John Allen, Ph.D. - May 17, 2022 

"Messing With the Mind:  Altering Resting-State Brain Activity to Reduce Perseverative Thinking and Target Mental Disorders"

William K. Warren, Jr.  Frontiers in Neuroscience Lecture 
12:00 pm - 1:00 pm  (Virtual)

Join Zoom Meeting:
https://laureateinstitute-org.zoom.us/j/86986926864
Meeting ID: 869 8692 6864
Passcode: 732799

John JB Allen is Distinguished Professor of Psychology, Cognitive Science, and Neuroscience at the University of Arizona in Tucson Arizona.  After receiving his undergraduate degree under the mentorship of Loren and Jean Chapman at the University of Wisconsin – Madison, he completed his graduate training with Bill Iacono at the University of Minnesota.  Following the completion of his clinical internship at the VA medical center in Minneapolis, he assumed his current position in Arizona in 1992.
 
He has published over 180 peer-reviewed scientific papers, and been the recipient of grants from the National Institutes of Health and from the National Alliance for Research in Schizophrenia and Depression to fund his research.  He has received numerous awards for his research, including the Distinguished Early Career Award from the Society for Psychophysiological Research and the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation Research Prize, as well as numerous awards for his teaching including the Graduate College and Professional Education Teaching and Mentoring Award, and designation as University Distinguished Professor. He is a Fellow of the Association for Psychological Science, and a past-president of the Society for Psychophysiological Research.
 
His research interests encompass several areas, but he is interested broadly in identifying neural systems that place people at risk for emotional disorders. Using electroencephalography and functional magnetic resonance imaging, his work identifies patterns of brain activity that may underlie depression and related disorders, and that may be promising targets for intervention. Most recently, he has focused specifically on two lines of work:  1) investigating transcranial ultrasound as a neuromodulation approach to alter emotional well-being with the ultimate aim to provide a novel treatment for depression; 2) assessing the potential utility of guided psilocybin experience to alter brain network activity and improve symptoms and function in obsessive-compulsive disorder.
 
 Learning objectives:  

1. To be able to describe the brain's default mode network (DMN) and its role in perseverative negative cognitive and mental disorders.        
2. To be able to describe the role of transcranial focused ultrasound as a neuromodulation approach, and its impact on DMN connectivity.
3. To summarize the impact of guided psilocybin intervention on OCD symptoms and DMN connectivity.
   ​
   

For Physicians: Saint Francis Health System is accredited by the Oklahoma State Medical Association to sponsor continuing medical education for physicians.
 
Saint Francis Health System designates this live activity for a maximum of 1 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)™.  Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.
 
For Psychologists: The Oklahoma State Board of Examiners of Psychologists, the American Psychological Association and the Oklahoma Psychological Association recognize AMA PRA Category 1  credit™. Saint Francis Health System is accredited by the OSMA
 
For Social Workers: Saint Francis Health System is an approved provider of continuing education for social worker through the Oklahoma State Board of Licensed Social Workers for 1 hour Category 1 Clinical. (CEP Number - 20220007)
 
For CADCs and LADCs Saint Francis Health System is accredited as a provider of continuing education programs for CADCs and LADCs through the Oklahoma Board of Licensed Alcohol and Drug Counselors.      (1 hour)
 
The LPC/LMFT This virtual event as been approved by the State Board of Behavioral Health Licensure (BBHL) for 1 hour of CE.  
 

LIBR is pleased to announce that Dr. Ryan Smith, Associate Research Professor, has been awarded a $900,000 grant between 2022-2024 from the Wellbeing for Planet Earth Foundation. The grant title is “Using active inference to uncover the neurocomputational mechanisms that contribute to well-being and their potential differences across diverse populations”.

The research will include up to 700 individuals using both online and in-person approaches to complete the work. Through data collection using self-report measures, decision-making tasks, and computational analyses, the team seeks to better understand how one’s beliefs and behavior from a cultural standpoint may be related to health outcomes and how learning from new experiences may or may not change those beliefs to influence the way we make decisions.
 
“On behalf of LIBR, our laboratory is thrilled with the Wellbeing for Planet Earth Foundation award,” said Ryan Smith, Ph.D. “This funding makes possible the collaborative advancement of new methods to improve emotional and physical wellbeing for society while also laying the groundwork for new directions to improve subjective wellbeing within and/or across cultures.”
 
Congratulations to Dr. Smith and his LIBR laboratory!

Download the full press release.

