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742 episodes - English - Latest episode: 13 days ago - ★★★★ - 13 ratingsYour latest update from The Transmitter, an essential resource for the neuroscience community, dedicated to helping scientists at all career stages stay current and build connections. Read more: https://www.thetransmitter.org/
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Episodes
Breaking down the winner's curse: Lessons from brain-wide association studies
April 15, 2024 04:00 - 7 minutes - 16.2 MBWe found an issue with a specific type of brain imaging study and tried to share it with the field. Then the backlash began.
Wild and free: Understanding animal behavior beyond the lab
April 11, 2024 04:00 - 8 minutes - 20.1 MBTechnological advancements have made it possible to study animals in more natural settings, but researchers are debating what that really means and whether natural is always better.
Knowledge gaps in cephalopod care could stall welfare standards
April 08, 2024 04:00 - 10 minutes - 23.9 MBThe U.S. National Institutes of Health wants to regulate research involving cephalopods. But there aren’t enough rigorous studies to base the regulations on, veteran cephalopod researchers say.
Nobel Prize winner Thomas Südhof retracts study
April 04, 2024 04:00 - 3 minutes - 7.15 MBThe retraction follows an editorial expression of concern that the journal applied to the paper in October, seven months after it was published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Newly found hypothalamus circuits shape bullying behaviors in mice
April 01, 2024 04:00 - 6 minutes - 14.5 MBActivity in the tiny brain region helps submissive rodents learn to avoid aggressors, and aggressive mice to curb their attacks, according to two recent studies.
Maiken Nedergaard's power of disruption
March 28, 2024 04:00 - 25 minutes - 58.8 MBThe award-winning researcher’s discoveries have changed the way we think about the brain; that’s exactly what her critics dislike.
Expanding 'little brain' may have powered dinosaur flight
March 25, 2024 04:00 - 4 minutes - 10.7 MBThe cerebellum swelled in size before flight evolved among modern birds’ dinosaur ancestors, according to a new comparison of fossilized skulls and living birds.
How long-read sequencing will transform neuroscience
March 18, 2024 04:00 - 6 minutes - 15.5 MBNew technology that delivers much more than a simple DNA sequence could have a major impact on brain research, enabling researchers to study transcript diversity, imprinting and more.
Incentivizing data-sharing in neuroscience: How about a little customer service?
March 11, 2024 04:00 - 7 minutes - 16.7 MBTo make data truly reusable, we need to invest in data curators, who help people enter the information into repositories.
'Into the wild': Moving studies of memory and learning out of the lab
March 04, 2024 05:00 - 9 minutes - 22.7 MBPeople with electrodes embedded deep in their brain are collaborating with a growing posse of plucky researchers to uncover the mysteries of real-world recall.
Making cancer nervous
February 26, 2024 05:00 - 24 minutes - 56.5 MBNerve cells in the brain and throughout the body can turbocharge tumor growth — a finding that not only expands conventional ideas about the nervous system but points to novel therapeutic targets for a range of malignancies.
Vast diversity of human brain cell types revealed in trove of new datasets
October 31, 2023 04:00 - 6 minutes - 16 MBThe collection offers a glimpse into differences in cell composition — across people and brain regions — that may shape neural function.
Journal club: Why do some children lose their autism diagnosis?
October 26, 2023 04:00 - 5 minutes - 13.3 MBMore than one-third of a cohort of autistic toddlers no longer meet criteria for the condition at school age, according to a new study, but the findings may not generalize because the cohort is predominantly white and affluent.
Uncertainty and excitement surround one company's cell therapy for epilepsy
October 24, 2023 04:00 - 19 minutes - 45.6 MBAfter 10 years of work, Neurona may have the data to quiet its skeptics. But its ongoing clinical trial will be the ultimate test.
Mutations in multipurpose gene deal dendrites a double whammy
October 17, 2023 04:00 - 4 minutes - 10.9 MBThe mutations disrupt protein translation as well as the cell’s skeleton, according to a new study.
