It is time for psychiatry to embrace the burgeoning promise of modern research. To do so, we need to develop easily accessible resources that will allow neuroscience informed teaching and learning to occur in clinical settings. The present module was designed to address this need. Click here to go to session.
Epigenetics & Trauma: This session uses a case vignette involving a person with borderline personality disorder to introduce the concept of epigenetic and discuss the long-term neurobiological consequences of early trauma. Click here to go to session.
This session uses a case vignette involving a person with psychosis to introduce the concept of salience and discuss different pathways for conceptualizing the neural basis of auditory hallucinations. Click here to go to session.
This session uses a case vignette involving a person with both psychotic and affective symptoms to introduce the concept of biotypes and discuss the related underlying biology of schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, and bipolar disorder endophenotypes. Click here to go to session.
This session uses a case vignette involving a person with anxiety symptoms to introduce the concept of and discuss how witnessing traumatic events can produce long-term brain changes. Click here to go to session.
This session uses a case vignette involving a person with PTSD and alcohol use disorder to discuss the underlying neural circuitry of PTSD. Click here to go to session.
In this session participants use the 3D-Brain app to identify the name and function of major brain structures. This module can be used alone or in combination with the “Play-Doh Brain” module to review the basic neuroanatomy of the brain. The session employs simple techniques tapping into readily available resources that any program could use to make learning as interactive as possible. Click here to go to session.
This module shows participants how to construct a model brain out of Play-Doh. It can be used alone or in combination with the “3-D Brain” module to review the basic neuroanatomy of the brain. The session employs simple techniques tapping into readily available resources that any program could use to make learning as interactive as possible. Click here to go to session.
This module shows participants how to construct a model brain out of Play-Doh. It can be used alone or in combination with the “3-D Brain” module to review the basic neuroanatomy of the brain. The session employs simple techniques tapping into readily available resources that any program could use to make learning as interactive as possible. Click here to go to session.
This session is designed to train participants in the process of applying mnemonic devices and specifically utilize them to enhance memory of a broad and complex topic: neurodegenerative disorders. Click here to go to session.
This session is designed to train participants in the process of applying mnemonic devices and specifically utilize them to enhance memory of a broad and complex topic: neurodevelopmental disorders. Click here to go to session.
This session will help residents develop mastery of fear circuitry through exercises that capitalize on multimodal sensory learning. The session is flexible enough to be used in a variety of ways from an in-class exercise preceding more advanced instruction to a component of a “flipped classroom”. Click here to go to session.
This session will help residents develop mastery of pain circuitry through exercises that capitalize on multimodal sensory learning. The session is flexible enough to be used in a variety of ways from an in-class exercise preceding more advanced instruction to a component of a “flipped classroom”. Click here to go to session.
The following learning activity aims to introduce the concept of RDoC through an interactive game that organizes the content onto a large visual display. In this session, learners will become familiar with the central principles and organization of RDoC and then practice conceptualizing a patient case using this neurobiologically informed approach. Click here to go to session.
The goal of this module is to demonstrate how a neuroscience perspective can be incorporated into a comprehensive case formulation. Click here to go to session.
The goal of this session is to demonstrate how a neuroscience perspective can be incorporated into a comprehensive case formulation of a patient with PTSD and alcohol use disorder. A panel of experts reflecting diverse clinical perspectives – neuroscience/biological, psychological (psychotherapy), and social — comments on how each clinician would approach the case and how their formulation would affect treatment. Click here to go to session.
The overall goal of this module is to teach core neuroscience concepts though experiential exercises that capitalize on multimodal sensory learning. Click here to go to session.
This session highlights a specific task that is used in the scanner to probe the neural circuitry involved in emotion regulation. Objectives are to highlight the neural circuitry underlying emotion regulation and describe how this circuitry may function differently in bipolar and unipolar depression. Click here to go to session.