Our LIBR 2021 annual report publication provides an overview of last year's happenings at the Laureate Institute for Brain Research. In the report below, you will find a letter from the president, Dr. Martin Paulus, information on our mission, history and specific aims, current areas of research, funding sources, events and lectures, awards, individual laboratories, selected publications and opportunities to participate in research. We hope you enjoy the publication and look forward to continuing our goal to improve mental health through neuroscience in 2022 and beyond. ​

Tracy L. Bale, Ph.D. - April 5, 2022 

"Extracellular Vesicles as Systemic Stress Signals and Novel Mechanisms in Neurodevelopment"

William K. Warren, Jr.  Frontiers in Neuroscience Lecture 
12:00 pm - 1:00 pm     VIRTUAL LECTURE - ZOOM LINK BELOW

Tracy L. Bale is a Professor of Pharmacology and Director of the Center for Epigenetic Research in Child Health and Brain Development in the School of Medicine at the University of Maryland, Baltimore. She completed her Ph.D. at the University of Washington in the Department of Pharmacology, and her postdoctoral work at the Salk Institute with Dr. Wylie Vale. Dr. Bale was Professor of Neuroscience at the University of Pennsylvania for 15 years prior to her move to UMB. Her research focuses on understanding the role of stress dysregulation in neurodevelopmental and neuropsychiatric diseases, and the sex differences that underlie disease vulnerability in humans and using the mouse as a model. She is interested in developing models of stress and adversity across the lifespan, including examining the effects at the germ cell level and the mechanisms involved in altering neurodevelopment. Dr. Bale’s lab also examines these mechanisms in humans, attempting to translate research findings to identify those processes and biomarkers important for promoting disease risk and resilience, especially in vulnerable populations. In her leadership role as Center Director, Dr. Bale works to engage in the Baltimore community, developing collaborations and partnerships with local organizations, health officials, social workers, and policy makers including working with the Baltimore City Council. In a translational approach, Dr. Bale’s Center brings neuroscience research and outcomes into the community. Partnering with Baltimore City schools and staff, families, and community leaders, Dr. Bale’s Center provides a lens through which policy, education and community can be viewed, focusing on the lasting and significant effects across generations of trauma, discrimination and violence. She serves on many internal and external advisory committees, panels, and boards, and has been the recipient of numerous awards for her research in this area including the Richard E. Weitzman Memorial award from the Endocrine Society, the Medtronic Award from the Society for Women’s Health Research for outstanding research that has led to the improvement of women’s health, and the Daniel H. Efron award from the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology. She is the President of the International Brain Research Organization (IBRO), and was recently awarded Top 100 Women in Maryland 2020.    
​
Learning objectives:  

1. Understand the role of extracellular vesicles in transmission of stress         
2. Understand influences from maternal and paternal factors on neurodevelopment
3. Understand potential biomarkers associated with stress in the environment

Join Zoom Meeting
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/85192026323

Meeting ID: 851 9202 6323
Passcode: 068066

Tulsa, Oklahoma – Researchers at the Laureate Institute for Brain Research (LIBR) in Tulsa, OK, have identified an abnormal link between the autonomic and central nervous systems, specifically via communication between the heart and part of the brain’s frontal cortex, in women with generalized anxiety disorder (GAD). The team’s objective was to test whether individuals suffering from GAD show dysfunction in the neural circuitry underlying cardiovascular arousal and whether that may be associated with certain disorder-related symptoms such as anxiety and body sensation. To conduct the study, they completed a randomized clinical trial of 58 adult female participants (29 with GAD and 29 matching healthy comparisons). During the study they stimulated the cardiovascular system using a medicine called isoproterenol, which mimics the effects of adrenaline but, unlike adrenaline, cannot cross the blood-brain-barrier to directly impact brain activity. Intravenous infusions of isoproterenol or saline were administered during functional magnetic resonance imaging, allowing them to assess whether the brains of patients with GAD differ in the processing of information received from the body, a function known as ‘interoception’. The main findings were that patients with GAD differed significantly from healthy participants on several variables, but only during the lower of two dosages of isoproterenol. Specifically, they perceived their heartbeats to be more intense and had relatively higher heart rates and lower neural activity in the ventromedial prefrontal cortex, a brain area known to regulate the autonomic nervous system and to facilitate feelings of fear or safety. Self-reported anxiety was significantly higher only for those with GAD compared to healthy participants in response to either dose.
 
The research findings, “Association of Generalized Anxiety Disorder with Autonomic Hypersensitivity and Blunted Ventromedial Prefrontal Cortex Activity During Peripheral Adrenergic Stimulation,” were published in the February 2, 2022 edition of JAMA Psychiatry.
 
For lead author Adam Teed, a postdoctoral associate at LIBR, the fact that the abnormal results observed for those with GAD occurred during lower, but not higher, doses of medicine was the primary finding from the study: “administering isoproterenol allowed us to provide causal evidence that an abnormally sensitive cardiovascular system and an abnormally insensitive frontal cortex in GAD patients lowers their ability to regulate bodily arousal. This could help to explain why they experience anxiety so frequently and in a wide variety of contexts.” The authors hope that their study prompts further research into the ventromedial prefrontal cortex as a therapeutic target for novel treatments helping individuals with GAD to regulate physiological and emotional responses to stress.
 
Beyond the novel link revealed by this study, it is noteworthy that cardiovascular hypersensitivity was observed for GAD patients at all. This is because the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM–5), the standard classification system used by mental health professionals in the United States, describes autonomic symptoms such as sweating, rapid heart rate, or shortness of breath, as being less prominent in GAD than other anxiety disorders, such as panic disorder. As senior author Sahib Khalsa, MD, PhD, a psychiatrist and principal investigator at LIBR puts it, “this study shows us that anxiety is not only something that happens within our brains but within our bodies as well.” Thus, these findings show that abnormal functioning of the autonomic nervous system is not only a factor in GAD, but it occurs in combination with abnormal functioning of certain areas of the brain. Such associations are what Dr. Khalsa believes to be the most important product of this research: “it is the interaction between our brain and body that may be essential for determining whether an innocuous situation creates a state of fear in individuals with GAD. We need to better understand how this abnormal physiological response relates to the functional impairments that commonly interfere with the daily lives of such individuals.”
 
