Amanda Leigh Mascarelli is a freelance writer based in Denver, Colorado.
Amanda Leigh Mascarelli
Freelance Writer
SFARI.org
From this contributor
Time perception problems may explain autism symptoms
Individuals with autism have trouble perceiving the passage of time, and pairing sights and sounds that happen simultaneously, according to two new studies.
Time perception problems may explain autism symptoms
Social interactions not rewarding for children with autism
Children with autism have abnormally low brain activity in the ‘reward center’ of the brain when given money or shown a happy face, according to a study in Autism Research. These are the first imaging data to support the notion that children with autism derive less pleasure from social interactions compared with their healthy peers.
Social interactions not rewarding for children with autism
Flu triggers schizophrenia-like features in monkeys
Babies born to rhesus monkeys infected with the flu virus during pregnancy have significantly smaller brains than normal, and other brain abnormalities seen in schizophrenia, researchers have found. The study, published last month in Biological Psychiatry, provides the first evidence in non-human primates linking flu infection to a higher risk of schizophrenia.
Flu triggers schizophrenia-like features in monkeys
Faulty connectivity found in mouse model of schizophrenia
Mice engineered to carry a well-known risk factor for schizophrenia show disruptions in the connections between two brain regions that coordinate memory and learning. And these disruptions directly cause problems with working memory — the ability to actively hold information and to recall that information to make a decision, according to a study published in Nature.
Faulty connectivity found in mouse model of schizophrenia
Autism not a fundamental problem of attention, study says
Toddlers with autism pay less attention to faces than do healthy controls, but both groups give equal attention to objects, according to a study published in the Archives of General Psychiatry. The findings challenge the idea that individuals with autism have a generalized problem with attention, suggesting instead that they struggle with attending specifically to social stimuli, researchers say.
Autism not a fundamental problem of attention, study says
Explore more from The Transmitter
Visual perception improves in the blink of an eye
Blinking—long considered a problem the brain must overcome to produce seamless vision—may actually be more of a feature than a bug, new research suggests.
Visual perception improves in the blink of an eye
Blinking—long considered a problem the brain must overcome to produce seamless vision—may actually be more of a feature than a bug, new research suggests.
The Transmitter Launch: Industry internships, ‘Next Generation Leaders,’ and more
Working at a biotechnology or artificial-intelligence company is no longer an “alternative career” for researchers with a doctorate in neuroscience—plus jobs, training and funding updates for May.
The Transmitter Launch: Industry internships, ‘Next Generation Leaders,’ and more
Working at a biotechnology or artificial-intelligence company is no longer an “alternative career” for researchers with a doctorate in neuroscience—plus jobs, training and funding updates for May.
Some minimally verbal autistic people show signs of written-language familiarity, study suggests
But researchers not involved in the work worry the findings could be used to support discredited facilitated-communication techniques.
Some minimally verbal autistic people show signs of written-language familiarity, study suggests
But researchers not involved in the work worry the findings could be used to support discredited facilitated-communication techniques.