The “dopamine hypothesis” has dominated our understanding of schizophrenia for decades, but only accounts for a fraction of the symptomatology seen in patients with schizophrenia. This session highlights our most recent understanding of the neurobiology underlying cognitive deficits in schizophrenia through an interactive, online training module that highlights some of the modern “teaching with technology” features now available to educators. Click here to go to session.
This learning module draws from a 2012 review by Vrtička and colleagues, who provided an overview of recent studies looking at attachment through a cognitive and neurobiological lens. This module will focus specifically on discussing attachment styles and reviewing a game designed by Vrtička and colleagues in 2008 that utilized functional MRI to elucidate neural responses when confronted with visual feedback. Click here to go to session.
This session is designed to teach residents about the basic neural circuitry of the reward pathway with a central emphasis on the following two concepts: 1. Dopamine (DA) is a signal for teaching/learning about the environment; and 2. Learning about the environment is proportional to Reward Prediction Error (RPE). The session is built on experiential learning exercises that are designed to embody these core principles. Click here to go to session.
The genetic etiologic component of psychiatric disorders can be uncovered clinically and lead to actionable interventions that alter management and treatment. In autism, individually rare genetic variants can collectively account for up to 40% of cases. This session focuses on the different types of rare variants of large effect, how to detect them, the phenotype associated with specific rare variants, and the implications for diagnosis and treatment of having this genetic information available in the clinic. Click here to go to session.
Current standard of care in psychiatry involves prescribing psychotropic medications based on presence and severity of clinical symptoms and considerations of factors such as medical comorbidities and drug-drug interactions. Among these factors, the genetic contribution to medication response, broadly known as pharmacogenomics, is emerging as a relatively new and promising resource to guide the choice of medication type and dose. This field involves identifying individual differences in drug metabolism and response based on unique genetic variants, with the overarching goal of optimizing medication outcomes and reducing adverse side effects. Click here to go to session.
This module is designed to highlight how clinicians can integrate a neuroscience perspective directly into patient care. Click here to go to session.
This module involves a demonstration and teaching session about the reward circuit: its key regions, their normal function, the impact of heroin, and how it can inform treatment options. Participants then role-play the explanation of the reward circuit to a patient based on a vignette. Click here to go to session.
Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a common psychiatric condition diagnosed in children that has widespread implications for social, cognitive, and emotional development. We present here a Facilitator’s Guide for teaching trainees about presentations of ADHD in children, the basic underlying neurobiology, and basic strategies for treatment. Click here to go to session.
Dr. Michael Jibson, the director of residency education in the department of psychiatry at the University of Michigan, talks to a patient about the neurobiology of borderline personality disorder. Click here to go to session.
The overarching goal of the translational neuroscience course is to enhance residents’ attitudes towards neuroscience and its applications towards clinical psychiatry. Click here to go to session.
The present session is designed to introduce residents to innovative neurobiological models for conceptualizing Alzheimer’s Disease. Click here to go to session.
This session asks participants to describe the difficulties and consequences associated with misdiagnosis of bipolar disorder and begin to appreciate the importance of translational approaches in psychiatry and the potential use of biological markers. The session also introduces new systems (circadian, purinergic) involved in the etiology of bipolar disorder, and potential treatments associated with these systems. Click here to go to session.
The present session learning objectives is to a) be able to articulate current standard of care treatments and expected prognosis for patients, b) describe the negative attribution bias in borderline personality disorder, the relationship to amygdala hyperactivity, and novel approaches using neurofeedback that may offer next-generation treatment. Click here to go to session.
For the past sixty years, virtually all pharmacological treatments of depression have been predicated on a monoaminergic model, which, though effective in some regards, is inadequate. This session is introduces residents to alternative neurobiological models for thinking about depression, each article connecting a different neurotransmitter system and a different biological model. Click here to go to session.
The overall goal of this course is that residents will be able to serve as ambassadors of psychiatry and neuroscience who can thoughtfully communicate findings from the field to a lay audience. Click here to go to session.
