David G. Amaral, Ph.D.
Research/Academic Interests
Amaral's interests include research involving multidisciplinary studies directed at determining the
neuroanatomical, behavioral and electrophysiological organization and functions of brain systems
that are involved in learning, memory, emotion and social behavior carried out on the human brain
and on animal models. He also carries out research on neurobiological correlates of autism.
As research director of the MIND Institute, he coordinates a comprehensive and multidisciplinary
analysis of children with autism called the Autism Phenome Project to define biomedical
characteristics of different types of autism. This project will lead to more effective, hypothesis
driven research on the causes of each type of autism and ultimately to more effective treatments.
Amaral has also spearheaded efforts to establish animal models of autism and has been evaluating
the potential immune basis of certain forms of autism.
Amaral has been continuously funded by the National Institutes of Health for more than 25 years,
successfully launched a peer-reviewed journal, has served as editor-in-chief of the journal
Neuroscience and co-edited books on autism spectrum disorders and the hippocampal formation.
He was appointed to the National Advisory Mental Health Council of the National Institute of
Mental Health, served as president of the International Society of Autism Research and was elected
as a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
Title
Beneto Foundation Chair and Director of Research, MIND Institute
Distinguished Professor
Specialty
Department
Division
Center/Program Affiliation
Address/Phone
Additional Phone
Education
Neurobiology , Psychiatry, Behavioral Neuroscience
Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
Psychiatry
UC Davis MIND Institute
UC Davis MIND Institute, 2825 50th St. Sacramento, CA 95817
Phone: 916-703-0237
Ph.D., University of Rochester School of Medicine, Rochester, New York, 1977
B.A., Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois, 1972
Fellowships
Washington University, St. Louis, Missouri, 1980
David G. Amaral, Ph.D.
Professional Memberships
American Association for the Advancement of Science
American Association of Anatomists
International Brain Research Organization
Society for Neuroscience
The Dana Alliance for Brain Initiatives
The Neuroscience Research Program
Honors and Awards
Fellow
NARSAD Distinguished Investigator
Select Recent Publications
Nordahl CW, Scholz R, Yang X, Buonocore MH, Simon T, Rogers S, Amaral DG. Increased rate of
amygdala growth in children aged 2 to 4 years with autism spectrum disorders: a longitudinal
study. Arch Gen Psychiatry. 2012 Jan;69(1):53-61.
Chareyron LJ, Lavenex PB, Amaral DG, Lavenex P. Postnatal development of the amygdala: A
stereological study in macaque monkeys. J Comp Neurol. 2011 Dec 16. doi: 10.1002/cne.23023.
[Epub ahead of print]
Nordahl CW, Lange N, Li DD, Barnett LA, Lee A, Buonocore MH, Simon TJ, Rogers S, Ozonoff S,
Amaral DG. Brain enlargement is associated with regression in preschool-age boys with autism
spectrum disorders. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2011 Dec 13;108(50):20195-200. Epub 2011 Nov
28.
Bliss-Moreau E, Bauman MD, Amaral DG. Neonatal amygdala lesions result in globally blunted
affect in adult rhesus macaques. Behav Neurosci. 2011 Dec;125(6):848-58. Epub 2011 Oct 10.
Chareyron LJ, Banta Lavenex P, Amaral DG, Lavenex P. Stereological analysis of the rat and
monkey amygdala. J Comp Neurol. 2011 Nov 1;519(16):3218-39. doi: 10.1002/cne.22677.
Machado CJ, Bliss-Moreau E, Platt ML, Amaral DG. Social and nonsocial content differentially
modulates visual attention and autonomic arousal in Rhesus macaques. PLoS One. 2011;6(10):
e26598. Epub 2011 Oct 26.
Schumann CM, Bauman MD, Amaral DG. Abnormal structure or function of the amygdala is a
common component of neurodevelopmental disorders. Neuropsychologia. 2011 Mar;49(4):74559. Epub 2010 Oct 13.
Jabès A, Lavenex PB, Amaral DG, Lavenex P. Postnatal development of the hippocampal formation:
a stereological study in macaque monkeys. J Comp Neurol. 2011 Apr 15;519(6):1051-70. doi:
10.1002/cne.22549.
Mohedano-Moriano A, Pro-Sistiaga P, Arroyo-Jimenez MM, Artacho- Pérula E, Insausti AM, Marcos
P, Cebada-Sánchez S, Martínez-Ruiz J, Muñoz-López M, Blaizot X, Martínez-Marcos A, Amaral DG,
David G. Amaral, Ph.D.
Insausti R: Topographical and laminar distribution of cortical input to the monkey entorhinal
cortex. J Anat. 211:250-260.
Nordahl CW, Dierker D, Mostafavi I, Schumann CM, Rivera SM, Amaral DG, Van Essen DC:
Cortical folding abnormalities in autism revealed by surface-based morphometry. J Neurosci. 27:
11725-11735.
Machado CJ, Snyder AZ, Cherry SR, Lavenex P, Amaral DG: Effects of neonatal amygdala or
hippocampus lesions on resting brain metabolism in the macaque monkey: A microPET imaging
study. Neuroimage. 39:832-846.
Antoniadis EA, Winslow JT, Davis M, Amaral DG: Role of the primate amygdala in fear-potentiated
startle: effects of chronic lesions in the rhesus monkey. J Neurosci. 27:7386-7396.
Nordahl CW, Simon TJ, Zierhut C, Solomon M, Rogers SJ, Amaral DG: Methods for acquiring
structural MRI data in very young children with autism without the use of sedation. J Autism Dev
Disord. Dec 22 [epub ahead of print]
Amaral DG, Rubenstein JLR, Rogers, SJ: Neuroscience of Autism. In: Psychiatry, Third Edition.
(Tasman A, Kay J, Lieberman JE, First MB, Maj M, eds.), Wiley & Sons. (in press)
Amaral DG, Scharfman HE, Lavenex P: The dentate gyrus: fundamental neuroanatomical
organization (dentate gyrus for dummies). Prog Brain Res. 163:3-22.
Amaral DG. Autism: The Pervasive Developmental Disorder. Report on Progress 2011. The Dana
Foundation. http://www.dana.org/news/features/detail_rop.aspx?id=33980
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