Affiliated Departments and Centers

The Center for Mind & Brain has close ties to several other centers, institutes, academic departments and programs as part of the UC Davis Neuroscience Consortium. They include:
  • Center for Neuroscience
  • Scientists at the UC Davis Center for Neuroscience conduct research intended to improve understanding of how the brain works, in order to pave the way for development of new therapies for neurological and psychiatric conditions, including schizophrenia, dementia autism, depression, Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease and stroke. Neuroscientists are working to discover what advanced imaging of the brain, from synapses to cells to systems, can reveal. Read more here. 
  • MIND Institute
  • The UC Davis MIND Institute (Medical Investigation of Neurodevelopmental Disorders) is a collaborative international research center with the goal of understanding and treating neurodevelopmental disorders. Work at the institute encompasses autism, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), chromosome 22q11.2 deletion syndrome, Down syndrome and fragile X syndrome. In addition to research, the MIND Institute also performs clinical, educational and community services. Several CMB faculty members have cross-appointments at the MIND Institute, and many graduate students and postdocs work at both the CMB and the MIND Institute. Read more here. 
  • Imaging Research Center
  • The UC Davis Imaging Research Center (IRC) supports basic science and clinical research that investigates the structure and function of the nervous system, including perceptual, motor and cognitive function, using real-time functional imaging techniques. The IRC operates and manages several research-only MRI scanners, both on the main campus and at the UC Davis Medical Center in Sacramento, and assists with acquisition and analysis of MRI data. CMB researchers make extensive use of the IRC resources in their neuroimaging research. Read more here. 
  • Alzheimer's Disease Center
  • The Mission of the UC Davis Alzheimer’s Disease Center (ADC) is to advance the understanding of Alzheimer's disease and related dementias through comprehensive patient evaluations and cutting-edge research. The ADC provides excellent resources for CMB researchers who conduct research on both healthy elderly people and people suffering from dementia. Read more here. 
  • Department of Psychology
  • The UC Davis Department of Psychology has five areas of emphasis: perception, cognition and cognitive neuroscience; biological psychology; social-personality psychology; developmental psychology; and quantitative psychology. The CMB has extensive interactions with the Department of Psychology in research and graduate/postdoctoral training, and we participate in the Psychology Graduate Program. Read more here.
  • Psychology Graduate Program
  • The UC Davis Psychology Graduate Program concentrates on five programmatic areas: developmental psychology; perception, cognition, and cognitive neuroscience; biological psychology (comparative and physiological psychology); social-personality; and quantitative psychology. Faculty in psychology have affiliations with numerous campus institutes and interdepartmental programs, including the Center for Mind and Brain, the California Regional Primate Research Center, UC Davis MIND Institute, Animal Behavior Graduate Group, Ecology Graduate Group, UC Davis Humanities Institute, Women's Studies, Child and Human Development Graduate Groups, Early Childhood Laboratory, and the Center for Neuroscience. Read more here.
  • Department of Linguistics
  • The Linguistics faculty members conduct a broad range of research that encompasses linguistic theory, cognitive science, multilingualism, and language and society. The CMB's language researchers interact extensively with the Department of Linguistics in research and graduate training, and we participate in the campus-wide Linguistics Graduate Group. Read more here.
  • Graduate Program in Linguistics

  • The UC Davis Graduate Program in Linguistics responds to a growing need for researchers trained to investigate issues of multilingualism and the acquisition and teaching of non-native languages. Other possible areas of emphasis include language and society, language and mind/brain, and language structure and theory. Read more here. 

  • Department of Human Ecology

  • The UC Davis Department of Human Ecology includes a concentration on Human Development and Family Studies and plays a strong role in the Human Development Graduate Group. The CMB's strong developmental group interacts extensively with the Human Development and Family Studies program, and many Human Development graduate students work in CMB labs. Read more here. 

  • Human Development Graduate Group

  • The UC Davis Human Development Graduate Group, within the Division of Human Development and Family Studies in the College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences, focuses on cognitive and socio-emotional development from infancy through adolescence. The curriculum emphasizes a balance of supervised practical experience, theory, and methodology rooted in the belief that educators and practitioners alike must have solid disciplinary foundations. Read more here. 

  • Neurobiology, Physiology and Behavior

  • The Department of Neurobiology, Physiology and Behavior (NPB) emphasizes the understanding of vital functions common to all animals. Research and teaching activities in the department focus on functional mechanisms; the control, regulation and integration of these mechanisms; and the behavior that relates to those mechanisms at the level of the molecule, the cell, the organ system and the organism, including at the human ecological level. The CMB faculty and students interact extensively with the NPB faculty, especially in the context of our shared interests in the neural circuitry that underlies cognition, emotion and behavior. Read more here.

  • Neuroscience Graduate Program

  • The UC Davis Neuroscience Graduate Program encompasses studies of cellular and molecular neurobiology, sensory and motor systems, cognitive neuroscience and the biomedical neurosciences. The Neuroscience Graduate Program is closely integrated with the UC Davis Center for Neuroscience, the Center for Mind and Brain and the MIND Institute. Read more here.

  • Department of Philosophy

  • The UC Davis Department of Philosophy has strengths in metaphysics, epistemology, philosophy of language, philosophy of mind, philosophy of science (especially philosophy of biology), philosophy of mathematics, philosophical logic, ethics, meta-ethics, political philosophy, history of analytic philosophy, history of modern philosophy, and ancient philosophy. The CMB interacts extensively with the faculty and graduate students of the Philosophy Department, especially on topics related to consciousness. Read more here.

  • Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences

  • The UC Davis Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences engages in both the care of patients with psychiatric disorders and research on the nature, prevention and treatment of these disorders. CMB researchers collaborate extensively with psychiatry researchers on studies of schizophrenia, ADHD, anxiety, depression and other disorders. Read more here. 

  • Department of Neurology

  • The UC Davis Department of Neurology performs comprehensive diagnosis and treatment of nervous and neuromuscular system disorders that can affect the brain, spinal cord, nerves and muscles. Physicians in the department also treat patients who have Alzheimer's disease and other forms of dementia, epilepsy, Parkinson's and Huntington's diseases, tremor, multiple sclerosis, neuromuscular conditions, headache, and sleep disorders. CMB faculty and trainees collaborate with the Department of Neurology in a variety of research on neurological disorders. Read more here.

  • Department of Biomedical Engineering

  • The research mission of the UC Davis Department of Biomedical Engineering is to encourage and support collaborative research designed to produce new knowledge about fundamental mechanisms in the life sciences and to bond basic and clinical research to yield new knowledge for improving health care by way of device development and innovative medical technology. The CMB interacts with the Department of Biomedical Engineering in the context of our shared interests in methods for measuring and manipulating neural activity. Read more here.

  • Cognitive Science

  • Cognitive science is an emerging field that encompasses multidisciplinary study of the mind, from the perspectives of philosophy, psychology, neuroscience, computer science, artificial intelligence, linguistics and anthropology. The UC Davis Cognitive Science major, inaugurated in autumn 2015, is available in three degree options. The bachelor of arts track introduces students to cognitive science as a theoretical subject, yet does not require an in-depth understanding of biology or calculus. Students may also elect to obtain a bachelor of science degree in cognitive science with either a computational or neuroscience emphasis. Read more here. 

  • Center for Neuroengineering & Medicine

  • The Center for Neuroengineering & Medicine promotes neurological health and extends human capacity, through research, stakeholder engagement, and education into discovery and translation of systems that interface with the brain and the body, to benefit society.  Read more here.