With the increase in lifespan in recent decades, the burden of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) has increased. Despite research, the exact pathophysiology of Alzheimer’s remains elusive. Alzheimer’s research garners steady media coverage, and this session is meant to teach trainees to understand and critically evaluate one proposed cause of the disease—namely that a fungal infection contributes to the development of Alzheimer’s. Click here to go to session.
The class begins by reviewing recent coverage of the possible transmissibility of Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) within the popular media. We have identified two recent media sources on the topic: a publication in The Economist, “Chain Reaction” and a video from CBC News, “Alzheimer’s traces found seeded in autopsied brains, scientists report”. We then use a structured format to critique the media coverage and appraise relevant scientific literature. Trainees then role play what they might say to a patient inquiring about the possible iatrogenic transmission of AD. When combined with a recent review article, the topic of the overlap in the pathophysiology of AD and spongiform encephalopathy can also become a platform for reviewing basic neuroscience. Click here to go to session.
There has been a lot of media coverage about the potential connection between microbes or bacteria in the gut and brain chemistry. In this session we discuss how altering gut bacteria (through probiotics) may impact mental illnesses ranging from depression and anxiety to autism. Click here to go to session.
This session explores this topic using a short New Yorker article describing research into the effect of stress on the formation of memories. Further reviews on the topic highlight the complexity of this phenomenon and provide an opportunity to review relevant neuroscience related to memory formation. Click here to go to session.
As marijuana has been legalized (or decriminalized) in many states, media coverage of this topic has escalated. In this session we discuss the impact of marijuana on the developing brain. Click here to go to session.
Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is well known to psychiatrists as a highly effective and safe treatment for severe neuropsychiatric conditions. ECT’s reputation in the lay public suffers from stigma based partially on historically accurate accounts of its use, especially pre-anesthesia, and partially on widely-propagated falsehoods, including that it causes brain damage. Based on this stigma, ECT has been the subject of laws limiting its use, particularly in children. Autism is a debilitating neurodevelopmental condition. Parents of children with autism are sometimes known to pursue non-traditional treatments and many things purported to treat autism have little scientific evidence to back them up. In this module, learners will read and critique a 2016 article from The Atlantic on the use of ECT in children with autism. Click here to go to session.
The relationship between the mind and the brain is of great interest both within the field of psychiatry and in the public at large. In this session we use a fascinating story of a woman who developed a sudden onset of Foreign Accent Syndrome (FAS) to discuss what FAS is, the underlying neuroscience of FAS, and the challenges patients face relating to stigma. Click here to go to session.
Opioid addiction has garnered considerable attention as the latest public health “epidemic.” This module provides a rich opportunity for these discussions. Click here to go to session.
With ubiquitous technology and expanding internet access the worldwide usage of the internet is exploding. But is this healthy? In this session we discuss our ever-increasing interface with technology, with emphasis on social media, to explore the effects of technology on the brain, potential brain changes, possibility of addiction, and potential positive and negative outcomes. Click here to go to session.
Psychoanalysts have formulated that pregnancy itself prepares the mother to enter this caretaker role through, in the final weeks of pregnancy, ‘maternal reverie’ – a state of increased focus on the child in utero, which guides the mother to identify with the baby’s shifting affective states. But are there any physiologic changes in the brain that support this concept? Click here to go to session.
The biological consequences of stress are myriad and our scientific understanding of them continues to evolve. This module lends itself to discussions about mental health during pregnancy, brain development, subjectivity in experience of stress, and social disparities in exposure to life stressors. Click here to go to session.
The biological consequences of stress are myriad and our scientific understanding of them continues to evolve. This module lends itself to discussions about mental health during pregnancy, brain development, subjectivity in experience of stress, and social disparities in exposure to life stressors. Click here to go to session.