UBE3A's link to synaptic pruning bolstered by fly study
October 12, 2023 04:00 - 5 minutes - 12.1 MBIncreasing or reducing the levels of the UBE3A gene, which is associated with autism and autism-related syndromes, results in altered patterns of synaptic pruning — a process that snips away brain cell connections.
Debate unfurls over inclusivity and authenticity in research involving minimally verbal autistic people
October 10, 2023 04:00 - 11 minutes - 26.9 MBAutism researchers can’t agree on how far to go to validate the input they gather from minimally verbal autistic people who use certain communication devices.
Common genetic variants shape the structure of the cortex
October 05, 2023 04:00 - 5 minutes - 12.9 MBA genome-wide association study lays a foundation for deeper investigation of these variants in neurodevelopmental conditions.
Six tips for postdoc success
September 28, 2023 04:00 - 4 minutes - 10.2 MBPostdoctoral positions are relatively short, so starting out on the right foot can make all the difference. Researchers offer their advice for making that happen.
Alterations in circuits characterize six neuropsychiatric conditions
September 26, 2023 04:00 - 4 minutes - 10.8 MBThe underlying regional neurobiology of the conditions may differ from person to person.
Tablet-based tool to spot autism validated in two studies
September 14, 2023 04:00 - 5 minutes - 11.8 MBThe new tool could help clinicians diagnose autism in children younger than 3, the findings show.
Neuronal deafness to stress may add to protein surplus in fragile X
September 12, 2023 04:00 - 3 minutes - 7.02 MBA protective pathway that pauses protein synthesis is muted in a mouse model of fragile X syndrome, according to a new study.
Social skills decline during adolescence for a sliver of autistic youth
September 07, 2023 04:00 - 4 minutes - 10 MBMost children with the condition, however, gain communication and social abilities over time.
Scammers threaten quality of research survey data
September 05, 2023 04:00 - 10 minutes - 23.6 MBJammed online surveys and invaded video calls are forcing researchers to rethink their outreach methods.
Father's genes may drive sociability in male monkeys
August 31, 2023 04:00 - 3 minutes - 8.39 MBThe findings in rhesus macaque monkeys may provide clues to sex differences in the heredity of social behavior in people.
Is excess brain fluid an early marker of autism?
August 29, 2023 04:00 - 11 minutes - 25.3 MBBrain scans of hundreds of infants suggest that up to 80 percent of those with autism have unusual amounts of cerebrospinal fluid. Researchers are studying how this might contribute to the condition.
Unwritten rules of tenure
August 24, 2023 04:00 - 3 minutes - 8.17 MBAcademics are not always aware of the standards — both explicit and implicit — that are used to assess them for promotion. We explore these expectations and more in this month’s issue of the Spectrum Launch newsletter.
Co-occurring conditions in autistic teens increase with age
August 22, 2023 04:00 - 5 minutes - 11.5 MBThe most prevalent conditions include obesity, neurological disorders, anxiety and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder.
Autism in Adulthood gets its first impact factor
August 17, 2023 04:00 - 4 minutes - 9.77 MBThe 4-year-old journal focuses on research that aims to improve the lives of autistic adults.
Exclusive: Shake-up at top psychiatric institute following suicide in clinical trial
August 15, 2023 04:00 - 5 minutes - 13.4 MBThe New York State Psychiatric Institute in New York City is undergoing an audit and a change in leadership following a suicide that occurred during one of its clinical trials.
Amy Wetherby: Impatient for progress
August 10, 2023 04:00 - 12 minutes - 29.1 MBA 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.
'Gain-of-function' mutation spawns autism traits
August 08, 2023 04:00 - 5 minutes - 13 MBThe mutation increases the activity of an autism-linked protein and leads to social difficulties and other behavioral differences in mice.
Change of heart and mind: Autism's ties to cardiac defects
August 03, 2023 04:00 - 13 minutes - 30.1 MBChildren with congenital heart disease have an increased likelihood of autism. Why?
