Mark Histed.

Mark Histed

Chief of the Unit on Neural Computation and Behavior
U.S. National Institute of Mental Health

Mark Histed is chief of the Unit on Neural Computation and Behavior at the U.S. National Institute of Mental Health. His lab aims to understand brain function by studying how connected networks of neurons process information. This work employs brain stimulation methods, behavioral assays and a close interaction between mathematical models and experiment.

Histed has a S.B. in biology with a minor in mathematics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He received his Ph.D. from MIT in the brain and cognitive sciences department, working with Earl K. Miller. He did postdoctoral fellowships with R. Clay Reid and John H.R. Maunsell at Harvard University. Before moving to NIMH, he was a research faculty member at the University of Chicago. He has also had adjunct faculty positions at the University of Maryland and George Mason University.

Explore more from The Transmitter

Early experience reshapes zebrafish retinal cells, alters behavior

The cells undergo a classic form of plasticity previously thought to occur only in downstream visual circuits.

By Siddhant Pusdekar
13 August 2026 | 0 min watch
Research image of expression of MEIS2 in PV interneurons.

Loss of interneuron plasticity may be shared hallmark of neurodevelopmental conditions

Restoring an experience-dependent interneuron plasticity gene in adulthood improves memory and cuts seizures in CNTNAP2 knockout mice, a new study shows.

By Claudia López Lloreda
12 August 2026 | 5 min read
Structural MRI scans of people with Alzheimer’s disease and depression.

Neuropsychiatric MRI brain signatures fail reproducibility test

Small neuroimaging studies are unlikely to capture consistent anatomical changes related to conditions such as autism, schizophrenia and mood disorders, according to a new “wake-up call” study.

By Holly Barker
12 August 2026 | 5 min read