Facing one’s own death may be a source of great distress, but what if there were a way to help make this process easier? In this session we use an emphasis on psilocybin (“magic-mushrooms”) to discuss potential uses of psychedelic therapy, basic theory behind this group of therapies, potential role of the default mode network, and limitations of this as a therapy. Click here to go to session.
Optogenetics is a method that allows for the selective stimulation of brain circuits by applying specific frequencies of light to neurons in which a light-sensitive ion channel has been introduced. In this session we discuss this new, cutting edge technology and the neurobiology of feeding behavior. Click here to go to session.
Dr. Sheldon Benjamin is the Vice Chair for Education, Director of Neuropsychiatry and Professor of Psychiatry and Neurology at UMass Medical School. Click here to go to session.
Trainees will evaluate one proposed intervention to prevent PTSD, namely the use of a visual, cognitively demanding task (in this case, the game Tetris) to reactivate and then modify reconsolidation of a traumatic memory in the early days following the traumatic event. Click here to go to session.
Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS) is a novel, non-invasive, means of brain stimulation that has been the subject of extensive new research and widespread media coverage. In this session we discuss what tDCS is, how it works, potential applications, and current limitations. Click here to go to session.
With today’s technology, printed books and writing by hand are on the decline, leaving children to grow up with primarily on-screen texts. But how does this affect the development of a child’s reading and writing abilities? In this session we discuss trends in on-screen media, its potential effects on language development, and potential effects of writing by hand on language development. Click here to go to session.
Adrienne Lahti, MD, is a Professor & Division Director of Behavioral Neurobiology at the University of Alabama at Birmingham and clinical director at UAB’s First Episode Schizophrenia Clinic. In these videos, Dr. Lahti discusses the neuroscience involved in schizophrenia. Click here to go to session.
Brian Dias, PhD, is a research specialist at Emory University. Dr. Dias’ current research seeks to understand how trauma impacts the nervous system, physiology and reproductive biology of generations that have directly experienced trauma, as well as descendant generations. Click here to go to session.
Carlos Bolaños, PhD, is an Associate Professor of Psychology & Neuroscience at Florida State University. His research focuses on studying how exposure to antidepressants, stimulants, and other psychotropic drugs, as well as physical and emotional stress, leads to neurobiological adaptations of brain pathways involved in regulating reward, mood, and motivation in developmentally immature and adult animal models. In these videos, Dr. Bolaños discusses his work and the neuroscience involved in stress with mice. Click here to go to session.
Carrie McAdams, MD, PhD, is an Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at UT Southwestern Medical Center. Dr. McAdams has been fascinated by the relationship between the mind and the brain for over 20 years. Her current research examines the connections between biological and psychological aspects of eating disorders using functional neuroimaging. She has focused on understanding the neurodevelopmental changes related to identity formation and social cognition. These constructs are closely related to long-term psychotherapeutic interventions in eating disorders. Click here to go to session.
Demian Rose, M.D., Ph.D. is an Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at UCSF. In the following videos Dr. Rose describes how he talks to patients about such topics as perception, salience, and hallucinations. Click here to go to session.
Dr. Etienne L. Sibille is Chair of the Campbell Family Mental Health Research Institute and Senior Scientist at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health. He is also a Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and the Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology at the University of Toronto. In these videos, Dr. Sibille discusses the implications of molecular subtyping and cellular refinement of local circuitry on depression. Click here to go to session.
Kerry Ressler MD, PhD, is Chief Scientific Officer and the Patricia and James Poitras Endowed Chair in Psychiatry at McLean Hospital. Dr. Ressler discusses his and his lab’s current work learning to understand the neural basis of fear processing specifically as this relates to PTSD. Click here to go to session.
Nii Antie Addy, PhD, is an Assistant Professor of Psychiatry and of Cellular And Molecular Physiology at Yale School of Medicine. In these videos, Dr. Addy discusses circuitry and receptors involved in the dopamine reward pathway related to addiction and depression. Click here to go to session.
