Temple Grandin, PhD, is likely the most well-known living autistic individual, both nationally and internationally. She is not only a renowned scientist and educator but also an esteemed author and advocate. Across the decades of her life, she has spent considerable time on her personal pursuit of knowledge and understanding about autism and the ways that it influences her perception and interpretation of the world around her. As a Distinguished Professor of Animal Science at Colorado State University, her professional pursuits involve studying animal behavior and, in particular, designing humane livestock-handling systems.
Brain Imaging
New study shows nuanced and complex relationship between tau and brain cell loss in Alzheimer’s Disease
At a Glance Loss of synapses, the connections between neurons that allow them to communicate, is a primary driver of cognitive decline in Alzheimer’s disease. Researchers expected a strong connection between synapse loss and tau …
Improved assessment protocols identify cerebral palsy earlier
Research from the Pediatric Neuromodulation Lab of Bernadette Gillick, PhD, MSPT, PT, at the Waisman Center showcases that evidence-based assessments for cerebral palsy (CP) are helping to improve diagnostic timelines and access to therapies and interventions.
Memory impairment after severe traumatic brain injury in adolescents related to size and connectivity changes in the hippocampus and beyond.
Memory impairment as a result of a traumatic brain injury (TBI) has long been associated solely with the hippocampus, the brain’s learning and memory center. However, new research published in the journal Brain Imaging and Behavior, reveals that the hippocampus is not acting alone.
UW-Madison’s Cool Science Image Contest: Waisman winners
Matt Zammit, PhD, Waisman scientist in the Brain Imaging Core, and affiliate investigator Erik Dent, PhD, are both winners of UW-Madison’s Cool Science Image Contest.
New research first to test 60-year-old theory on autism
Autism is often associated with complex tasks like social processing and language and the later-developing brain regions that control them. But what if autism is more rooted in the earliest developing and most reflex-like part of the brain – the brainstem?
Developing a neural network to overcome the biggest enemy of MRI scans: movement
Movement is the arch nemesis of MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) scans.
Study reveals differences in brain structure for older autistic adults
A recent study continues to add to the body of evidence that the brain structure of autistic individuals is different from the structure of neurotypical individuals.
UW effort to map Down syndrome brain raises prospect of treatment for disorder
In a lab near UW Hospital, Megan Jandy grows stem cells from people with Down syndrome — 10 batches of cells, most in three-dimensional clusters, each batch featuring one group with the extra chromosome that causes the disorder and one group without it.
The beginnings and evolution of brain imaging at the Waisman Center
The development of brain imaging techniques has helped us understand emotion, intellectual and developmental disabilities, and neurodegenerative diseases in ways we could not before.