The research team was led by senior author Sahib Khalsa, MD, PhD, also an associate professor in the Oxley College of Health Sciences at The University of Tulsa, and lead author Adam Teed, PhD, and included others from LIBR as well as The University of Oklahoma (OU), the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA), and the University of California at San Diego (UCSD).
 
The research was supported by the National Institute of Mental Health, The William K. Warren Foundation, and the National Institute of General Medicine Sciences and was conducted at LIBR between January 2017 and November 2019.
 
CONTACT: For more information about the project, contact Sahib Khalsa, MD, PhD, at Laureate Institute for Brain Research at skhalsa@laureateinstitute.org. 

Catherine Tallon-Baudry, Ph.D.

"From Visceral Signals to Subjectivity"

William K. Warren, Jr.  Frontiers in Neuroscience Lecture 
12:00 pm - 1:00 pm     VIRTUAL LECTURE - ZOOM LINK BELOW
​
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/86347284258
Meeting ID: 863 4728 4258
Passcode: 195226

Dr. Tallon-Baudry aims at understanding how brain activity turns into conscious experience. During her early career (PhD in Lyon, France; post-doc in Bremen, Germany), she revealed the existence of induced gamma-band oscillations in humans and showed their role in feature-binding as well as other cognitive visual functions (attention, short-term memory, learning, and consciousness), developing a strong expertise in human electrophysiology (MEG, EEG, iEEG).

In 2002, she moved to Hôpital Pitié-Salpêtrière in Paris where, over 10 years, she went through all stages from independent young researcher to director of both a large research group and of a brain imaging facility, developing her managerial skills. Having unexpectedly discovered a double dissociation between spatial attention and visual consciousness, both at the neural and behavioral level, she began to reconsider the nature of visual consciousness and concentrated on subjective, rather than executive, aspects of consciousness. This led her to move to Ecole Normale Supérieure, Paris, in 2012 to focus again on basic research. She created a new cognitive neuroscience group, where they develop and test the hypothesis that the central monitoring of interoceptive signals underlies subjectivity.
 
Learning objectives: 

1. Understand the gastric rhythm and the electrogastrogram.
2. Understand measuring neural correlates of (unconscious) interception in humans.
3. Understand the link between emotion, self, and interoception revisited.

For Physicians: Saint Francis Health System is accredited by the Oklahoma State Medical Association to sponsor continuing medical education for physicians.
 
Saint Francis Health System designates this live activity for a maximum of 1 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)™.  Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.
 
For Psychologists: The Oklahoma State Board of Examiners of Psychologists, the American Psychological Association and the Oklahoma Psychological Association recognize AMA PRA Category 1  credit™. Saint Francis Health System is accredited by the OSMA
 
For Social Workers: Saint Francis Health System is an approved provider of continuing education for social worker through the Oklahoma State Board of Licensed Social Workers for 1 hour Category 1 Clinical. (CEP Number - 20210007)
 
For CADCs and LADCs Saint Francis Health System is accredited as a provider of continuing education programs for CADCs and LADCs through the Oklahoma Board of Licensed Alcohol and Drug Counselors.      (1 hour)
 
The LPC/LMFT This virtual event as been approved by the State Board of Behavioral Health Licensure (BBHL) for 1 hour of CE.  

For questions , email:  Lauren Haguewood at lehaguewood@saintfrancis.com

Dean Mobbs, Ph.D. - November 2, 2021 
​
"Space, Time and Fear"

William K. Warren, Jr.  Frontiers in Neuroscience Lecture 
12:00 pm - 1:00 pm     Program in the LPCH auditorium
11:00am - 11:45am      Lunch will be served beforehand in the LPCH banquet room

Dean Mobbs is interested in the intersection of behavioral ecology, economics, emotion, and social psychology. By understanding the neural, computational and behavioral dynamics of human social and emotional experiences, he wants to develop theoretical models that merge those fields.

Using brain-imaging, computational modeling and behavioral techniques, his lab is probing the neurobiological systems responsible for fear and anxiety, revealing how people learn to control their fears, and how anxiety and psychiatric disorders disrupt those processes. He's interested in the value of social behavior. In particular, he's trying to determine the behavioral and neural signatures behind positive social interactions—for example, those involved with altruism, empathy, and when viewing others' success as rewarding (vicarious reward and reflected glory). His research also focuses on the interplay between social interaction and emotion—how fear can depend on whether you're alone or in a group (e.g. risk dilution).

Prior to Caltech, Mobbs was an assistant professor of psychology at Columbia University and a research assistant at Stanford University. His awards include the APS Janet Spence Award For Transformative Early Career Contributions (2015) and the NARSAD Young Investigator Award (2015). He is a life fellow of Clare Hall at the University of Cambridge.

Learning objectives: 

1. Understand new approaches to studying fear and anxiety.
2. Distinguish between different types of fear and anxiety.
3. Understand new and old theories of emotion.

