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

Research image of mice microglia.
Spectrum

Single-gene systems-level effects, and more

Here is a roundup of autism-related news and research spotted around the web for the week of 6 April.

By Jill Adams
7 April 2026 | 2 min read
Book cover of The Brain, In Theory by Romain Brette.
Theoretical neuroscience

‘The Brain, In Theory,’ an excerpt

In his new book, Brette pushes back against theories that describe the brain as a “biological computer.” In this excerpt from Chapter 4, he challenges equating brain evolution with programming, and the universality of neural network models.

By Romain Brette
7 April 2026 | 5 min read
Kieth Hengen looks through a small window, aligning his face with a fancy moustache sticker and rolling his eyes comically to the side.
Computational neuroscience

Computational neuroscientist Keith Hengen explains his work through illustrations

The images help him communicate the “big-picture ideas” behind the mathematical principles of neuronal networks.

By Helena Kudiabor
7 April 2026 | 4 min read