Audio research news

FDA describes 'objectionable conditions' at New York State Psychiatric Institute

18 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The facility’s institutional review board failed to report a 2021 incident and “serious and ongoing noncompliance” by a principal investigator, ...

Breaking down the winner's curse: Lessons from brain-wide association studies

15 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

We 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

11 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Technological advancements have made it possible to study animals in more natural settings, but researchers are debating what that really means and wh...

Knowledge gaps in cephalopod care could stall welfare standards

08 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The U.S. National Institutes of Health wants to regulate research involving cephalopods. But there aren’t enough rigorous studies to base the regula...

Nobel Prize winner Thomas Südhof retracts study

04 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The retraction follows an editorial expression of concern that the journal applied to the paper in October, seven months after it was published in the...

Newly found hypothalamus circuits shape bullying behaviors in mice

01 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Activity in the tiny brain region helps submissive rodents learn to avoid aggressors, and aggressive mice to curb their attacks, according to two rece...

Maiken Nedergaard's power of disruption

28 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The 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

25 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The cerebellum swelled in size before flight evolved among modern birds’ dinosaur ancestors, according to a new comparison of fossilized skulls and ...

How long-read sequencing will transform neuroscience

18 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

New technology that delivers much more than a simple DNA sequence could have a major impact on brain research, enabling researchers to study transcrip...

Incentivizing data-sharing in neuroscience: How about a little customer service?

11 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

To 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

04 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

People with electrodes embedded deep in their brain are collaborating with a growing posse of plucky researchers to uncover the mysteries of real-worl...

Making cancer nervous

26 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Nerve cells in the brain and throughout the body can turbocharge tumor growth — a finding that not only expands conventional ideas about the nervous...

Vast diversity of human brain cell types revealed in trove of new datasets

31 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The 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?

26 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

More 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 findin...

Uncertainty and excitement surround one company's cell therapy for epilepsy

24 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

After 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

17 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The 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

12 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Increasing or reducing the levels of the UBE3A gene, which is associated with autism and autism-related syndromes, results in altered patterns of syna...

Debate unfurls over inclusivity and authenticity in research involving minimally verbal autistic people

10 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Autism researchers can’t agree on how far to go to validate the input they gather from minimally verbal autistic people who use certain communicatio...

Common genetic variants shape the structure of the cortex

05 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

A genome-wide association study lays a foundation for deeper investigation of these variants in neurodevelopmental conditions.

Six tips for postdoc success

28 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Postdoctoral positions are relatively short, so starting out on the right foot can make all the difference. Researchers offer their advice for making ...

Alterations in circuits characterize six neuropsychiatric conditions

26 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The underlying regional neurobiology of the conditions may differ from person to person.

Tablet-based tool to spot autism validated in two studies

14 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The 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

12 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

A 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

07 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Most children with the condition, however, gain communication and social abilities over time.

Scammers threaten quality of research survey data

05 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Jammed online surveys and invaded video calls are forcing researchers to rethink their outreach methods.

Father's genes may drive sociability in male monkeys

31 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The 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?

29 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Brain scans of hundreds of infants suggest that up to 80 percent of those with autism have unusual amounts of cerebrospinal fluid. Researchers are stu...

Unwritten rules of tenure

24 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Academics are not always aware of the standards — both explicit and implicit — that are used to assess them for promotion. We explore these expect...

Co-occurring conditions in autistic teens increase with age

22 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The most prevalent conditions include obesity, neurological disorders, anxiety and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder.

Autism in Adulthood gets its first impact factor

17 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The 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

15 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The New York State Psychiatric Institute in New York City is undergoing an audit and a change in leadership following a suicide that occurred during o...

Amy Wetherby: Impatient for progress

10 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

A speech-language pathologist by training, Wetherby has spent more than four decades developing tools to help identify and treat autism early; now her...

'Gain-of-function' mutation spawns autism traits

08 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The 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

03 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Children 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

01 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The request is energizing scientists investigating autistic people who largely don’t communicate with spoken words.

Repurposed electronics lens spies neurons across entire mouse brain

27 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

When 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

25 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

But 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

19 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The 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 ...

Partner selection may amplify rare variants in children

14 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Nonrandom mating — the propensity for people to partner with others who share their traits — can increase the likelihood of autism or other condit...

Serotonin powers pruning of developing brain circuits in mice

12 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Mice 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

10 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Whole-genome sequencing data — which include information about mitochondrial DNA — offer clues to why mutations in the same gene can lead to autis...

Autism's ties to the cell skeleton

07 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Many genes related to the condition play a role in the internal scaffolding of cells, and cytoskeletal disruptions can affect neurodevelopment and beh...

