Best Autism Science Foundation Podcasts (2025)

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Autism and diseases of the aging brain 12:18

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2h ago12:18

12:18

As the autistic brain ages, is it more vulnerable to other brain disorders? Recent scientific discoveries in Parkinson’s Disease and Alzheimer’s Disease show that there may be an underlying mechanism between these diseases and autism. However diagnosing someone with autism with an additional brain disorder, especially dementia, can be difficult. Th…

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This paper changed my life: Abigail Person on birdsong, feed-forward circuits and convergent computations 6:02

2h ago6:02

6:02

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.

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539: Detox from the Covid Shot with Christian Elliot 44:44

39m ago44:44

44:44

If you got one of the COVID shots, you're not stuck. Your body has the ability to detoxify. Where to start, though? Our guest today, Christian Elliot of Healing United, suggests avoiding what he calls "biochemical whack-a-mole". Instead, he recommends that you purify and nourish the body to support its innate detoxing capabilities. He begins by hel…

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The challenge of defining a neural population 8:55

24h ago8:55

8:55

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

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Oxytocin prompts prairie voles to oust outsiders, fortifying their friendships 8:13

1h ago8:13

8:13

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

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Your Guide to Eczema: Types, Triggers, and Treatments 27:54

3h ago27:54

27:54

Approximately 31 million people in the U.S., or 10% of the population, live with some form of eczema. But what are the different types of eczema, and why do certain types affect some people more than others? We spoke with Candrice R. Heath, MD, FAAP, FAAD, adult and pediatric dermatologist, about the eczema umbrella, treatment options, the surprisi…

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Contested paper on vaccines, autism in rats retracted by journal 5:07

1d ago5:07

5:07

The editor-in-chief cited "inconsistencies in the number of subjects" as the reason for the retraction.

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Body state, sensory signals commingle in mouse whisker cortex 5:52

6d ago5:52

5:52

The new study challenges a long-held view that the barrel cortex exclusively encodes sensory signals from the whiskers.

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538: How A Solo Kayak Trip Around Greenland Led to Weight Loss, Resilience and a New Take on Nourishment with Mike Keen 42:32

7d ago42:32

42:32

Mike Keen came up with the idea of a kayak expedition off the coast of Greenland before he had any clue about how transformative it would be for his life and health and worldview! Today, he dives into what went down—what it was like eating the traditional Inuit diet (including fermented seal!), how his body responded to the kayaking and change in d…

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Neural population-based approaches have opened new windows into neural computations and behavior 8:28

3d ago8:28

8:28

Neural manifold properties can help us understand how animal brains deal with complex information, execute flexible behaviors and reuse common computations.

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Which Birth Control Is Right for You? What to Know at Every Stage of Life 38:10

7d ago38:10

38:10

While birth control is widely used today, misinformation around it still persists. Questions like: Will birth control affect my future fertility? Does it cause weight gain? And how do I know which option is right for me? We spoke with Natalie Crawford, MD, fertility doctor and co-founder of Fora Fertility, about the full spectrum of birth control –…

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Poor image quality introduces systematic bias into large neuroimaging datasets 6:44

7d ago6:44

6:44

Analyses that include low-quality MRI data underestimate cortical thickness and overestimate cortical surface area, according to new findings from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study.

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Eye puffs prompt separable sensory, affective brain responses in mice, people 8:16

9d ago8:16

8:16

Post-puff brain state might not be an emotion, some researchers caution, but the protocol provides a cross-species approach to study emotions.

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537: What You May Not Know About Energy For Healing Yourself And The Land With Anna Chaney 46:13

10d ago46:13

46:13

What if we considered a new/ancient approach for healing ourselves...and the land? Anna Chaney went out on a limb to try to find answers for her own health and stumbled upon "energy healing." And while it may sound "woo woo", energy medicine helped her resolve many chronic conditions that were plaguing her. Anna then went on to implement ancient pr…

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What U.S. science stands to lose without international graduate students and postdoctoral researchers 7:21

15d ago7:21

7:21

Neuroscience in other countries will strengthen-at the United States' expense-as rising visa restrictions and rejections block many international students from enrolling at U.S. institutions and dissuade others from applying.