For Physicians: Saint Francis Health System is accredited by the Oklahoma State Medical Association to sponsor continuing medical education for physicians.
 
Saint Francis Health System designates this live activity for a maximum of 1 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)™.  Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.
 
For Psychologists: The Oklahoma State Board of Examiners of Psychologists, the American Psychological Association and the Oklahoma Psychological Association recognize AMA PRA Category 1  credit™. Saint Francis Health System is accredited by the OSMA
 
For Social Workers: Saint Francis Health System is an approved provider of continuing education for social worker through the Oklahoma State Board of Licensed Social Workers for 1 hour Category 1 Clinical. (CEP Number - 20210007)
 
For CADCs and LADCs Saint Francis Health System is accredited as a provider of continuing education programs for CADCs and LADCs through the Oklahoma Board of Licensed Alcohol and Drug Counselors. (1 hour)
 
The LPC/LMFT This virtual event, on June 9, 2021 has been approved by the State Board of Behavioral Health Licensure (BBHL) for 1 hour of CE.  

For questions, email:  Lauren Haguewood at lehaguewood@saintfrancis.com

October 5, 2021
Professor Klaas Stephan
 
"Translational Neuromodeling, Computational Psychiatry, and Computational Psychomatics"
 
William K. Warren, Jr.  Frontiers in Neuroscience Lecture
VIRTUAL PRESENTATION (see below for Zoom link info)
12:00 pm - 1:00 pm

Klaas Enno Stephan is a computational neuroscientist and medical doctor. He is Full Professor for Translational Neuromodeling & Computation Psychiatry at the University of Zurich and ETH Zurich.
His scientific work spans the entire translational pipeline, from the development of disease theories via the creation of computational methods to their application in clinical studies. A central goal is the development of clinically useful “computational assays” for psychiatry and psychosomatics, with a current focus on brain-body interactions in fatigue and depression. In 2012, Klaas founded the Translational Neuromodeling Unit (TNU) at Zurich, an interdisciplinary institution with the mission to translate advances in computational neuroscience into diagnostic and prognostic tools for clinical practice.

Klaas’ track record includes several disease theories (schizophrenia, fatigue, depression), the development of open source and widely used computational tools for investigating human brain connectivity, as well as numerous studies on psychiatric conditions and disease mechanisms. His work has been recognized by various awards and honours, including the Wiley Young Investigator Award for Human Brain Mapping and election to the Max Planck Society.
Learning objectives:
 
  1.  Learn about the principles and strategy of Computational Psychiatry (CP).
  2.  Learn about the generative models that are used as central tools for CP.
  3.  Learn about the approaches to investigating brain-body interactions with computational models.

Zoom link:
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/86444675383
 
Meeting ID: 864 4467 5383
Passcode: 314531

John C. Markowitz, M.D. - September 23, 2021 

"Interpersonal Psychotherapy for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder"

William K. Warren, Jr.  Frontiers in Neuroscience Lecture 
In-Person Presentation, Laureate Psychiatric Clinic and Hospital Auditorium

2:00pm - 2:45 pm      Refreshments
3:00 pm - 4:00 pm     Program 

John C. Markowitz is an American physician, a Professor of Clinical Psychiatry at the Columbia University College of Physicians & Surgeons and a Psychiatric Researcher at the New York State Psychiatric Institute. For several decades he has conducted research on psychotherapies and medications as treatments for mood disorders (major depressive disorder and dysthymic disorder), anxiety disorders, and personality disorders. He is currently[when?] conducting an outcome study of three psychotherapies for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD)[1][2] thanks to a five-year grant from the National Institute of Mental Health. He is most widely published in the area of interpersonal psychotherapy or IPT, a manualized form of treatment, in which he was trained by the late Gerald L. Klerman, M.D.[3][4][5] Dr. Markowitz is a graduate of Columbia University and Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons and received his psychiatric residency training at the Payne Whitney Psychiatric Clinic of Cornell University Medical School/New York-Presbyterian Hospital.

Learning objectives:  
1. The attendee will appreciate differences between affect-focused and exposure-based psychotherapies.
2. The attendee will understand the basic strategies of interpersonal psychotherapy (IPT).
3. The attendee will understand the evidence supporting use of affect-focused IPT in posttraumatic stress disorder.

June 9, 2021
Stephen T. Higgins, Ph.D.

"Contingency Management in the Treatment of Substance Use Disorders and Other Health Conditions"

William K. Warren, Jr.  Frontiers in Neuroscience Lecture 
Virtual Presentation via Zoom 
12:00 pm - 1:00 pm  Program

Stephen T. Higgins, Ph.D. is Director of the University of Vermont’s (UVM) Center on Behavior and Health, and Principle Investigator on five NIH grants on the general topic of behavior and health, including two center grants, two research grants, and an institutional training award. He is the Virginia H. Donaldson Endowed Professor of Translational Science in the Departments of Psychiatry and Psychology and serves as Vice Chair of Psychiatry. He has held many national scientific leadership positions, including terms as President of the College on Problems of Drug Dependence and the American Psychological Association’s Division on Psychopharmacology and Substance Abuse. He is the author of more than 300 journal articles and invited book chapters and editor of a dozen volumes and therapist manuals in the area of behavior and health.