Donald Triplett, autism's 'Case 1,' dies at 89

05 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Triplett 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

30 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

A renowned researcher’s eye for detail has given her a second career and a new following.

AI model helps decode brain activity underlying conversation

28 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

A text-predicting chatbot parses text from conversations in a way that parallels brain-activity patterns associated with speech production and compreh...

Controversial 'cost of autism' paper retracted

26 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The 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

23 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Next-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

21 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

But the alternatives, including living-brain biopsies, raise logistical and ethical questions, experts say.

Two scientists, two interventions: A 'gentle rivalry' to aid autistic children

16 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Minimally 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

14 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Changes to the DSM-5’s diagnostic criteria for autism were meant to add clarity, but they also generated new questions.

Swings and misses with Jeremy Veenstra-VanderWeele

12 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

A careful clinician who prizes evidence, Jeremy Veenstra-VanderWeele is happy to embrace trial failures, as long as he learns from them.

Antihistamine aids myelination in Pitt-Hopkins mice

09 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The drug clemastine and other compounds that fortify the protective sheath around neurons may prove therapeutic for some genetic neurodevelopmental co...

'Polygenic risk scores' for autism, explained

07 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

These scores — composite measures of a person’s autism-linked common genetic variants — cannot predict an autism diagnosis but could help resear...

Neuroscience journal retracts 13 papers at once

05 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The papers were flagged by a method that has now been called into question.

Genetic background sways effects of autism-linked mutation

02 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Experiments offer clues to why certain mutations are associated with autism in some people and not others.

Null and Noteworthy: Arbaclofen results; another oxytocin edition

31 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

New data from clinical trials of arbaclofen and oxytocin underscore the murkiness of null results. Plus, researchers seek clarity on the neurodevelopm...

Dataset maps connectivity in 40,000 brains

26 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The new resource aims to aid reproducibility in imaging research.

Grafted organoids reveal how microglia adapt to shifting brain environments

24 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The chimeric mouse model could provide a more realistic way to study microglia’s roles in brain conditions such as autism.

Flawed protocol for levodopa clinical trial brings retractions

22 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The retracted studies mar hope for the drug’s use in depression.

Trials of arbaclofen for autism yield mixed results

19 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Autistic children taking the drug showed improvements in some behaviors but not in their social skills.

Medley of models reveals misbehaving pathways in autism-linked condition

17 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The largest analysis of human samples to date, plus work in mice and zebrafish, detail the gene KMT5B’s role in brain development.

Spectrum Launch: Demystifying academia with Laurel Gabard-Durnam

15 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The Northeastern University psychology professor’s website offers a wealth of resources about how to navigate an academic career.

What kind of autism research should we do, and where should we do it?

12 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Researchers at INSAR 2023 need to discuss these questions and remember that the purpose of research may be different for different communities.

Loss of autism-linked gene dampens social interactions in animals

10 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Mice and zebrafish missing the GIGYF1 gene show social traits reminiscent of autism, though the molecular underpinnings are unclear.

Acetaminophen on trial over possible links to autism, ADHD

08 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

More than 100 parents who used the drug during pregnancy claim it caused their child’s autism or attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, although ...

Company on brink takes psilocybin to trial for fragile X syndrome

05 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The phase 2A trial has its detractors despite positive animal results and is being sponsored by a company that is struggling financially.

U.S. study charts changing prevalence of profound and non-profound autism

03 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Profound autism prevalence rose from 2002 to 2016, though not nearly as much as non-profound autism did.

A questionable study linked epidurals to autism. Then what?

01 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Researchers and clinicians were quick to point out the flaws in the study, and a flood of work refuted it.

Null and Noteworthy: Reader response; cerebrospinal fluid; connectivity subgroups

28 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In this edition of Null and Noteworthy, researchers upend early interventions and diagnostic boundaries.

New measure characterizes gender diversity in study participants

26 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The Gender Self-Report could help autism researchers include more gender-diverse people across a range of ages and neurotypes in their work.

Journal club: Does lithium in drinking water contribute to autism?

24 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

A study published last week in JAMA Pediatrics suggests that autism is more common among people born in areas with high levels of lithium in drinking ...

Rare autism-linked mutation starves growing neurons of essential nutrients

20 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The mutation prevents certain amino acids from entering neurons, causing the cells to die early in development.

RNA therapy restores gene function in monkeys modeling Angelman syndrome

18 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The result raises hopes for an ongoing clinical trial in people — and offers fresh insight into the biology of imprinting and the UBE3A antisense tr...

