He received his doctorate in clinical psychology at the University of Minnesota and completed neuropsychological training at the Ann Arbor Veterans Affairs Medical Center/University of Michigan Hospital Program in Neuropsychology. He completed a post-doctoral fellowship in functional neuroimaging at the Minneapolis Veterans Affairs Medical Center and University of Minnesota before joining the faculty at Vanderbilt. Dr. Zald's research focuses on the neuropsychology of emotions, with a particular emphasis on the functions of the amygdala and orbitofrontal cortex.