Learning objectives: 

1. Learn how to be able to define Contingency Management (CM).
2. Learn how to be able to outline the level of empirical evidence supporting the efficacy of CM for treatment of substance use disorders.
3. Learn how to be able to give examples of other health conditions for which CM has treatment efficacy.

Zoom Link:
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/82801930666
Meeting ID: 828 0193 0666
Passcode: 964710

For Physicians: Saint Francis Health System is accredited by the Oklahoma State Medical Association to sponsor continuing medical education for physicians.
 
Saint Francis Health System designates this live activity for a maximum of 1 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)™.  Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.
 
For Psychologists: The Oklahoma State Board of Examiners of Psychologists, the American Psychological Association and the Oklahoma Psychological Association recognize AMA PRA Category 1  credit™. Saint Francis Health System is accredited by the OSMA
 
For Social Workers: Saint Francis Health System is an approved provider of continuing education for social worker through the Oklahoma State Board of Licensed Social Workers for 1 hour Category 1 Clinical. (CEP Number - 20210007)
 
For CADCs and LADCs Saint Francis Health System is accredited as a provider of continuing education programs for CADCs and LADCs through the Oklahoma Board of Licensed Alcohol and Drug Counselors.      (1 hour)
 
The LPC/LMFT This virtual event, on June 9, 2021 has been approved by the State Board of Behavioral Health Licensure (BBHL) for 1 hour of CE.  
 
No need to register, please login day of event with Zoom link above.

For questions , email:  Lauren Haguewood at lehaguewood@saintfrancis.com

On May 18th, 2021, Dr. Martin Paulus presented a free webinar on "Connectedness and Mental Health" during the pandemic in collaboration with ResearchMatch and the Anxiety & Depression Association of America (ADAA). 

"Physical and mental health are closely related to how connected we are to others. Loneliness, that feeling of not being connected, is often associated with poorer health. Dr. Martin Paulus, M.D., Scientific Director and President of the Laureate Institute for Brain Research and Chair of the ADAA's Scientific Council will talk about how the brain is "wired for connections", and why the current pandemic may be influencing our mental health. He will also discuss ways to focus on "connectedness" as a way to improve mental health."

Manpreet K. Singh, MD, MS - April 20, 2021

"Evolving Neuroscience-Informed Interventions for Pediatric-Onset Mood Disorders"

William K. Warren, Jr.  Frontiers in Neuroscience Lecture 
Virtual Presentation via Zoom 
12:00 pm - 1:00 pm     Program

Zoom Link:
Join Zoom Meeting
https://zoom.us/j/95301637203

Meeting ID: 953 0163 7203
Passcode: 083713

Dr. Singh is Associate Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, and leads a program aimed to accelerate understanding and treatment in youth with or at high risk for developing a major mood disorder.
 
Dr. Singh earned her MD at Michigan State University and her MS at University of Michigan.  She completed her combined residency training in Pediatrics, Psychiatry, and Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center. After two years of T32 postdoctoral training at Stanford’s Center for Interdisciplinary Brain Sciences Research, she joined the faculty at Stanford in 2009. 
 
Dr. Singh leads a multidisciplinary team that evaluates and treats youth with a spectrum of mood disorders as young as age 2 and well into their 20s. Her NIMH and industry funded studies examine mechanisms underlying mood disorders and apply cutting edge strategies to directly modulate the brain using transcranial magnetic stimulation and real time neurofeedback.  She is also investigating the efficacy and safety of pharmacotherapies and psychotherapies for youth with and at risk for bipolar disorder, such as family focused psychotherapy and mindfulness meditation, to reduce mood symptoms and family stress.  All of these areas of research aim to elucidate core mechanisms underlying mood disorders and how treatment early in life can pave the path to more adaptive outcomes.
 
In her spare time, Dr. Singh enjoys traveling and hiking with her husband and three children, and avidly teaches Indian classical music. 

Learning objectives: 

1. Apply knowledge of how mood symptoms commonly present in youth, including historical perspectives and current state of neuroscience.
2. Utilize current neuroscience knowledge to guide us toward developing better evaluation and treatment strategies for pediatric mood disorders.
3. Integrate knowledge from prior intervention studies (including known placebo effects) to design new clinical trials.
   
   

For Physicians: Saint Francis Health System is accredited by the Oklahoma State Medical Association to sponsor continuing medical education for physicians.
 
Saint Francis Health System designates this live activity for a maximum of 1 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)™.  Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.
 
For Psychologists: The Oklahoma State Board of Examiners of Psychologists, the American Psychological Association and the Oklahoma Psychological Association recognize AMA PRA Category 1  credit™. Saint Francis Health System is accredited by the OSMA
 
For Social Workers: Saint Francis Health System is an approved provider of continuing education for social worker through the Oklahoma State Board of Licensed Social Workers for 1 hour Category 1 Clinical. (CEP Number - 20210007)
 
For CADCs and LADCs Saint Francis Health System is accredited as a provider of continuing education programs for CADCs and LADCs through the Oklahoma Board of Licensed Alcohol and Drug Counselors.      (1 hour)
 
The LPC/LMFT board is currently not allowing new applications for events therefore we cannot give out LPC/LMFT credit for this event. We will have a Certificate of Completion showing LPCs/LMFTs completed the course.
 
