Christine Wu Nordahl is professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at the University of California, Davis MIND Institute.
Christine Wu Nordahl
Assistant professor
University of California, Davis
From this contributor
Early brain enlargement augurs distinct form of autism
A minority of boys with autism have brains that are unusually large relative to their bodies — a trait tied to regression and intellectual disability.
Early brain enlargement augurs distinct form of autism
By
Christine Wu Nordahl
11 April 2017 | 5 min read
Questions for Nordahl, Mello: Scans for children with autism
Techniques used in behavioral interventions could help scientists scan the brains of children who have both autism and intellectual disability.
Questions for Nordahl, Mello: Scans for children with autism
By
Jessica Wright
19 July 2016 | 6 min read
Charting typical brain development
How can we characterize what is atypical when we don’t fully understand what typical brain development looks like, particularly under the age of 5? Christine Wu Nordahl explains the importance of scanning the brains of typically developing children.
Explore more from The Transmitter
The genome offers a recipe, not a blueprint, for the brain
During brain development, genes set the rules and turn the knobs; self-organization does much of the rest.
The genome offers a recipe, not a blueprint, for the brain
During brain development, genes set the rules and turn the knobs; self-organization does much of the rest.
By
Ila Fiete
2 November 2026 | 8 min read
Autism research involving monkeys contends with uphill battle
Macaques and marmosets recapitulate the condition’s core traits better than mice can, but funding uncertainty and challenges at primate centers in the United States could make this work difficult to continue.
Autism research involving monkeys contends with uphill battle
Macaques and marmosets recapitulate the condition’s core traits better than mice can, but funding uncertainty and challenges at primate centers in the United States could make this work difficult to continue.
By
Diana Kwon
2 November 2026 | 8 min read
When is self-organization a mechanism in brain development?
Retinal waves offer a powerful example of a self-organizing system that can build structure without external guidance. The field would do well to embrace such phenomena more broadly as a type of mechanistic explanation.
When is self-organization a mechanism in brain development?
Retinal waves offer a powerful example of a self-organizing system that can build structure without external guidance. The field would do well to embrace such phenomena more broadly as a type of mechanistic explanation.
By
P. Robin Hiesinger
2 November 2026 | 6 min read