Behavioral Health

Behavioral Health

Mental and behavioral disorders are diseases of the brain that affect 1 in 4 people worldwide and are characterized by debilitating deficits in a person’s thinking, feeling, motivation and mood. Scientists in the UC Davis Neuroscience Consortium are involved in researching mental and behavioral disorders at multiple levels, from understanding the molecular, cellular and circuit changes that alter normal brain function, to how genetic and environmental factors confer risk for mental illness. Our scientists aim to translate new research findings into approaches to improve diagnosis and treatment of these brain disorders. 42 faculty members from 15 departments and 7 centers work in this area. Research among our faculty on this topic spans model systems from rodents to nonhuman primates to humans and ranges from questions about cellular mechanisms to cognitive control. Our faculty also have several large-scale collaborations within this area, including the UC Davis Conte Center, which is focused on schizophrenia, maternal infection and neuroimmunology, as well as the Early Detection of Psychosis Clinics and the Behavioral Health Center of Excellence. 

Faculty studying behavioral health

• Leonard Abbeduto, Ph.D.	Language development, assessment, and intervention in neurodevelopmental disabilities
  R. Scott Akins, D.O.	Autism Spectrum Disorders, Intellectual Disability and Trisomy 21.
  Kathleen Angkustsiri, M.D., M.A.S.	Pediatric Child Development & Behavior
  Karen L. Bales, Ph.D.	Behavioral neuroscience of social bonds
  Melissa D. Bauman, Ph.D.	Behavioral neuroscience, prenatal risk factors for neurodevelopmental disorders
  Eliza Bliss-Moreau, Ph.D.	Affective neuroscience
  Shelley A. Blozis, Ph.D.	Development of statistical methods for clustered, repeated measures and longitudinal psychological health data.
  Erie D. Boorman, Ph.D.	Learning and decision-making
  Allison Brashear, M.D., M.B.A.	Movement disorders
  Katherine Denny, Ph.D.	Neuropsychology
  J. Faye Dixon, Ph.D.	Clinical pyschology
  Diasynou Fioravante, Ph.D.	Neural circuits for prediction, learning and memory
  Andrew S. Fox, Ph.D.	Neurobiology of emotion, “affective style” and the development of mental illness
  Patrick M. Fuller, Ph.D.	Brain substrates of behavioral state control
  Simona Ghetti, Ph.D.	Development of memory and metamemory
  Amanda E. Guyer, Ph.D.	Adolescent neurodevelopment in health and depression, anxiety, and substance use
  Randi Hagerman, M.D.	Pediatric child development and behavior
  Tim Hanks, Ph.D.	Neural mechanisms of decision making and related disorders of brain function
  Robin L. Hansen M.D.	Pediatric child development and behavior
  Johannes Hell, Ph.D.	Molecular and cellular mechanisms of neurotransmission at synapses in the brain
  David Hessl, Ph.D.	Child clinical psychology; neuropsychology
  Ladson Hinton, M.D.	Geriatric psychiatry
  Richard Huskey, Ph.D.	Cognitive control, decision-making and reward, neuroimaging, computational and behavioral modeling
  Helen Kales, M.D.	Behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia
  Richard Maddock, M.D.	Anxiety disorders; magnetic resonance spectroscopy meditation
  A. Kimberley McAllister, Ph.D.	Synapse formation and plasticity; neuroimmune contributions to development and disease
  Peter Mundy, Ph.D.	Education and development of children with Autism
  Tara Niendam, Ph.D.	Pediatric and transition-age youth mental health
  Thomas Nordahl, Ph.D.	Depression, anxiety disorders, substance abuse, and schizophrenia
  Martha O'Donnell, Ph.D.	Biological, Cognitive, Health and Mental Health Life Phases: Adulthood, Aging
  David E. Olson, Ph.D.	Compound-induced neural plasticity and the development of neurotherapeutics
  Sally Ozonoff, Ph.D.	Early detection of ASD, screening, infant/toddler diagnosis
  Dan Ragland, Ph.D.	Behavioral, functional neuroimaging and electrophysiology methods; brain networks in learning and memory; effects of schizophrenia on learning and memory
  Stephen K. Robinson, Ph.D.	Augmentation and extension of human capabilities and performance in safety-critical environments.
  Cynthia M.Schumann, Ph.D.	Cellular and molecular developmental trajectory of brain regions related to anxiety and autism
  Daniel I. Shapiro, Ph.D.	Early Identification of and Treatment for Mental Illness
  Tony Simon, Ph.D.	Attention, and spatial and temporal processing in development and neurodevelopmental disorders
  Marjorie Solomon, Ph.D., M.B.A.	Cognitive neuroscience and autism specturm disorders
  Brian Trainor, Ph.D.	Effects of stress on the brain and behavior; mood and anxiety disorders
  Judith Anne Van de Water, Ph.D.	Neuroimmunology, clinical immunology and immunopathology, gestational immune environment
  Jennifer L. Whistler, Ph.D.	Effects of clinically important drugs and drugs of abuse on the brain