​LIBR is pleased to announce that we have been awarded a prestigious grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) along with 12 other research institutions as part of a landmark study about the effects of adolescent substance use on the developing brain. This study will be a unique opportunity for the Tulsa region to contribute to a national effort to better understand the brain.

The Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study will follow 10,000 children nationwide beginning at ages 9 to 10, through the period of highest risk for substance use and mental health disorders. Scientists will track exposure to substances, academic achievement, cognitive skills, mental health, and brain structure and function using advanced research methods.

Click here to read the official press release

William K. Warren, Jr.  Frontiers in Neuroscience Conference
Laureate Psychiatric Clinic and Hospital Conference Center- October 1, 2015
 
11:00am - 12:00pm    Registration and Lunch
12:00pm - 1:00pm      Program
 
Kerry Ressler, M.D.  “Neuorogenetic Approaches to Fear and PTSD: From Mice to Men   
 
Dr. Kerry Ressler is Professor of Psychiatry, Chief Scientific Officer, Chief of the Depression and Anxiety Disorders Division, McLean Hospital, Harvard Medical School.

His expertise is in translational neuroscience, specifically focused on genetic and epigenetic mechanisms of fear disorders and their underlying neurocircuitry. His overall program is to understand the risks for psychopathology that include developmental, genetic and environmental risk factors of PTSD and fear-related disorders. Dr. Ressler has received national research awards for basic and translational research on fear in animals and humans. Currently Dr. Ressler is Principal Investigator (PI) on 3 R01 grants to understand translational, genetic and psychological risk factors for PTSD. He was recently a standing member of the VA Merit Review study section for genetics of PTSD and mental health related grants, a member of the NIH CSR Learning and Memory (LAM) study section, on the NIMH RDOC committee for fear-related disorders, and was recently appointed to the NIMH Board of Scientific Counselors.
 
Three Learning Objectives:

1. Th learner will be able to describe new research across patient populations and animal models into the neurobiology of PTSD.
2. The learner will be able to discuss brain regions and neural circuits thought to underlie PTSD.
3. The learner will be able to educate others on potential new treatment methods, as well as further understanding current approaches to treating PTSD.

In early September, The American Journal of Psychiatry accepted the paper "Depression-related increases and decreases in appetite reveal dissociable patterns of aberrant activity in reward and interoceptive neurocircuitry" by Dr. Simmons and his colleagues. 

This paper provides important evidence about why some individuals lose their appetite when they get depressed, while others feel driven to eat more. Using sophisticated behavioral tasks and functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI), Dr. Simmons and his colleagues have demonstrated that activity in the brain regions important for reward and monitoring the body's homeostatic needs distinguishes between depressed individuals who eat too much and those who eat too little.

Drs. Robin Aupperle, Justin Feinstein and Sahib Khalsa shared their current research with the mental health community at the ​21st annual Zarrow Mental Health Symposium in downtown Tulsa on September 17th, 2015. Their talks were presented during the session on "Integrating Brain and Body to Improve Mental Health". 

Traditionally, there has been a divide between those investigating (1) brain responses, (2) bodily responses, and (3) emotional responses, associated with mental illness. A more holistic understanding of neural, physiological and emotional aspects of mental health has the potential to inform our current clinical practice as well as the development of novel interventions. In their presentations, LIBR investigators will discussed (1) the role of heart-brain communications in mental health, (2) potential interventions for modulating one’s bodily awareness, and (3) potential brain mechanisms for current psychotherapeutic interventions. Drs. Aupperle, Feinstein and Khalsa focused on the clinical applicability of neurophysiological research.

10/1/2015
Topic: Neurogenetic Approaches to Fear and PTSD: From Mice to Men
Presenter: Dr. Kerry Ressler, MD, PhD, Professor of Psychiatry, Chief Scientific Officer, Chief of the Depression and Anxiety Disorders Division, McLean Hospital, Harvard Medical School
Where: Laureate Psychiatric Clinic and Hospital Conference Room
When: Thursday, October 1st, 2015 at 12 noon (Lunch provided at 11 am)

10/16/2015
Topic: Altered Brain Development in Pediatric OCD: Potential for Clinical Translation
Presenter: Dr. Kate Fitzgerald, MD, Assistant Professor, Department of Psychiatry, University of Michigan
Where: Laureate Psychiatric Clinic and Hospital Conference Room
When: Friday, October 16th, 2015 at 12 noon (Lunch provided at 11 am)

10/21/2015
Topic: Integrating Cognitive Neuroscience Psychopathology Research on Anxiety
Presenter: Dr. Daniel Pine, MD, Chief, Section on Development and Affective Neuroscience, National Institute of Mental Health Intramural Research Program, National Institutes of Health
Where: Laureate Psychiatric Clinic and Hospital Conference Room
When: Wednesday, October 21st, 2015 at 9 am (Breakfast provided at 8 am)

11/17/2015
Topic: Modeling Predisposition to Schizophrenia using Human Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells
Presenter: Dr. Kristen Brennand, PhD, Assistant Professor, Departments of Psychiatry and Neuroscience, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY
Where: Laureate Psychiatric Clinic and Hospital Conference Room
When: Tuesday, November 17th, 2015 at 12 noon

To register for any of these events, please call 918-494-6490 or email kecochran@saintfrancis.com. Breakfast/Lunch will be provided to registered guests. The William K. Warren Jr. "Frontiers in Neuroscience" Conference Series is free and open to the public.

09/14/2015
On Monday, September 14th at 12 Noon in Conference Room A on the LIBR campus, we will welcome Dr. Xiaosi Gu, a computational psychiatrist from the Center for Brain Health at the University of Texas at Dallas. 

The title of his presentation will be: Your Insula on Fire: A Role of Interoceptive Inference in Decision-Making.

Please RSVP to info@laureateinstitute.org to join us for this special event.