Elyn Saks, Eric Kandel, and Kay Jamison Discuss the Importance of Psychodynamic Therapy

Clip from a panel discussion at the FPR-UCLA 2010 (Cultural and Biological Contexts of Psychiatric Disorder – Implications for Diagnosis and Treatment) conference hosted by the Foundation for Psychocultural Research. Experts who also live with mental health issues speak about their experience that the combination of therapy with meds is most effective.

Mood/Personality Enhancement

Neuroethical issues with taking psychiatric medication for mood or personality enhancement (as opposed to treating a disorder).

[U Mich library graffiti. Image by quinn.anya]

A Better Brain: The Ethics of Neuro-enhancement

The neuroethics of cosmetic psychopharmacology. Four hypothetical situations (with real parallels) are debated by major thinkers on a panel at the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism: a person who wants to take a drug for narcolepsy to stay awake in order to work more, a parent considering giving their child a psych med to help with social skills, healthy students who take “Rememberall, made by Hype Pharmaceuticals” to enhance studying, and memory dampening. Highlights. Close captioned.

The Neurocritic shares two epic, provocative posts.

Is CBT Worthless? “A meta-analysis of published studies on cognitive behavioral therapy concluded that this method of psychotherapy is not helpful for those with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, and any improvements seen in major depression are rather small. Articles to rebut this claim are currently in preparation.”

• Video: if CBT is worthless for treating schizophrenia, ACT does have worth. Mary Ann Test details the history of the Assertive Community Treatment (ACT) model. (00:29:18).

Myth of the Depression Gene. “Another meta-analysis found that a variant of the serotonin transporter gene is not linked to an increased risk of depression after all, either alone or in combination with stressful life events. However, no one really thinks that depression is caused by a single gene, so this finding doesn’t negate the possibility of a genetic contribution to major depression.”

• Video: in Catalyst: Nature Nurture a reporter is tested for a potential depression gene (00:10:35).

Mo Costandi of Neurophilosophy sends two posts. Enhanced attention and self-monitoring are among the Brain Mechanisms of Hypnotic Paralysis.

• Video: The far less serious Hypnosis Party Tricks #1 by Wendi Friesen (00:05:31).

Mo also writes about a neuroimaging study on correlates of thinking about past and future, in Mental time travel.

• Video: Memory Map is a vintage art video exploring time and memory perception (00:03:00).

The group blog Brain Blogger had two submissions. First, a well-researched blog post about preventing depression in youth at risk of developing it: Prevention of Adolescent Depression by Jennifer Gibson, PharmD.

• Video: More Than Sad: Teen Depression, a good educational video produced by the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (00:26:00).

The Brain Blogger post Marijuana Withdrawal Syndrome sampled comments from users left at Dirk Hanson’s blog Addiction Inbox.

• Video: Going through marijuana withdrawal: Day 5. In which a vlogger describes his symptoms (00:02:23).

The forward-looking Brain Stimulant blog tells us that researchers plan to model the drosophila brain, and outlines some challenges in Virtual Fly Brain Computer Model.

• Video: Low-res animation of the Blue Brain Project, simulating 10,000 neurons in a rat’s neocortical column (00:00:40).

Kylie Sturgess of PodBlack answers a reader question with etymology and history in Ask PodBlack – ‘What Does Supernatural Mean?’. She’s set up a new Twitter account so you can ask a question too.

• Video: a clip from a mockumentary on the supernatural, Look Around You: Ghosts! (00:09:03).

Art Kilner of AK’s Rambling Thoughts explains his submissions: “These continue my discussion in Nerve Cells and Glial Cells: Redefining the Foundation of Intelligence, which was already featured in Scientia Pro Publica. While somewhat technical, IMO they discuss very important points and will be welcome to anybody interested in the brain’s function(s).”

Monoamine neuroreceptors in Drugs, Receptors, and the Brain. ”Less technical than my usual, but it makes an important point.”

