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Your 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/

Sensory gatekeeper drives seizures, autism-like behaviors in mouse model

The new work, in mice missing the autism-linked gene CNTNAP2, suggests a mechanism to help explain the overlap between epilepsy and autism.

09-11
05:03

Mitochondria set 'ancient' metabolic thermostat for sleep in flies, separate from circadian rhythms

During waking hours, a specialized set of sleep neurons in the fly brain accumulates reactive oxygen species, which eventually trigger sleep to clean up and repair the damage they do.

09-09
06:44

Building the future of neuroscience at HBCUs

Black In Neuro is launching a new program to help historically Black colleges and universities advance neuroscience research and education, focusing on cross-institutional collaboration, joint curriculum development and improved mentoring initiatives.

09-08
07:34

Emotion research has a communication conundrum

In 2025, the words we use to describe emotions matter, but their definitions are controversial. Here, I unpack the different positions in this space and the rationales behind them—and I invite 13 experts to chime in.

09-05
36:33

Autism-linked copy number variants always boost autism likelihood

By contrast, varied doses of the same genes decrease or increase the odds of five other conditions, with distinct biological consequences, two new preprints show.

09-04
07:28

Astrocyte networks span large swaths of brain

The networks are plastic, connect brain regions that aren’t connected by neurons and may enable long-distance communication between astrocytes, a new preprint shows.

09-03
05:28

From bench to bot: Why AI-powered writing may not deliver on its promise

Efficiency isn’t everything. The cognitive work of struggling with prose may be a crucial part of what drives scientific progress.

09-02
08:25

Worms help untangle brain structure/function mystery

The synaptic connectome of most animals bears little resemblance to functional brain maps, but it can still predict neuronal activity, according to two preprints that tackle the puzzle in C. elegans.

08-29
09:09

The Transmitter's reading list: Six upcoming neuroscience books, plus notable titles in 2025

Dig into an exploration of the fundamental aspects of intelligence, a new textbook about theoretical neuroscience and a memoir about memory research, among other new releases.

08-27
10:07

Long-standing theoretical neuroscience fellowship program loses financial support

Funding from the Swartz and Sloan Foundations helped bring physicists and mathematicians into neuroscience for more than 30 years.

08-26
06:23

Should neuroscientists 'vibe code'?

Researchers are developing software entirely through natural language conversations with advanced large language models. The trend is transforming how research gets done—but it also presents new challenges for evaluating the outcomes.

08-25
09:19

Adult human cortex does not 'reorganize' after amputation

The results from a new longitudinal study contradict classic findings in monkeys but may not warrant a rewriting of the textbooks just yet.

08-21
07:38

Longer fMRI brain scans boost reliability-but only to a point

Around 30 minutes of imaging per person seems to be the “sweet spot” for linking functional connectivity differences to traits in an accurate and cost-effective way.

08-20
05:51

Hitting city streets to record rat behaviors: Q&A with Emily Mackevicius, Ralph Peterson

Capturing the rodents’ vocalizations and movements in the wild offers an opportunity to study naturalistic behaviors in a complex urban environment, Mackevicius and Peterson say.

08-19
07:03

Deleting data or stopping its collection will erase years of valuable brain research

An explosion in open-neuroscience datasets has created a new generation of researchers with expertise in data science. But new federal restrictions in the United States put their research programs in jeopardy.

08-18
09:19

The spectrum goes multidimensional in search of autism subtypes

Grouping people with autism based on shared features, genetics and co-occurring conditions may improve clinical trial outcomes, researchers say.

08-14
09:29

Exclusive: Harvard University lays off fly database team

The layoffs jeopardize this resource, which has served more than 4,000 labs for about three decades.

08-13
05:11

This paper changed my life: Abigail Person on birdsong, feed-forward circuits and convergent computations

By isolating specific neuron types involved in zebra finch birdsong, this 2002 Nature paper from Michael Fee and colleagues revealed elegant neural mechanisms controlling the timing of natural learned behavior.

08-12
06:02

The challenge of defining a neural population

Our current approach is largely arbitrary. We need new methods for grouping cells, ideally by their dynamics.

08-11
08:55

Oxytocin prompts prairie voles to oust outsiders, fortifying their friendships

The “love hormone” drives the neurobiology behind platonic bonds in animals usually studied for their romantic attachments.

08-08
08:13

MrK-W

great show, very informative, and always moving with the times.

12-30 Reply

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