Cerebrum

Millions of people suffer from serious mental illness, but very few receive consistent coordinated care. Thomas R. Insel, M.D., talks about his Cerebrum article, "Building the Thermometer for Mental Health," (www.dana.org/Cerebrum/2018/Buil…for_Mental_Health/) his transition from directing the National Institute of Mental Health to co-founding and serving as president of Mindstrong Health, and his efforts to transform the future of mental health care.

Trying to kick drug addiction without medicines is said to be like relying on willpower to overcome diabetes or asthma. Mark Gold, M.D., an adjunct professor in the Department of Psychiatry at Washington University, talks about his Cerebrum article, "Naltrexone: A History and Future Directions," his long career studying addiction and the brain, and an opioid crisis that kills more Americans each day than gun violence or car accidents.

Albert La Spada, M.D., Ph.D., professor of neurology, neurobiology, and cell biology at the Duke University School of Medicine, and author of our Cerebrum article, "A Novel Therapy for Huntington's Disease," discusses a new strategy that could have an impact on treating Huntington's and other degenerative diseases.

Helene Benveniste, Ph.D., a professor of anesthesiology at Yale and author of our Cerebrum article, "The Brain's Waste-Removal System," tells us about her role in the discovery in the glymphatic system and its potential to help treat Alzheimer's and any number of other degenerative diseases.

The fascinating tale of how people learn and retain information. Henry L. "Roddy" Roediger, Ph.D., a professor at Washington University, talks about co-authoring our Cerebrum article, "Remembering What We Learn," strategies to retain information gleaned from more than 50 years of research, and what motivated him to enter the field.

For patients with glioblastoma, the most common primary brain tumor in adults, immunotherapy is still struggling to overcome this lethal malignancy, says Michael Lim, director of the Brain Tumor Immunotherapy Program and coauthor of "Fire in the Smoke: Battling Brain Tumors." Lim, M.D., talks about his career path, different types of tumors, and various approaches to defeating brain cancer.

We may not have the largest brains amongst mammals, but our neocortex is one of the factors that sets us apart in a variety of ways, says Jon H. Kaas, Ph.D., Distinguished, Centennial Professor of Psychology at Vanderbilt University and author of our Cerebrum article, "The Skinny on Brains: Size Matters." Kaas covers such topics as nutrition's impact on brain development, left brain vs. right brain, and whether the human brain has reached its full potential.

Ketamine may be the most significant breakthrough for treating depression in half a century, says Ronald S. Duman, Ph.D., professor of psychiatry and neurobiology and director of the Abraham Ribicoff Research Facilities at Yale University. He talks about his Cerebrum article, "The Dazzling Promise of Ketamine," and the drug's potential and pitfalls.

The fascinating tale of how a prominent neuroscientist and his research team discovered a gene that may change the way we treat pain. Stephen G. Waxman , M.D., Ph.D., founding director of Yale University's Neuroscience & Regeneration Research Center, talks about his Cerebrum article, "Alabama to Beijing… and Back: The Search for a Pain Gene," his path to pain research, and his forthcoming book, Chasing Men on Fire: The Story of the Search for a Pain Gene.

The study of subjective experience represents a significant and increasingly important challenge to cognitive scientists. Joseph LeDoux, Ph.D., founding director of The Emotional Brain Institute at New York University, talks about his Cerebrum article, "Know Thyself: Well-Being and Subjective Experience," his work as founding director of The Emotional Brain Institute at New York University, and his role as a founding member of the popular band, The Amygdaloids.