• Video: Glutamatergic Agents for Schizophrenia: Looking Beyond Dopamine, a lecture on newer directions in psychopharmacology research (00:58:20).

Glial membranes and more, in Beyond the Synapse.

• Video extra: The NIH brings us Neuron-glia interactions : their mechanisms and their roles in development and disease, a lecture by Gabriel Corfas (00:50:03).

The Analog Axon. Self-explanatory.

• Video: Claws of Axon is not self-explanatory (00:10:09).

Sharp Brains champions Public Libraries as Community-Based Health Clubs for the Brain in a nice article. An update features more resources, including the newly published book Sharp Brains Guide to Brain Fitness.

• Video: New Strategies for Cognitive Vitality and Brain Health, a lecture at UCLA’s Psychiatry Grand Rounds by Gary W. Small, M.D. (00:57:14).

Faith Martin, writing for Highlight HEALTH: “A recent study shows that group programmes and self-directed programmes have remarkably different effects with respect to outcome.” Tackling Heart Disease Together or Alone: The Behavioural Science of Self-Management.

• Video: Learn coping skills in Health Matters: Stress and Pain Management with Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (00:28:00), and in another video with Steve Hickman, Managing the Role of Stress in Our Lives. Struggling With What It Is (00:58:00).

In Providentia, Romeo Vitelli shares “a strange story about a brain pioneer [Emmanuel Swedenborg] who may have become his own case study.” The Visionary.

• Video: a 1716 Swedenborg hovercraft design (00:00:14).

The August edition will be hosted by Neuronarrative, then Encephalon returns to a biweekly schedule in the fall. Follow Encephalon via email or RSS feed (thanks Highlight HEALTH). Now on Twitter too: @encephalon_ Please send submissions to encephalon.host@gmail.com.

The New Brain Science of Cognitive Enhancement: Future Reality or Fool’s Gold?

At the 2008 Staglin Music Festival for Mental Health, opening for the Pointer Sisters, Trevor Robbins (Professor of Cognitive Neuroscience at Cambridge University) talks about using cognitive enhancement drugs including atomoxetine, modafanil, Ritalin, d-cycloserine, and ampakines to treat diminished cognitive function in psychiatric disorders. The slides are mostly too blurry to read, unfortunately, but the audio is fine. The solar-powered, organic-farmed Staglin Family Vineyard in Napa Valley organizes fabulous lecture/concert fundraisers for mental health research. Their next event on September 12, 2009 features Helen Mayberg, Pat Benatar with Neil Giraldo, and chef Staffan Terje. Hope to see you there!

title How Sleeping Pills Can Harm You
description “Can sleeping pills do more harm than good? Join us for this provocative and informative program exploring the new class of ‘improved’ sleeping pills [the 'Z drugs' zolpidem/Ambien, zaleplon, and zopiclone]. According to recent research by Daniel Kripke, M.D., professor of psychiatry at UCSD School of Medicine, sleeping pills may increase depression and lead to a higher incidence of certain diseases. Sleeping pills may actually shorten people’s lives.” Dr. Kripke has been researching sleep, sleeping pills, and the benefits of light treatment for over 30 years. Related: Ambien Outrage is a consumer site compiling anecdotal evidence on people victimized by the drug.
producer SIRA (Sam and Rose Stein Institute for Research on Aging)
featuring Daniel Kripke, MD
format Flash
date 11/09/09
length 00:57:01
link http://www.ucsd.tv/search-details.asp?showID=14203

Tags: brain video vodcast lecture sleep chronobiology insomnia psychopharmacology sedative Ambien phototherapy

title From Potential of the Mind to Diseases of the Brain
description Top neuroscientists explain their work related to brain diseases in part 12 of the Charlie Rose Science Series. “I believe that there is a place in the spectrum of television for really good conversation, if it is informed, spirited, soulful,” said Rose (not in this episode).
producer Charlie Rose “underwritten by Pfizer”
featuring Sir Paul Nurse, Eric Kandel, Helen Mayberg, Catherine Lord, Donald Price
format Flash
date 20/12/07
length 00:55:32
link http://www.charlierose.com/shows/2007/12/20/1/charlie-rose-science-series-from-potential-of-the-mind-to-diseases-of-the-brain