No need to register, please login day of event with Zoom link above.

For questions, email:  Lauren Haguewood at lehaguewood@saintfrancis.com

Erin A. Hazlett, Ph.D., March 4, 2021

"Studying Emotion Processing in Individuals at Risk for Suicide: Psychophysiological and Neuroimaging Approaches"

William K. Warren, Jr.  Frontiers in Neuroscience Lecture 
Virtual Presentation via Zoom 
12:00 pm - 1:00 pm  CST 
​ 
Dr. Hazlett has a 5-year Research Career Scientist Award from Clinical Science Research and Development (CSR&D) which supports her full-time VA position. She is a member of the Mental Illness Research, Education, and Clinical Center (MIRECC VISN 2) at the James J. Peters VA Medical Center (JJPVA). Dr. Hazlett is also a professor in the Departments of Psychiatry and Neuroscience at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai (ISMMS). She is the Director of the Cognitive Psychophysiology Laboratory within both the Department of Psychiatry at ISMMS and the MIRECC at the JJPVA. Dr. Hazlett conducts collaborative clinical research using the new JJPVA state-of-the-art 3T Siemens Skyra magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanner and also mentors MIRECC Advanced Psychology Fellows on cutting-edge clinical neuroimaging research.

Dr. Hazlett conducts multidisciplinary clinical research using neuroimaging and psychophysiological approaches to examine the neurobiology of psychiatric illness. She primarily examines the neurobiology of attention and emotion processing abnormalities in schizophrenia spectrum disorders, personality disorders, and major depressive disorder. She has received funding for her research from the Department of Veterans Affairs, Department of Defense, National Institutes of Mental Health, and private foundations (e.g., Brain & Behavior Research Foundation). Her current two VA Merit Award grants employ functional and structural fMRI and/or psychophysiology to examine emotion regulation and impulsivity in Veterans at low and high risk for suicide with and without mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI).

Learning objectives: 
 1. Learn about the neurobiology of borderline personality disorder.
 2. Learn about the neurobiology of major depressive disorder.
 3. Learn about psychophysiological and neuroimaging research in these disorders.

Zoom Link:
Join Zoom Meeting
https://zoom.us/j/96135710544

Meeting ID: 961 3571 0544
Passcode: 497486

________________________________________________________________________________

For Physicians: Saint Francis Health System is accredited by the Oklahoma State Medical Association to sponsor continuing medical education for physicians.
 
Saint Francis Health System designates this live activity for a maximum of 1 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)™.  Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.
 
For Psychologists: The Oklahoma State Board of Examiners of Psychologists, the American Psychological Association and the Oklahoma Psychological Association recognize AMA PRA Category 1  credit™. Saint Francis Health System is accredited by the OSMA
 
For Social Workers: Saint Francis Health System is an approved provider of continuing education for social worker through the Oklahoma State Board of Licensed Social Workers for 1 hour Category 1 Clinical. (CEP Number - 20200007)
 
For CADCs and LADCs Saint Francis Health System is accredited as a provider of continuing education programs for CADCs and LADCs through the Oklahoma Board of Licensed Alcohol and Drug Counselors.      (1 hour)
 
The LPC/LMFT board is currently not allowing new applications for events therefore we cannot give out LPC/LMFT credit for this event. We will have a Certificate of Completion showing LPCs/LMFTs completed the course.
 
No need to register, please login day of event with Zoom link above.

For questions, email:  Lauren Haguewood at lehaguewood@saintfrancis.com

Tanja Jovanovic, Ph.D., February 16, 2021

"Neurobiological Effects of Trauma in Adults and Children"

William K. Warren, Jr.  Frontiers in Neuroscience Lecture 
Virtual Presentation via Zoom 
12:00 pm - 1:00 pm     Program
​
Tanja Jovanovic, PhD, is a Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurosciences and the David and Patricia Barron Chair for PTSD Neurobiology at Wayne State University. Dr. Jovanovic’s research program focuses on the interaction of traumatic experiences, neurophysiology, neuroendocrinology, and genetics in stress-related disorders in adults and children in high-risk populations. She directs the Detroit Trauma Project (www.detroittraumaproject.com), which investigates the impact that urban trauma exposure has on the brain. Her research employs psychophysiological (e.g. fear-potentiated startle, skin conductance response, heart-rate variability) and brain imaging methods (e.g. MRI, fMRI) to investigate biomarkers of risk for trauma-related psychopathology, such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Her laboratory developed novel human fear conditioning, fear inhibition, and extinction paradigms for PTSD patients. Dr. Jovanovic is the lead investigator on several federally funded grants from the National Institutes of Health and has an Independent Investigator Award from the Brain and Behaviour Research Foundation. She has published over 100 peer-reviewed papers and served on national and international grant review panels.
​
Learning objectives: 

 1. Describe intermediate phenotypes for PTSD.
 2. Understand impact of trauma on brain and behavior.
 3. Discuss utility of brain-based biomarkers.
 
