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

Child sitting on confetti-covered ground, wearing noise-cancelling headphones.

Sensory over-responsivity tied to autism, anxiety but not other conditions

Negative reactions to sensations track with certain neurodevelopmental traits in more than 15,000 children—pointing to shared neurobiological roots.

By Diana Kwon
10 September 2026 | 5 min read

Neuromechanical models deepen our understanding of animal motor control

Thanks to recent progress in physics-based simulators and robotics, it has never been easier for neuroscientists to use neuromechanical modeling to test hypotheses about animal movement.

By Auke Ijspeert
9 September 2026 | 0 min watch

Fruit flies use memory to track odors

When flies encounter a tasty smell, they stroll in and out of the odor plume—a process that depends on encoding a memory of the angle needed to travel back to the plume, according to a new study.

By Calli McMurray
8 September 2026 | 2 min watch