TMS

Recent articles

Man with EEG sensors on his head.

Noninvasive technologies can map and target human brain with unprecedented precision

But to fully grasp the tools’ potential, we need to better understand how electric and magnetic fields interact with the brain.

By Bruce Rosen
21 April 2025 | 9 min listen
Photo: Autistic woman Becky Audette lies on a couch under a purple blanket.

Rebooting Becky’s brain

An electrical brain implant all but erased the obsessions that had consumed Becky Audette, years after her autism diagnosis. Could similar implants help other people with severe autism?

By Ingrid Wickelgren
12 September 2018 | 28 min read
magnetic stimulation of human brain

Magnetic stimulation bares imbalance of activity in fragile X brains

Researchers have used transcranial magnetic stimulation to show that people with fragile X syndrome have weak ‘inhibitory’ signals, those that dampen neuronal activity in the brain.

By Bahar Gholipour
14 November 2017 | 3 min read
Spectrum from The Transmitter.

Takeaways from IMFAR 2016

Researchers, advocates and others from the autism community came together for the 2016 International Meeting for Autism Research in Baltimore.

By Claire Cameron
16 May 2016 | 2 min read
Spectrum from The Transmitter.

Reactions from IMFAR 2016

Scientists give their perspectives on work presented at the 2016 International Meeting for Autism Research.

By Claire Cameron
14 May 2016 | 9 min read
Spectrum from The Transmitter.

Magnetic promise: Can brain stimulation treat autism?

There are hints that transcranial magnetic stimulation, which uses electricity to change how brain cells function, might improve the symptoms of autism. But hopes are running way ahead of the facts.

By Lydia Denworth
23 September 2015 | 13 min read
Spectrum from The Transmitter.

Flexible brain

Transcranial magnetic stimulation may provide a noninvasive approach to studying how connections in the human brain change in response to new information, and how that process is altered in autism, says Lindsay Oberman.

By Lindsay Oberman
8 February 2013 | 3 min read
Spectrum from The Transmitter.

Magnet reveals differences in Asperger syndrome brains

A powerful magnet that alters brain activity has shown that a brain region responsible for language may function differently in adults with Asperger syndrome than in controls, according to a study published in the July issue of the European Journal of Neuroscience.

By Jessica Wright
6 July 2011 | 2 min read

Explore more from The Transmitter

Null and Noteworthy: Neurons tracking sequences don’t fire in order

Instead, neurons encode the position of sequential items in working memory based on when they fire during ongoing brain wave oscillations—a finding that challenges a long-standing theory.

By Laura Dattaro
30 June 2025 | 4 min read

How to teach this paper: ‘Neurotoxic reactive astrocytes are induced by activated microglia,’ by Liddelow et al. (2017)

Shane Liddelow and his collaborators identified the factors that transform astrocytes from their helpful to harmful form. Their work is a great choice if you want to teach students about glial cell types, cell culture, gene expression or protein measurement.

By Ashley Juavinett
30 June 2025 | 10 min read

Astrocytes sense neuromodulators to orchestrate neuronal activity and shape behavior

Astrocytes serve as crucial mediators of neuromodulatory processes previously attributed to direct communication between neurons, four new studies show.

By Claudia López Lloreda
27 June 2025 | 9 min listen