Session to Explore Future of MH Research

To celebrate APA’s 175th birthday, current National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) Director Joshua Gordon, M.D., Ph.D., and former NIMH Director and past APA President Herbert Pardes, M.D., are teaming up to co-chair the session “Shaping the Future of Psychiatry Through Research and the Delivery of Care.”

The session will focus on research related to three of Gordon’s scientific priorities as NIMH director: suicide prevention, neural circuits, and computational/theoretical psychiatry research.

“Josh, who has been a terrific leader, is emphasizing research to look beyond the symptoms and understand the underlying problems of psychiatric illness,” Pardes told Psychiatric News. Pardes helped revitalize the NIMH research program during his tenure as director from 1977 to 1984. “This presentation will provide a great snapshot of where mental health research is now and where it is headed.”

Gordon selected six dynamic, early/mid-career investigators to present their work in the areas of suicide prevention, neural circuits, and computational/theoretical psychiatry research. Each NIMH focus area will be covered by two of the speakers and include both a basic science–oriented and clinically oriented talk.

Gordon told Psychiatric News that the speakers were carefully chosen to reflect science that is not only considered cutting edge right now, but also represents a foundation for scientific discovery in the future.

Matthew Nock, Ph.D., the Edgar Pierce Professor of Psychology at Harvard University, will discuss how technology and analysis of big data may help improve the ability to predict and prevent suicidal behavior. Cheryl King, Ph.D., a professor of psychiatry at the University of Michigan, will then highlight new tools being used in emergency rooms to identify and support adolescents at risk of suicide.

Conor Liston, M.D., Ph.D., an associate professor of neuroscience and psychiatry at Weill Cornell Medical School, and Kay Tye, Ph.D., a professor of neuroscience at the Salk Institute in San Diego, will discuss brain plasticity, or the brain’s ability to modify, or remodel, connections between neurons. Liston will talk about research suggesting that stress contributes to excess neuron remodeling in the brain’s prefrontal cortex, which controls complex cognitive processes including decision making. This extra remodeling leads to a gradual loss of neuron connections over time, which has been linked with anxiety and anhedonia. Tye will discuss ways researchers might be able to exploit the brain’s ability to modify connections to better treat patients with anxiety disorders.

Yael Niv, Ph.D., a professor of psychiatry at Princeton University, will discuss her lab’s work using computer models to map out how the neural pathways involved in attention and memory interact to enable people to solve problems efficiently. Alan Anticevic, Ph.D., an assistant professor of psychiatry at Yale University, will explain how computer models can help uncover the links between neuron dysfunction and the multifaceted symptoms of schizophrenia, which may aid in diagnosis and treatment.

“I hope that this session will demonstrate what basic research can bring to the table in terms of improving mental health care,” Gordon said. “The research discoveries we make today may seem remote, but they will help us achieve a better world for psychiatry.” ■