Understanding neurodivergence
Articles based on published research: ADHD, autism, dyslexia, mood, sleep, and what actually helps.
Hundreds of Autism Genes, Two Brain States: What the New Science Study Shows
A September 2026 study in Science found that mice carrying very different autism-risk mutations fall into just two opposite patterns of brain gene activity. It changes how researchers think about autism's diversity. It does not create autism subtypes, tests or treatments.
Blocking One Gene Restored Brain Signalling Linked to Autism, in Mice. Here Is What That Actually Means
A 2026 study in Nature Communications silenced a single gene, SLC6A20, and restored a broken signalling system in the brains of adult mice carrying autism-linked mutations. Some behaviours improved. Others did not. Here is the real study behind the viral clip, and how far it is from a human treatment.
When Do Autism and Schizophrenia Begin? A Study of 1,000 Brains Points to the Months Before Birth
A University of Exeter team mapped the chemical switches on DNA in nearly 1,000 human brains, from six weeks after conception to 108 years. Most of the change happens before birth, and the genes linked to autism and schizophrenia are right in the middle of it. What that means, and what it does not.
Two Kinds of Smart: Why Autism and ADHD Have Opposite Genetic Links With Knowledge and Reasoning
A 2026 study in Nature Communications split intelligence into reasoning, knowledge and speed, then compared their genetics with autism, ADHD, schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. The links go in different directions. A single IQ number hides all of it.
Why Are So Many People Diagnosed With ADHD and Autism? A Study of 37,000 People Points to a Moving Threshold, Not an Epidemic
Diagnoses of ADHD and autism have more than quadrupled since the 1990s. A 2026 study in JAMA Psychiatry looked at the DNA of 37,000 diagnosed people, year by year. The genetic load of the average diagnosed person has fallen. Here is what that means, and what it does not.
ADHD Genes Beyond Dopamine: The Six Brain Pathways a 2022 Review Maps, and Why They All Lead Back to Dopamine
A viral post says the genes linked to ADHD fall into six neurotransmitter pathways. The review behind it is real. Here is what each pathway does, which genes are involved, why heritability is about 76%, and what a consumer DNA file can and cannot tell you.
ADHD Is Not Only Dopamine: What the Research on GABA, the Brain's Brake, Actually Shows
A viral post says ADHD may be a problem of GABA, the brain's inhibitory signal, not just dopamine. The review behind it is real and careful. Here is what brain imaging found, which genes are involved, why it matters for the 30% who do not respond to stimulants, and what it does not mean.
A Stress Gene "Stuck On": What Epigenetics Just Revealed About Schizophrenia
A viral post says schizophrenia is linked to epigenetic changes in the gene that regulates stress. The study is real, published in the American Journal of Psychiatry. Here is what FKBP5 does, what the brains showed, and why stress is such a powerful trigger in psychosis.
Autism Is Not One Condition. Is It Four? What the 5,000-Child Study Really Found
A viral post says researchers found four distinct autism subtypes. The study is real, published in Nature Genetics. Here are the four groups, the genetics behind them, and why they are a starting point rather than four new diagnoses.
OCD Is Not a Lack of Willpower: 36 Genes Just Made the Point
A Nature Neuroscience study sequenced the exomes of nearly 4,000 people with OCD or chronic tic disorders and found 36 large-effect risk genes, most of them shared. What it shows, what it does not, and why a consumer DNA test cannot read any of it.
1 Million Genomes, 1,260 Variants, and DNA Still Explains Under 10% of Your Personality
The largest genetic study of personality ever published found over 1,000 variants. It also found that common DNA explains only 5 to 9% of each trait. Here is what that means if you have a raw DNA file.
1 in 7,300: The Autism-Linked Syndrome Most People Have Never Been Tested For
A viral post says Phelan-McDermid syndrome is far more common than thought. The study is real. Here is what the syndrome is, why so many cases are missed, and what a consumer DNA test cannot tell you.
New articles in your inbox
No spam. A short e-mail when something worth reading comes out.