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

Researcher hands and mice navigate a series of connected spaces and paths.

To understand decision-making, we need to truly challenge lab animals

Complex, multidimensional tasks that unfold over time could reveal how different brain areas work together to support decisions.

By Chand Chandrasekaran
20 April 2026 | 6 min read
Research image of lesion network mapping.

‘Overdue’ debate unfurls over neuroimaging method

After a January paper questioned the validity of an approach called lesion network mapping, its users are pressure testing their results.

By Angie Voyles Askham
17 April 2026 | 8 min read
Research image of zebrafish brain activity.

Nearly 400 compounds affect behaviors tied to autism-linked genes in zebrafish

Estropipate, paclitaxel and levocarnitine altered behaviors tied to SCN2A and DYRK1A variants specifically, a new open-source platform revealed.

By Charles Q. Choi
16 April 2026 | 4 min read