Zoom Link:

Topic: WKW Frontiers in Neuroscience - Tanja Jovanovic, Ph.D. - February 16, 2021
Time: Feb 16, 2021 12:00 PM Central Time (US and Canada)

Join Zoom Meeting
https://zoom.us/j/97638857323

Meeting ID: 976 3885 7323
Passcode: 929508

For Physicians: Saint Francis Health System is accredited by the Oklahoma State Medical Association to sponsor continuing medical education for physicians.
 
Saint Francis Health System designates this live activity for a maximum of 1 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)™.  Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.
 
For Psychologists: The Oklahoma State Board of Examiners of Psychologists, the American Psychological Association and the Oklahoma Psychological Association recognize AMA PRA Category 1  credit™. Saint Francis Health System is accredited by the OSMA
 
For Social Workers: Saint Francis Health System is an approved provider of continuing education for social worker through the Oklahoma State Board of Licensed Social Workers for 1 hour Category 1 Clinical. (CEP Number - 20200007)
 
For CADCs and LADCs Saint Francis Health System is accredited as a provider of continuing education programs for CADCs and LADCs through the Oklahoma Board of Licensed Alcohol and Drug Counselors.      (1 hour)
 
The LPC/LMFT board is currently not allowing new applications for events therefore we cannot give out LPC/LMFT credit for this event. We will have a Certificate of Completion showing LPCs/LMFTs completed the course.
 
No need to register, please login day of event with Zoom link above.

For questions , email:  Lauren Haguewood at lehaguewood@saintfrancis.com
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Ned H. Kalin, M.D., February 2, 2021

"The Childhood Risk to Develop Anxiety and Depression:  A Translational Neuroscience Approach"

William K. Warren, Jr.  Frontiers in Neuroscience Lecture 
Virtual Presentation via Zoom (email for link)
12:00 pm - 1:00 pm     Program

Ned H. Kalin, M.D. is Hedberg Professor and Chairman of the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health.  He is the Director of the HealthEmotions Research Institute and the Lane Neuroimaging Laboratory, a Professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of Wisconsin, and an affiliate scientist at the Wisconsin Reginal Primate Center and the Harlow Primate Laboratory.  He serves as the principal investigator for several ongoing NIH funded research projects and has published over 250 peer-reviewed articles related to the adaptive and maladaptive expression of emotion and anxiety, and the childhood risk to develop anxiety disorders and depression.  His research focuses on uncovering basic mechanisms that relate stress to the development of psychopathology and to understanding the mechanisms that cause some children to be vulnerable for the development of anxiety and depression.  The aim of his research is to develop novel, neuroscientifically-informed strategies for the treatment of anxiety disorders with a special focus on early life and preventive interventions for young children.  In addition to his research activities, he treats patients who suffer from anxiety and depression who are refractory to standard treatment.

Dr. Kalin earned his medical degree from Jefferson Medical School in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, did his residency in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Wisconsin, and a fellowship in Neuropsychopharmacology at the National Institute of Mental Health. Dr. Kalin is board certified by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology. He is a Fellow Emeritus of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology and a fellow of the American College of Psychiatry. He has been recognized for numerous awards including the 1985 A.E. Bennett Award for basic science research in biological psychiatry, the 2005 Edward A. Strecker Award, the 2007 American College of Psychiatrists Award for research in mood disorders, the 2007 Gerald Klerman Senior Investigator Award, and the 2015 AnnaMonika Prize of the European College of Neuropsychopharmacology. In 2013 he was inducted as a Fellow in theAmerican Association for the Advancement of Science, and in 2015 he was elected as a member of the National Academy of Medicine. In 2017, Dr. Kalin was inducted as a Distinguished Life Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association. He has served as President of the International Society of Psychoneuroendocrinology and President of the Society of Biological Psychiatry, as a member of the National Advisory Mental Health Council and as Co-Editor for the international journal, Psychoneuroendocrinology. In 2019, Dr. Kalin was appointed as the Editor-in-Chief of the American Journal of Psychiatry.
Learning objectives: 

 1. Recognize early life risk factors to develop anxiety and depression.
 2. Describe brain alterations associated with childhood illness.
 3. Consider ideas about treatment informed by neuroscientific evidence.

Peter L. Strick, Ph.D., January 19, 2021

"The Neural Basis of the 'Brain-Body' Connection"

William K. Warren, Jr.  Frontiers in Neuroscience Lecture 
Virtual Presentation via Zoom (email for details) 
12:00 pm - 1:00 pm     Program

Peter L. Strick, Ph.D., Thomas Detre Professor and Chair, Department of Neurobiology; Scientific Director, University of Pittsburgh Brain Institute; Co-Director, Center for Neuroscience, University of Pittsburgh.

Peter L. Strick, Ph.D., received his B.A. (Biology, 1968) and Ph.D. (Anatomy, 1972) from the University of Pennsylvania. Then, he was a Staff Fellow in Edward V. Evarts’ Laboratory of Neurophysiology at NIMH (1972-1976). In 1976, Strick moved to the VA Medical Center, Syracuse, NY and the Departments of Neurosurgery and Physiology, SUNY-Upstate Medical Center. He was appointed George W. Perkins, III Memorial Professor in Neurosurgery (1988) and served as Acting President of the Central New York Research Corp. (1994-1996), and Interim Director of the Neuroscience Program at SUNY-Upstate (1997-1998).

