing common and rare variants

The multiple hits theory of autism, explained

Researchers are studying how a combination of genetic ‘hits’ may contribute to autism’s diversity.

By Jessica Wright
1 May 2019 | 4 min read
Illustration shows the world is distorted through a point of view pair of glasses

The predictive coding theory of autism, explained

In autism, a person's brain may not form accurate predictions of imminent experiences, or even if it does, sensory input may override those predictions.

By George Musser
1 May 2019 | 6 min read
overlapping network of connections in the brain

The connectivity theory of autism, explained

A growing body of evidence suggests that autism involves atypical communication between brain regions, but how and where in the brain this plays out is unclear.

By Rachel Zamzow
1 May 2019 | 4 min read

Explore more from The Transmitter

Illustration of human figures holding brightly colored connected dots.

This paper changed my life: Dan Goodman on a paper that reignited the field of spiking neural networks

Friedemann Zenke’s 2019 paper, and its related coding tutorial SpyTorch, made it possible to apply modern machine learning to spiking neural networks. The innovation reinvigorated the field.

By Dan Goodman
17 September 2025 | 5 min read
Research image of different types of microglia in mice.

Autism and anxiety insights; and more

Here is a roundup of autism-related news and research spotted around the web for the week of 15 September.

By Jill Adams
16 September 2025 | 2 min read

First nerve-net connectome shows how evolutionarily ancient nervous system coordinates movement

The map of a comb jelly’s aboral nerve net, which helps the animal orient and position itself within the water column, reveals a unique system for sensing the world and coordinating movement.

By Siddhant Pusdekar
16 September 2025 | 0 min watch

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