Eating Disorders (EDs) are among the most prevalent psychiatric disorders yet also among the most misunderstood. Dr. Cynthia Bulik, a BBRF Distinguished Investigator, explains her research indicating that anorexia nervosa, the most deadly ED, is also a disorder of the body's metabolic system. This research, which may also be extended to other EDs, is leading to new treatment ideas.
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We write about a novel idea to address brain-based disorders that has moved from theory to bedside in only 3 years. Called closed-loop neuromodulation, it involves using electrical stimulation—delivered via an implanted deep-brain stimulation (DBS) device—at a precise location in the brain. The stimulation occurs intermittently throughout each day for only seconds at a time, and only at moments when a sensor placed in another part of the brain detects a specific EEG brain-wave pattern linked with the onset of a patient’s depressed moods. In its first clinical test, a treatment-resistant patient experienced a remission.
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Research on COVID’s impacts indicates how the pandemic is affecting families and child mental health, as well as how racial and socioeconomic factors can exacerbate risk and pose obstacles to care for those who are underserved by the healthcare system.
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In-depth discussion summarizing some of the most important findings to date about the possibility of using psychedelic compounds to treat individuals with psychiatric illness. We feature comments from experts in the field (several of them members of BBRF’s Scientific Council), who have been generally supportive, but careful, stressing what is known and what remains unknown about psychedelic-assisted psychiatric treatments. They have raised important questions about who should and should not be considered a candidate for such therapy and about the optimal conditions in which psychedelics should be administered.
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Lynnette Averill, Ph.D., a clinical psychologist affiliated with the Baylor College of Medicine, Yale University, and the Department of Veterans Affairs, studies the causes and consequences of trauma-related psychopathology and suicidality, and is investigating novel rapid-acting interventions. She explains her special interest in the role that ketamine and psychedelics (including psilocybin and MDMA) could play treating veterans and others with severe PTSD who are at high risk for suicidal thoughts and behaviors.
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