Martha Herbert is an American physician and assistant professor of neurology at Harvard Medical School[1] and pediatric neurologist at Massachusetts General Hospital.
She trained in evolutionary biology and the development of learning processes, and performed postdoctoral work in the philosophy and history of science.
[5] Her research focuses on attributing the development of autism to the existence of certain predisposing genes, with her coauthors on this topic including Peter Szatmari.
[6] In addition, some of her research focuses on the possible existence of enlarged superficial white matter in the brains of people with autism, as well as developmental language disorder.
[7][8][9][10] More recently, Herbert published an opinion paper in 2010 which argued, among other things, that "Systemic and central nervous system pathophysiology, including oxidative stress, neuroinflammation, and mitochondrial dysfunction can be consistent with a role for environmental influence",[11] as well as a case report in the Journal of Child Neurology, which described a patient with autistic symptoms who improved markedly after she was placed on a gluten-free, casein-free diet.