The UC Davis Clinical Neuropsychology Training Program was developed to provide high-quality advanced training in the practice of clinical neuropsychology. The structure of it’s training opportunities are designed to meet the recommendations set forth in the Houston Conference.  Impairments in central nervous system function can result in extended and distressing changes in the quality of life to those persons who experience a neurological disorder and to the lives of their families and loved ones. Our program is based on the belief that providing care for persons experiencing these distressing life changes requires extensive specialized training in clinical and cognitive psychology, behavioral neurology, neuroanatomy. Further, we believe this is a rapidly growing and developing field that must be sensitive to advances in scientific knowledge; hence, adherence to the scientist-practitioner model is particularly crucial for competent practice and rapid incorporation of new knowledge into clinical practice. To produce practitioners familiar with these areas, we have developed a program that utilizes the extensive resources available through a unique consortium of clinical, research, and academic services available thought the Medical Center at the University of California at Davis, various academic departments part of UC Davis, and the Northern California Veterans Administration Health Care System.

The central purpose of UC Davis, as a comprehensive research university, is the generation, advancement, dissemination and application of knowledge. To this end, UC Davis is committed to developing and sustaining leading programs in: the arts, humanities, biological and physical sciences, and social sciences-disciplines at the core of all universities; agricultural and environmental disciplines and engineering; professional studies in education, law, management, medicine, and veterinary medicine.

In these programs, the campus integrates three purposes: teaching students as a partnership between faculty mentors and young scholars, advancing knowledge and pioneering studies through creative research and scholarship, and applying that knowledge to address the needs of the region, state, nation, and globe. UC Davis is committed to the tradition of the land-grant university, the basis of its founding. This tradition - built on the premise that the broad purpose of a university is service to people and society - guides today the campus' special commitments and emphases. Collaborative studies and cooperation between UC Davis and state agencies and the Legislature are both a special responsibility and a unique opportunity.

The overall goal of the Clinical Neuropsychology Training Program is to produce highly trained, scientifically knowledgeable, clinically skillful independent practitioners of clinical neuropsychology. Our program is committed to encouraging the development of complementary clinical and scientific skills to yield professionals who are motivated to follow the progress of a developing field and incorporate that progress into their clinical practice. We encourage further development of the basic skills of clinical psychology and the integration of these skills with advanced knowledge of neurological disease, symptoms, treatment, and associated cognitive and emotional changes to provide the most pertinent and compassionate diagnosis and care for present and future clients.

The University of California at Davis enrolls over 25,000 undergraduates and 3,500 graduate students on its 5,200 acre campus. It has extensive library and computing resources that provide an in-depth coverage of many academic fields. The affiliated Medical School maintains its academic resources on the main campus with a 528 bed teaching hospital in Sacramento for 1,200 students in the Health Sciences. Our program at UCDMC is situated in the Neuroscience Clinic in the Neurology Department. We also have close ties to the UC Davis Alzheimer’s Disease Center and the UC Davis Center for Neuroscience.

The University of California, Davis Alzheimer's Disease Center (ADC) is part of nationwide and statewide programs. The ADC has several important goals: to educate health professionals and the public about Alzheimer's disease and related dementias; to conduct research in clinical and community populations into the causes and potential treatments for dementia; to advocate changes in health policy and practice that will enhance the recognition, treatment and management of dementia; and to serve as an expert referral center for the diagnosis of dementia

The ADC is funded by the State of California through the Department of Health Services (DHS) and by the NIH, National Institute on Aging (NIA). UC Davis has clinical centers in Sacramento and Martinez. The UCD ADC conducts many different kinds of research studies. Many involve trying to describe and understand the behavioral and mental changes that occur with dementing illness. Some studies involve potential new treatments, or ways of preventing mental loss. Other studies involve genetics or studies of basic biologic processes related to Alzheimer's disease.

The UC Davis Center for Neuroscience draws from a wide variety of resources to conduct its teaching and research programs. Contributing to this interdisciplinary approach are Center faculty members, students, and collaborators who represent 13 academic departments and sections on the main campus and a number of off-campus sites. In addition, visiting faculty members from throughout the world bring outstanding talent to the Center's programs.

Research at the Center ranges from single-cell recordings and studies of neuronal populations in isolation to studies of human perception, attention, memory, language, and the nature of consciousness. The center places special emphasis on combining information obtained from different brain-imaging techniques, including fMRI, PET, and ERPs, to develop improved methods to treat brain injury and disease.

Our residents have access to the combined resources that the support the scientific and medical communities of UCD, including libraries, computers, and technical and research support staff.

Our service is an adult neuropsychology service and we do not routinely see patients under 18.  At the Neurosciences Clinic, we see outpatients with a range of neurological disorders, including stroke, tumor, epilepsy, head injury, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease, systemic lupus erythematosus, and a range of degenerative diseases.

Our residents also participate in the clinical and research activities at the NIA-funded UCD Alzheimer’s Disease Centers in Sacramento and Martinez. At the ADC, residents see a wide-range of dementing disorders with opportunities to follow patients though all stages of disease.