Oliver Howes, MD, PhD, is from the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience at King’s College in London and is a faculty of medicine at the Psychiatric Imaging, Medical Research Council Clinical Sciences Centre at Imperial College in London. In these videos, Dr. Howes discusses the neuroscience behind first episode psychosis. Click here to go to session.
Paul Holtzheimer, MD, is an Associate Professor of Psychiatry and Surgery and Director of the Mood Disorders Service at Dartmouth Medical School and Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon, New Hampshire. His research program at Dartmouth is focused on the neurobiology and treatment of mood disorders, primarily treatment-resistant depression. Current methodologies include functional and structural neuroimaging and focal neuromodulation techniques such as transcranial magnetic stimulation and deep brain stimulation. Click here to go to session.
Philip Shaw, BM, BCh (Medicine), PhD, is a principle investigator at the National Institutes of Health Intramural Research Program. He is also an investigator at the Social Behavioral Research Branch and head of the Neurobehavioral Clinical Research Section at the National Human Genome Research Institute. In these videos, Dr. Shaw discusses the neuroscience of childhood attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Click here to go to session.
Sarah H. Lisanby, MD, is at Duke and director of the Division of Translational Research at the National Institute of Mental Health. In these videos, Dr. Lisanby discusses the neuroscience of electroconvulsive therapy and other treatments in the field of neuromodulation. Click here to go to session.
Stacy Drury, MD, PhD, an Associate Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Tulane University, School of Medicine, explores how the interaction of genetic and epigenetic factors with early experience shapes neurodevelopment and long term health outcomes in children. Click here to go to session.
Brandon Kitay, MD, PhD, presents the role of animal models in modern neuroscience research. Click here to go to session.
Brandon Kitay, MD, PhD, presents on the idea of the Connectome and progress that’s been made with current animal models. Click here to go to session.
Alfred Kaye, MD, PhD, presents on calcium channel imaging. Click here to go to session.
Alfred Kaye, MD, PhD, presents on the value of computational approaches to conceptualizing psychiatric illness. Click here to go to session.
Alan Lewis, MD, PhD, presents on induced pluripotent stem cells. Click here to go to session.
Daniel Moreno De Luca, MD, MSc, presents on CRISPR and other gene editing approaches. Click here to go to session.
Youngsun Cho, MD, PhD, presents on optogenetics. Click here to go to session.
Youngsun Cho, MD, PhD, presents on potential diagnostic tools that could be used to move Psychiatry towards “precision medicine”. Click here to go to session.
Jenny Dwyer, MD, PhD, presents on Designer Receptors Exclusively Activated by Designer Drugs. Click here to go to session.
Jenny Dwyer, MD, PhD, presents on the role of microglia for both healthy brain function and in psychiatric illness. Click here to go to session.
Katherine Blackwell, MD, PhD, presents on Brain-Machine Interface. Click here to go to session.
This module focuses on development of professional communication with diverse – at times even skeptical – stakeholders about the role of neuroscience in psychiatry. The session is designed to allow us to explore the challenges we face as ambassadors of neuroscience and to brainstorm constructive approaches for dealing with these situations. Click here to go to session.
You’ve heard the words “Default Mode Network” and know it has something to do with the brain, but what exactly is it? Why is the default mode network important and what is its clinical relevance? This review provides a conceptual introduction to the default mode network through a brief vignette. Click here to go to session.
You’ve seen the dazzling brain images on PowerPoints, papers, and websites. But what do these pictures mean? What do they represent? And what’s the connection between the giant donut magnet and the images you see? This review provides a conceptual overview of how neuroimaging—specifically magnetic resonance imaging—works and what it sets out to accomplish. Click here to go to session.
Wouldn’t it be great if people could just “snap out” of depression, as some friends or family may think they can do? This review describes in understandable language how a recent study used optogenetics to activate memory engrams of positive experiences to reduce depression-like behaviors in mice. Click here to go to session.