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What labels should be used to describe autism? 23:09

11d ago23:09

23:09

This week’s podcast includes summaries from two new scientific studies (with comments from one of the studies’ authors @SimonsFoundation and @princetonPPH) about that tackle grouping and labeling the differences across the spectrum into meaningful subtypes. Both provide scientific evidence, including behavioral and biological data, that support the…

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New dopamine sensor powers three-color imaging in live animals 4:55

13d ago4:55

4:55

The tool leverages a previously unused segment of the color spectrum to track the neurotransmitter and can be used with two additional sensors to monitor other neurochemicals at different wavelengths.

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Newly Diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis: Questions, Concerns, and Treatment Options 33:10

14d ago33:10

33:10

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a disease in which the body’s immune system attacks the protective layer around the nerves. It affects more than 2.8 million people worldwide, most often younger adults between ages 20 and 40 – with women significantly more affected. What are the symptoms? What should newly diagnosed individuals know? In this episode, Rob…

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Cell 'antennae' link autism, congenital heart disease 4:24

19d ago4:24

4:24

Variants in genes tied to both conditions derail the formation of cilia, the tiny hair-like structure found on almost every cell in the body, a new study finds.

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How to build a truly global computational neuroscience community 8:47

20d ago8:47

8:47

Computational sciences offer an opportunity to increase global access to, and participation in, neuroscience. Neuromatch’s inclusive, scalable model for community building shows how to realize this promise.

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Mitochondria and the Future of Health with Natalie Yivgi-Ohana of Minovia 51:30

16d ago51:30

51:30

Greg and Matias interview Natalie Yivgi-Ohana of Minovia. Natalie is a life science entrepreneur with twenty years’ experience in mitochondrial research and received her PhD in Biochemistry at The Hebrew University in 2007, after which she performed her postdoctoral fellowship at the Weizmann Institute of Science until 2010. In this episode, we dis…

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This paper changed my life: Victoria Abraira on a tasty link between circuits and behavior 4:52

17d ago4:52

4:52

The findings from Charles Zuker’s lab put the taste system on the map, revealing that some fundamental principles of behavior are hardwired.

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536: The Medical Industry Is Mostly Based On BS (Bad Science) With Dr. Jeremy Ayres And John Gusty 42:38

17d ago42:38

42:38

Most medical professionals don't read the latest studies. A lot of modern medicine is based on bad science (B.S.). Conventional medicine was never set up to promote good health; it was meant for profit. If these statements shock you, that is part of the point. Our guests today, Dr. Jeremy Ayres and John Gusty, are co-authors of "The Red Pill Revolu…

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Breaking the jar: Why NeuroAI needs embodiment 11:09

18d ago11:09

11:09

Brain function is inexorably shaped by the body. Embracing this fact will benefit computational models of real brain function, as well as the design of artificial neural networks.

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Friendship and Emotional Health: Addressing Jealousy, Distance, and Repair 29:20

24d ago29:20

29:20

Why does jealousy sometimes creep into our friendships? How can we recognize when a slow drift is turning into a silent goodbye? And how can we strengthen communication and emotional connection with our friends? We speak with Lia Love Avellino, LCSW, modern love therapist and founder of Spoke Circles in Brooklyn, about the outside pressures friends…

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Four autism subtypes map onto distinct genes, traits 5:57

21d ago5:57

5:57

An analysis of more than 5,000 autistic children and their siblings underscores the idea that autism can be understood as multiple conditions with distinct trajectories.

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Systems and circuit neuroscience need an evolutionary perspective 7:12

22d ago7:12

7:12

To identify fundamental neuroscientific principles that generalize across species, neuroscientists must frame their research through an evolutionary lens.

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NIH proposal sows concerns over future of animal research, unnecessary costs 6:15

23d ago6:15

6:15

The new NIH policy calls for greater incorporation of new approach methodologies in all future Notices of Funding Opportunities related to animal model systems.

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The Science of Autism BrainNet 53:00

24d ago53:00

53:00

This week’s ASF weekly science podcast features Dr. David Amaral, who directs the Autism BrainNet. The Autism BrainNet is a program that organizes the collection of post-mortem brain tissue and then distributes it to autism researchers worldwide to better understand the brains of people with autism. He discusses major scientific discoveries about t…