Valuable discoveries can be made when great minds work together. As several Department of Psychiatry researchers move their laboratories to the new Pappajohn Biomedical Discovery Building, a big step on the journey that is the University of Iowa Neurosciences Institute has been taken.
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A new class of compounds has now been shown to protect brain cells from the type of damage caused by blast-mediated traumatic brain injury (TBI). Mice that were treated with these compounds 24-36 hours after experiencing TBI from a blast injury were protected from the harmful effects of TBI, including problems with learning, memory, and movement.
James B. Potash, MD, MPH, Chair and Department Executive Officer of Psychiatry, had many areas of excellence to highlight at the annual State of the Department Meeting, held July 29 on the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics campus. Dr. Potash outlined a legacy of discovery within the department, discussing the accomplishments of researchers from the past and those making strides in the field today, in areas such as neuropsychiatry, psychopharmacology, genetics, and personality studies.
Nancy C. Andreasen, MD, PhD, a Professor who holds the Andrew H. Woods Chair in Psychiatry, wrote a captivating article on the “Secrets of the Creative Brain,” which is featured in the July/August 2014 issue of The Atlantic, among the nation’s leading magazines. The article is based on Andreasen’s...
On June 13, the Psychiatry Department at the University of Iowa held a ceremony for their 2014 graduating residents. The event was held at the Feller Club Room at Carver Hawkeye Arena and included the presentation of numerous awards.
University of Iowa researchers have discovered a new form of neurotransmission that influences the long-lasting memory created by addictive drugs, like cocaine and opioids, and the subsequent craving for these drugs of abuse. Loss of this type of neurotransmission creates changes in brains cells that resemble the changes caused by drug addiction.
A University of Iowa study confirms that pathological gambling runs in families and shows that first-degree relatives of pathological gamblers are eight times more likely to develop this problem in their lifetime than relatives of people without pathological gambling.
Scientists probing the link between depression and a hormone that controls hunger have found that the hormone's antidepressant activity is due to its ability to protect newborn neurons in a part of the brain that controls mood, memory, and complex eating behaviors. Moreover, the researchers also showed that a new class of neuroprotective molecules achieves the same effect by working in the same part of the brain, and may thus represent a powerful new approach for treating depression.
Over the past few years, the University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine has sponsored two groups to participate in this innovative program. Four of the six members of the second group (pictured above), who just completed the program in January, were from the Department of Psychiatry: Drs. Alison Lynch, Jennifer McWilliams, and Carolyn Turvey and Betsy Hradek, an Advanced Registered Nurse Practitioner. Garen Carpenter, Interim Chief of Staff with hospital administration, was the fifth member of this group.
It's a key step in raising awareness of cultural psychiatry. Dr. Nicole del Castillo works in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at UI Hospitals and Clinics. Beginning in 2011, she earned the honor of being a member of the Minority Fellowship Program courtesy of the American Psychiatric Association (APA)/Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).