NIMH Sharpens Focus on Brain

Thomas Insel, M.D., updates the Board of Trustees on programs and goals of the agency he heads, the National institute of Mental Health (NIMH). He noted that the research agency is becoming “increasingly public-health driven” and is narrowing its focus to concentrate on brain research to learn more about the most disabling mental illnesses—schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and autism.

One major factor propelling NIMH's research agenda, Insel said, is the“ revolution in genomics,” which is allowing researchers to study the biology of mental illness in new ways, with better tools, and at lower cost.

“By this time next year, we will have a better sense of the genetic architecture” of these brain illnesses, he stressed. “There will be breakthroughs at a pace we haven't seen before.”

A challenge facing NIMH, he added, is “how to build a bridge” from the lab to the bedside that allows physicians to apply new knowledge to clinical practice.