Psychiatr News January 5, 2007
Volume 42, Number 1, page 12
© 2007 American Psychiatric Association
NIMH Sharpens Focus on Brain
Thomas Insel, M.D., updates the Board of Trustees on programs and
goals of the agency he heads, the National institute of Mental Health (NIMH).
He noted that the research agency is becoming "increasingly
public-health driven" and is narrowing its focus to concentrate on brain
research to learn more about the most disabling mental
illnesses—schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and
autism.
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Thomas Insel, M.D.
David Hathcox
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One major factor propelling NIMH's research agenda, Insel said, is the
"revolution in genomics," which is allowing researchers to study
the biology of mental illness in new ways, with better tools, and at lower
cost.
"By this time next year, we will have a better sense of the genetic
architecture" of these brain illnesses, he stressed. "There will
be breakthroughs at a pace we haven't seen before."
A challenge facing NIMH, he added, is "how to build a bridge"
from the lab to the bedside that allows physicians to apply new knowledge to
clinical practice.
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