In 2000, Strick moved to the University of Pittsburgh to become Co-Director, Center for the Neural Basis of Cognition and Professor, Departments of Neurobiology, Neurological Surgery, Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, and Psychiatry. In 2007, Strick became the founding Director of the Systems Neuroscience Center at the University of Pittsburgh Medical School. In 2012, Strick was appointed the Thomas Detre Professor and Chair, Department of Neurobiology and co-director for the Center for Neuroscience. Strick also was appointed the founding Scientific Director of the University of Pittsburgh Brain Institute (2014-).

Strick co-founded the Neural Control of Movement Society (1990) and served as its Conference Co-Chair, Program Chair (1990-2007) and President (2007-2010). He was elected, Scientific Councilor (1996-2000) and Treasurer (1998-2000) of the Society for Neuroscience. He served as Section Editor (1986-1995) and then Editor-in-Chief, Journal of Neurophysiology (1995-2002), and he currently serves as Senior Editor, Cerebral Cortex (2003-) and on the PNAS Editorial Board (2016-).

Strick's major awards include the C.J. Herrick Award from the American Association of Anatomists (1979); Javits Neuroscience Investigator Award from NIH-NINDS (1986); Established Investigator Award from NARSAD (1995-1996); President's Award for Excellence and Leadership in Research, SUNY-Upstate Medical Center (1996); Senior Research Career Scientist Award from the Veterans Administration (1987-2015); University Distinguished Professor of Neurobiology (2011) and Chancellor's Distinguished Research Award, Senior Scholar, University of Pittsburgh (2013); Linné Lecture, Uppsala University (2017); Paul D. MacLean Award, American Psychosomatic Society (2018); Carnegie Science Award in the Life Sciences, (2018); and the Krieg Cortical Kudos Discoverer Award, Cajal Club (2019). Strick was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (2004) and to the National Academy of Sciences (2012).

Strick's research focuses on four major areas: the generation and control of voluntary movement by the motor areas of the cerebral cortex; the motor and cognitive functions of the basal ganglia and cerebellum; the neural basis for the mind-body connection; and unraveling the complex neural networks that comprise the central nervous system.

Learning objectives: 

 1. Identify the types of cortical areas that influence the function of the adrenal medulla.
 2. Identify the areas of the cerebral cortex that influence sympathetic output of the stomach.
 3. Identify the areas of the cerebral cortex that influence parasympathetic output to the stomach.
 

Yael Niv, Ph.D., November 18, 2020

"Latent Causes, Prediction Errors, and the Organization of Memory"

William K. Warren, Jr.  Frontiers in Neuroscience Lecture 
Virtual Presentation via Zoom (email for details)
12:00 pm - 1:00 pm     Program

Yael Niv received her MA in Psychobiology from Tel Aviv University and her PhD in Computational Neuroscience from the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, having conducted a major part of her thesis research at the Gatsby Computational Neuroscience Unit in UCL. She is currently a professor at Princeton University, at the Psychology Department and the Princeton Neuroscience Institute. Her lab's research focuses on the neural and computational processes underlying reinforcement learning and decision making, with a particular focus on how the cognitive processes of attention, memory and learning interact in constructing task representations that allow efficient learning and decision making. She is co-founder and co-director of the Rutgers-Princeton Center for Computational Cognitive Neuropsychiatry, where she is applying ideas from reinforcement learning to questions pertaining to psychiatric disorders within the new field of computational psychiatry. 

Learning objectives: 

1. Participants will understand what is a latent cause in learning theory.
2. Participants will understand why latent causes are useful in organizing memories.
3. Participants will understand the role of prediction errors in segmenting latent causes and, therefore, in organizing episodic memories

Jennifer Blackford, Ph.D., October 6, 2020

"What Causes Anxiety?  Building a Reverse Translational Model"

William K. Warren, Jr.  Frontiers in Neuroscience Lecture 
Virtual Presentation via Zoom 
12:00 pm - 1:00 pm     Program
Dr. Blackford is a Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences and Vanderbilt University Medical Center, a Professor of Psychology at Vanderbilt University, and a Research Scientist at the Tennessee Valley VA. Dr. Blackford obtained her PhD in Developmental Psychology from Vanderbilt University, followed by training in neuroimaging and genetics, supported by a National Institute of Mental Health Mentored Career Development Award. Dr. Blackford's research is focused on identifying and characterizing the neurobiological basis of anxiety and the role of anxiety neurocircuitry in psychiatric disorders including PTSD, alcohol use disorders, and schizophrenia. She uses multi-modal and multi-level approaches. Multiple imaging methods are used to characterize brain structure, function, and connectivity. To provide a comprehensive assessment of anxiety, data are collected at the level of the brain, physiology, and behaviors. The long term goal of this research program is to use these discoveries to develop new prevention strategies for children at high-risk for developing psychiatric disorders and new treatments for individuals suffering with these disorders.
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Learning objectives: 

 1. Compare the difference between fear and anxiety.
 2. State challenges for translating rodent findings to humans.
 3. Discuss the BNST's role in anxiety and addiction.