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Married for 60 years

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SPARK's role in autism research
Gerald Fischbach Scientist
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I think so far, when I hear of the new effort and SPARK, it's exciting. The SPARK I worry a little bit about, if this is appropriate. Because I think the key to understanding autism spectrum disorders is phenotype. What is the behavior like? And if the behavior is done lightly or superficially, then no amount of genes are going to lead to a breakthrough, I think. SPARK and whatever the other initiatives are, have to develop good, rigorous phenotypic measures. Right now, of necessity they're done very quickly by phone, and is that going to be good enough to study something as complex as behavioral deficits? I don't know, I'm eager to find out.

Gerald Fischbach (b. 1938) is an American neuroscientist and pioneering researcher. He pioneered the use of nerve cell cultures to study the electrophysiology, morphology and biochemistry of developing nerve-muscle and inter-neuronal synapses.

Listeners: Christopher Sykes

Christopher Sykes is an independent documentary producer who has made a number of films about science and scientists for BBC TV, Channel Four, and PBS.

Tags: SPARK

Duration: 1 minute, 28 seconds

Date story recorded: July 2023

Date story went live: 16 May 2025