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

Explore more from The Transmitter

Illustration of birdsong, bird brain, and DNA.
This paper changed my life

This paper changed my life: Embracing an early model for naturalistic neuroscience

A 1992 PNAS paper showed how birdsong upregulates the expression of an immediate early gene in bird forebrains. The work revealed to Ribeiro the importance of studying molecular responses in naturalistic contexts.

By Sidarta Ribeiro
14 July 2026 | 4 min read
Illustration of an open journal featuring lines of text and small illustrations of eyes and mouths.
Spectrum

Major ischemic events in autistic people, and more

Here is a roundup of autism-related news and research spotted around the web for the week of 13 July.

By Jill Adams
14 July 2026 | 1 min read
Illustration of lucid dreaming.
Perception

Watching the mind build a world: Lucid dreaming as a model for generative perception

Lucid dreaming offers a rare opportunity to observe and probe perception from within.

By Magdalena Paluchowska
13 July 2026 | 8 min read