headshot of David Amaral.

David Amaral

Director
Autism BrainNet

David Amaral is distinguished professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at the University of California, Davis MIND Institute.

From this contributor

An illustration of a magnifying glass, checklists, and anonymous figures.
Spectrum

‘Prototypical autism’ research is likely a dead end

By Deborah Fein, David Amaral, Einat Waizbard-Bartov
25 January 2024 | 8 min read
Spectrum from The Transmitter.
Spectrum

Questions for Amaral, Halladay: Boosting brainpower

By Katie Moisse
15 December 2015 | 6 min read

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Spectrum

Leucovorin saga, and more

Here is a roundup of autism-related news and research spotted around the web for the week of 15 June.

By Jill Adams
16 June 2026 | 2 min read
Illustration of pixelated AI models.
The big picture

Models at the speed of thought: How AI coding is reshaping theoretical neuroscience

Agentic coding makes it possible to specify a neuroscience model in hours instead of months. Seven neuroscientists weigh in on what that tectonic change may bring to the field.

By Brian DePasquale
16 June 2026 | 17 min read
Illustration of pixelated eye and stacks of paper
Artificial intelligence

Writing science that humans and machines can read

Large language models are now routinely used to search, summarize and synthesize the literature at scales impossible for any individual researcher—yet scientific publishing has not adapted to that reality.

By Rachel Parkinson
15 June 2026 | 7 min read