Tags: brain video TV neurology neuroscience pop_science disease memory neuropsychiatry pharma drugs

title Neuronal Plasticity Cascades: Genes to Behavior Pathways in the Pathophysiology and Treatment of Bipolar Disorder
description Moving away from the touchy-feely stuff, let’s get molecular. A leading expert on bipolar disorder discusses neuronal cascades from gene expression to receptors to behaviours to drugs to plasticity, with a look at recent innovative research into tamoxifen, AMPA and NMDA antagonists (like ketamine) and why ketamine may be more effective than SSRIs. Also: using high-density EEG and MEG to detect synaptic changes, gene expression and cellular plasticity, neuroprotective proteins and mood stabilizers, micro RNA binding and more. Snappy talk on cutting edge topics.
producer Seventh International Conference on Bipolar Disorder at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center
featuring Husseini Manji, MD
format custom player with slides
date 07/06/07
length approx. 00:30:00
link http://www.wpic.pitt.edu/stanley/7thbipconf/Multimedia_Presentations.htm
direct video link http://medicalmedia.upmc.com/webtraining/wpic/bipolar2007/manji0607071030b/f.htm

Tags: brain video lecture bipolar molecular neurophysiology psychopharmacology neuropsychiatry plasticity genetics

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title Britain’s Most Dangerous Drug
description London’s Dana Centre Science Cafe hosted a webcast discussion after a BBC Horizon screening of Is alcohol worse than ecstacy? Psychopharmacologist David Nutt was lead author on a controversial study in The Lancet* comparing the harms of substances of abuse. He and psychologist Theodora Duka join facilitator Hugh Whittall to discuss the issues. “How do the brain and body react to each stimulant as it passes into the bloodstream, and what are the long-term effects of drugs relative to their [legal] classification? If the current classification should be changed in view of the latest findings, what exactly is Britain’s most dangerous drug?” Discussions and a BBC web poll mostly judge it to be alcohol (last noted at 35%, ranked above heroin and tobacco).
producer BBC Horizon, and the Science Museum
featuring David Nutt, Theodora Duka, Hugh Whittall
format Quicktime
date 05/02/08
length near 01:00:00
link http://www.danacentre.org.uk/events/2008/02/05/360
doi 10.1016/S0140-6736(07)60464-4

* NUTT, D., KING, L., SAULSBURY, W., BLAKEMORE, C. (2007). Development of a rational scale to assess the harm of drugs of potential misuse. The Lancet, 369(9566), 1047-1053. DOI: 10.1016/S0140-6736(07)60464-4 (includes Figure 1, above)

Tags: brain webcast neuroethics addiction drugs alcohol psychopharmacology violence danger law harm bioethics

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title Co-Occurrence of Bipolar Disorder, OCD, ICDs, and Treatment Implications
description Bipolar co-occuring with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), impulse control disorders (ICD) like intermittent explosive disorder (IED), addictions, binge eating, bulimia nervosa, gambling, and borderline personality disorder (BPD). The focus is on various relevant drug treatments and trials (but little else). From the Seventh International Conference on Bipolar Disorder.
producer University of Pittsburgh Medical Center
featuring Paul E Keck Jr MD
format custom player with embedded Real Video and slides
date 08/06/07
length approximately 00:30:00
direct video link http://medicalmedia.upmc.com/webtraining/wpic/bipolar2007/keck0608071030a/

Tags: webcast brain lecture conference bipolar mania OCD impulsivity BPD IED addiction bulimia binge psychopharmacology