'A catalyst for change': NIH makes first call for research supporting minimally verbal autistic people
August 01, 2023 04:00 - 6 minutes - 15.1 MBThe request is energizing scientists investigating autistic people who largely don’t communicate with spoken words.
Repurposed electronics lens spies neurons across entire mouse brain
July 27, 2023 04:00 - 5 minutes - 12.1 MBWhen combined with tissue-inflation methods, the microscope can image axons without the need for tissue slicing, the researchers say.
Dispute erupts over role of sticky proteins in astrocytes
July 25, 2023 04:00 - 9 minutes - 20.9 MBBut multiple independent researchers say they are not convinced by its results, which fail to confirm high-profile findings from 2017.
New gene-editing method flags fragile X mutation for repair
July 19, 2023 04:00 - 5 minutes - 12.8 MBThe approach prompts cultured cells to correct the genetic mutation in fragile X syndrome using their own DNA repair system, but it still needs to be tested further.
Partner selection may amplify rare variants in children
July 14, 2023 04:00 - 5 minutes - 12.1 MBNonrandom mating — the propensity for people to partner with others who share their traits — can increase the likelihood of autism or other conditions across generations.
Serotonin powers pruning of developing brain circuits in mice
July 12, 2023 04:00 - 5 minutes - 12.2 MBMice with microglia missing receptors for the neurotransmitter serotonin since birth have too many synapses and show social difficulties in adulthood.
Mitochondria mediate effects of PTEN mutations
July 10, 2023 04:00 - 4 minutes - 11.1 MBWhole-genome sequencing data — which include information about mitochondrial DNA — offer clues to why mutations in the same gene can lead to autism or cancer.
Autism's ties to the cell skeleton
July 07, 2023 04:00 - 7 minutes - 18.2 MBMany genes related to the condition play a role in the internal scaffolding of cells, and cytoskeletal disruptions can affect neurodevelopment and behavior.
Donald Triplett, autism's 'Case 1,' dies at 89
July 05, 2023 04:00 - 3 minutes - 7.17 MBTriplett gained media attention for his autism later in life, and he became the face of the effort to research the lives of older adults with autism.
Retraction, She Wrote: Dorothy Bishop's life after research
June 30, 2023 04:00 - 11 minutes - 26.6 MBA renowned researcher’s eye for detail has given her a second career and a new following.
AI model helps decode brain activity underlying conversation
June 28, 2023 04:00 - 6 minutes - 14.5 MBA text-predicting chatbot parses text from conversations in a way that parallels brain-activity patterns associated with speech production and comprehension.
Controversial 'cost of autism' paper retracted
June 26, 2023 04:00 - 3 minutes - 7.94 MBThe journal’s decision comes two years after Spectrum covered backlash from researchers over the study.
Capturing autism's sleep problems with devices nearable and wearable
June 23, 2023 04:00 - 9 minutes - 21.4 MBNext-generation trackers could realize a long-standing research dream: conducting sleep studies in large numbers of autistic people.
Preprint questions validity of postmortem brain studies
June 21, 2023 04:00 - 6 minutes - 14.3 MBBut the alternatives, including living-brain biopsies, raise logistical and ethical questions, experts say.
Motor difficulties in autism, explained
June 19, 2023 04:00 - 7 minutes - 16.8 MBMost people with autism have motor difficulties, ranging from an atypical gait to problems with handwriting, but researchers still have much to learn about their causes and consequences.
Two scientists, two interventions: A 'gentle rivalry' to aid autistic children
June 16, 2023 04:00 - 6 minutes - 15.5 MBMinimally verbal autistic preschoolers gained new words and phrases in a head-to-head comparison of two interventions.
Debate remains over changes in DSM-5 a decade on
June 14, 2023 04:00 - 13 minutes - 29.8 MBChanges to the DSM-5’s diagnostic criteria for autism were meant to add clarity, but they also generated new questions.