I was in my early 50s, employed full-time, and a single mother. I was attending college to retrain for a new career. I kayaked, walked, and went to the gym. I was socially competent. I held everything together with capability, drive, and a fullness of life that I never once questioned. I was diagnosed with […]
Opposite day: Neurodevelopmental conditions may arise from disruptions in the systems-level maturation of neuronal circuits, according to a new preprint. The investigators compared the effects of SYNGAP1 haploinsufficiency in mice with the effects of SYNGAP1 disruption in cortical excitatory neurons. The former induced two altered and opposing patterns of neuronal activity in the cortex, whereas […]
The call to abstain from retrogressive cultural practices dominated a funeral ceremony at Nairegia Enkare in Narok County with Secretary General of the Kenya Union of Special Needs Education Teachers (KUSNET) Mr. James Torome (Pictured) blaming outd facebook.com
In my ADHD assessment practice, I’ve noticed a troubling pattern: clients coming to me seeking a second opinion after receiving an evaluation that concluded one or more of the following:“ADHD diagnosis is inconclusive.”“Insufficient evidence of symptoms before age 12.”“Presentation better explained by anxiety or mood.” And, more often than not, the client is Black or […]
I was 30 when my son’s Yeshiva principal called and asked to speak to my husband. When I pressed for details, I was told my 8-year-old was “awkward” and struggling, and that we should pursue testing. An evaluator within our Chassidic community in Brooklyn recommended an autism assessment. Soon after, several of my children received […]
Astrocytes in mouse amygdala encode emotional stateThe glial cells’ activity reliably tracks with freezing, hesitancy and other behaviors reminiscent of anxiety. Astrocytes orchestrate oxytocin’s social effects in miceThe cells amplify oxytocin—and may be responsible for sex differences in social behavior, two preprints find. Astrocytes stabilize circuits in adult mouse brainThe glial cells secrete a protein […]
I was 30 when my son’s Yeshiva principal called and asked to speak to my husband. When I pressed for details, I was told my 8-year-old was “awkward” and struggling, and that we should pursue testing. An evaluator within our Chassidic community in Brooklyn recommended an autism assessment. Soon after, several of my children received […]
Kenya Union of Special Needs Education Teachers (KUSNET) Secretary General James Torome has called on the government to fulfill its promise of upgrading special needs teachers, saying a presidential directive issued in September last year has not been facebook.com
Brain evolution: Molecular and cellular regulatory components that support neuronal communication across the layers of the cerebral cortex distinguish mammalian brains from non-mammalian ones, a new study details. The investigators focused on the many types of excitatory projection neurons and their genes—and specifically zeroed in on the transcription factor ZBTB18, which is implicated in autism […]
I didn’t know I was different from the other kids. I just knew I was trying very, very hard. I had friends. I laughed. I did well in school. From the outside, I looked like a socially capable, high-functioning kid who blended in just fine. But inside, my brain was making constant calculations: Am I […]
Here we go again. I ask my son to eat his breakfast for the tenth time. Questions spill out of him faster than I can answer — reasons, rituals, invisible tasks his brain insists must come first. A million distractions orbit him. I don’t even think it has registered that there is food in front […]
Astrocytes—but not neurons—in the amygdala encode anxiety-like states in mice, according to a paper published today in Neuron. The findings suggest that the cells—which are altered in people with some neuropsychiatric conditions, including autism—contribute to mental health difficulties documented in such groups. “In a very sophisticated way, the [study] shows that astrocytes are these core […]
