Unmet needs in psychiatric conditions

Five satellite symposia included discussion of:

• In schizophrenia, how tailoring therapeutic choices can help a person toward functional recovery;¹ the impact of cognitive impairment and how best to manage it; trace ‘amine-associated receptor 1’ as a therapeutic target; and unmet needs for treatment-resistant schizophrenia
• How insomnia is linked to several comorbidities and potential new treatments
• Unmet needs in treatment-resistant depression

There are still many unmet needs in treatment for depression, schizophrenia and insomnia

Five ‘Campfire Sessions’ allowed more intimate discussion on:

• Aberrant insulin signaling in dementias and psychiatric conditions;² closing the longevity gap in psychotic disorders; the role of air pollution on cognition, behavior and psychomotor development; a digital tool to help people with regard to PTSD; and whether the ‘hybrid’ conference should be here to stay

The hybrid conference may be here to stay

Talking about COVID-19, in vitro models and new targets in Alzheimer’s disease

Three ‘Brainstorming Sessions’ delivered short presentations followed by longer discussions:

• There is a striking rate of post-COVID depression;³ discussion was held as to whether this is a distinct entity and what potential treatments are
• Induced pluripotent stem cell models present a way to model the brain,⁴ but how much can they reveal the complex interplay that occurs in the Central Nervous System in a psychiatric illness?
• The amyloid-cascade hypothesis of Alzheimer’s disease etiology may not hold for all cases, with other potential pathogenic pathways and new targets for pharmacotherapy discussed⁵

There are worrying amounts of new psychiatric conditions, including depression and anxiety, following COVID-19 infection

The latest findings in Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), memory, emotional regulation and pregnancy

Six symposium tackled some key issues in psychiatric conditions:

• Comorbid ADHD, mood, anxiety, and substance disorders can severely impact quality of life; here, epidemiological findings, common genetic pathways and non-pharmacological therapy clinical trial data on was shared⁶
• The latest studies in memory plasticity were utilized to highlight if emerging pharmacotherapy targets could tackle maladaptive behavioral patterns in addiction and stress
• Also presented was how state-of-the-art technologies can reveal clues to the molecular and cellular stress can have on memory and therapeutic targets
• Emotional regulation can be particularly difficult in adolescence and how this can be quantified and targeted for treatment was explored⁷
• Data from neuroimaging and genomic modalities can be mined using machine and deep learning techniques to provide clues to brain functioning in health and disease
• An overview was presented of brain changes in pregnancy and the post-partum period along with associations with mood disorders

New technologies are revealing the neurobiology of memory, stress, and pregnancy

Tackling stress

Professor Carmen Sandi’s Plenary Lecture focused on the involvement of mitochondrial function and metabolism in the nucleus accumbens, the brain’s ‘motivational hub,’ which has led to an understanding of stress vulnerability and depression and anxiety comorbidity.⁸

Dr. Annamaria Cattaneo’s Plenary Lecture examined the circumstances under which early life stress exposure can lead to development of psychiatric disorders and the molecular mechanisms of such.

‘Interactive Format’ sessions gave attendees a chance to hear and chat about peoples’ experiences as researchers and clinicians; gender and diversity issues in brain sciences;⁹ and digital phenotyping in mental health.