Immune molecule alters cellular makeup of human brain organoids

17 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The changes may help explain the link between maternal infection and autism, though more research is needed.

New technique details brainstem's response to sounds

14 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

By revealing differences between autistic and non-autistic children, it could help identify autism in babies.

Going on Trial: Trofinetide approval for Rett; n-of-1 ASO therapies; cord-blood deals

12 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

This month’s issue of the Going on Trial newsletter examines personalized therapies for rare conditions, Acadia’s new drug for Rett syndrome and d...

Brain connectivity, behavior flag four autism subtypes

10 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

A machine-learning technique applied to brain imaging data appears to predict a person’s mix of verbal intelligence, social affect and repetitive be...

Maternal immune response dulls male rats' social radar

06 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Male rats prenatally exposed to a maternal immune response have atypical responses to other rats in distress, according to a new study.

U.S. autism prevalence continues to rise as race and sex gaps shrink, new stats show

03 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

About 1 in 36 children in the United States has autism, up almost 20 percent from the previous estimate, reflecting improved identification, particula...

Cannabis compound rebalances signaling to quell seizures in mice

31 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Cannabidiol (CBD) blocks the action of a molecule that drives an overexcitability feedback loop in a rodent model of epilepsy.

'Splice-switching' strategy boosts SYNGAP1 expression

30 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The approach improves the function of SYNGAP1-deficient neurons in vitro, but whether it will work in people remains unclear.

Brain imaging do-over offers clues to field's replication problem

28 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Methodological choices and study-site artifacts confounded an attempt to replicate findings in support of an autism brain-imaging biomarker, according...

African genetics study NeuroDev shares initial findings

24 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The most comprehensive study of neurodevelopmental conditions in Kenya and South Africa ever conducted shares preliminary results and lessons.

FDA approval of trofinetide may spur further drug development for Rett

21 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The drug, welcomed by patients, might be just the first of many.

Wiring map reveals how larval fruit fly brain converts sensory signals to movement

20 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The map diagrams more than half a million neuronal connections in the first complete connectome of Drosophila and holds clues about which brain archit...

To repair DNA, neurons harness autism-linked proteins

17 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The proteins are part of a newly discovered complex that mends genetic damage exclusively in neurons.

Spectrum Launch: How early-career researchers can use ChatGPT to boost productivity

16 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The new tool may pose challenges for the scientific community, but used wisely, it can help researchers save time and resources.

New journals seek to fill neurodiversity gap

08 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The two journals, although differing in initial support, both realized the need for a publication focused exclusively on the neurodiverse experience.

Biotech downturn hurts companies targeting autism-linked conditions

23 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

After a year of intense growth, funding for biotech is in decline. The result is layoffs and program cuts — and maybe some innovation.

People's perceptions of 'social' animations don't always square with researchers' labels

22 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The finding calls into question differences between autistic and non-autistic people on a decades-old theory-of-mind test involving interacting geomet...

Dietary changes ease traits in rare autism-linked condition

21 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Early treatment with nutritional supplements and a high-protein diet forestalls some neurodevelopmental problems for children with BCKDK deficiency.

Neurons struggle to spike without fragile X gene

17 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

FMR1 loss impairs sodium channels, hindering mouse neurons from generating the electrical signals needed to transmit information.

Epigenome edits unmute MECP2 in Rett-like neurons

16 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The approach removes methyl tags from the gene and shields it from other silencing factors without changing the gene itself, raising hopes for a new t...

Autism-linked MYT1L mutations prompt 'identity crisis' in budding brain cells

14 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Both human and mouse progenitor cells with the alterations struggle to become neurons and instead express genes that are typically active only in musc...

Autism-linked chromatin regulators may moonlight as microtubule influencers

08 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Five autism-linked genes widely known as chromatin regulators appear to also shape the cell’s internal skeleton.

Chromatin remodeling tied to altered splicing in autism model

07 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Exposing neurons to valproic acid, a well-known environmental risk factor for autism, disrupts their ability to generate different proteins from the s...

Fishing for protein partners nets clues to autism

06 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Connections between 13 autism-linked proteins and their binding partners in excitatory neurons implicate a new molecular pathway.

CHD8 mutation in 33 mouse strains yields range of traits

03 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The findings put genetic background forward to help explain autism’s heterogeneity.

Prolific autism researcher has two dozen papers retracted

02 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Elsevier’s retractions focus on peer review and conflicts of interest.

Head motion mars most fMRI results, even after correction

30 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

A new measure shows how greatly movement influences associations between traits and brain activity, revealing abundant false positives and false negat...