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

A see-through human brain with circuits inside it.

‘Wired for Words: The Neural Architecture of Language,’ an excerpt

In his new book, Hickok provides a detailed overview of the research into the circuits that control speech and language. In this excerpt from Chapter 5, he shares how meeting his colleague David Poeppel led to them developing the theory for bilateral speech perception.

By Gregory Hickok
2 December 2025 | 8 min read

Plumbing the link between anti-CASPR2 antibodies and autism; and more

Here is a roundup of autism-related news and research spotted around the web for the week of 1 December.

By Jill Adams
2 December 2025 | 1 min read
Illustration of a group of neurons.

This paper changed my life: Nancy Padilla-Coreano on learning the value of population coding

The 2013 Nature paper by Mattia Rigotti and his colleagues revealed how mixed selectivity neurons—cells that are not selectively tuned to a stimulus—play a key role in cognition.

By Nancy Padilla-Coreano
1 December 2025 | 5 min read

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