Autism Spectrum Disorder is a disorder that has been defined by the medical community, but so far, none of the medications available for ASD treat the core symptoms of the disease, but rather secondary symptoms such as agitation or hyperactivity. Because ASD is genetically linked to Fragile X syndrome, researchers noticed that in a mouse model, the drug arbaclofen reduced what would be core symptoms of autism, such as combatting social avoidance and improving social function. A randomized placebo-controlled trial was conducted to test this idea and the results were recently published in Neuropsychopharmacology. Listen to the latest BrainPod to hear Dr. Jeremy Veenstra-VanderWeele discuss these results!

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The National Institutes of Health recently published a statement requiring sex as a biological variable in studies. This is in part simply because it's good science, and in part to correct for decades in which both animal and human studies were largely conducted with male subjects. In their review paper responding to this statement, Dr. Tracy Bale and Dr. Neill Epperson discuss how sex has a direct impact on brain development, and how it results in a sexually dimorphic brain: meaning there are physical differences between males and females. Listen to the latest BrainPod, Neuropsychopharmacology's official podcast, to hear Dr. Bale and Dr. Epperson discuss this topic!

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The National Institutes of Health recently published a statement requiring sex as a biological variable in studies. This is in part simply because it's good science, and in part to correct for decades in which both animal and human studies were largely conducted with male subjects. In their review paper responding to this statement, Dr. Tracy Bale and Dr. Neill Epperson discuss how sex has a direct impact on brain development, and how it results in a sexually dimorphic brain: meaning there are physical differences between males and females. Listen to the latest BrainPod, Neuropsychopharmacology's official podcast, to hear Dr. Bale and Dr. Epperson discuss this topic!

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The 2017 issue of Neuropsychopharmacology Reviews, "The Immunology of Behavior focuses on the growing appreciation of the immune system in understanding brain and health illness.This podcast synthesizes this year's issue, which showcases a wide range of reviews about the relationship between immunology and brain and health illness, demonstrating how advances in our understanding of immunology have led to novel insights into psychiatric illnesses and their treatment. Hear more from Andrew H Miller, Ebrahim Haroon, and Jennifer C Felger, the editors of this NPPR issue!

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LSD is not only a well-known psychedelic drug, but it was also studied extensively for its potential in psychotherapy in the early days of its use, about fifty years ago. Those early studies didn't necessarily meet today's standards for clinical trials, and previous research ended in the 1970s, due to changing regulations and a prohibition against LSD. Today, LSD is once again being studied for its therapeutic use, this time in a carefully controlled clinical setting. In a recent study, a team of researchers investigated LSD's effects on fear recognition, emotional empathy, and sociality. Listen to the latest BrainPod, Neuropsychopharmacology's official podcast, to hear Dr. Matthias Liechti discuss this study!

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Smartphones have become nearly ubiquitous in the United States. These mini-computers that we carry around in our bags or pockets have the potential to dramatically influence the practice of medicine, including psychiatry. A team of researchers is currently investigating the use of smartphones for what's known as digital phenotyping, or the continuous monitoring of someone's status via a personal digital device, to enhance behavioral and mental health. Listen to this month's BrainPod to hear Dr. JP Onnela discuss how digital phenotyping is crucial for studying mental health disorders.

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Lately, scientists have begun to pay closer attention to the numbers of men and women who present at scientific meetings. Even in those fields where women are a majority, men dominate speaking roles; in 2011, a group of leaders in neuroscience fields decided to remedy this situation. By the 2015 annual meeting of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology, women made up 70% of the plenary speaking roles. Listen to this month's Brainpod to hear Dr. Bita Moghaddam and Dr. Raquel Gur discuss the importance of women at the podium, how their approach was successful, and what challenges still remain.

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Lately, scientists have begun to pay closer attention to the numbers of men and women who present at scientific meetings. Even in those fields where women are a majority, men dominate speaking roles; in 2011, a group of leaders in neuroscience fields decided to remedy this situation. By the 2015 annual meeting of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology, women made up 70% of the plenary speaking roles. Listen to this month's Brainpod to hear Dr. Bita Moghaddam and Dr. Raquel Gur discuss the importance of women at the podium, how their approach was successful, and what challenges still remain

There has been a recent and notable increase in the non-medical use of new psychoactive substances (NPS), or "designer drugs." Unlike classic drugs of abuse, many NPS were initially developed for research purposes. In this podcast, Drs. Michael Baumann and Nora Volkow discuss the complexities of working with these substances and how, given their genesis, research with NPS could be considered "dual use;" or, potentially utilized for both beneficial and malicious purposes.

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Marijuana use for medical purposes is becoming increasingly common in the U.S., and doctors prescribe it for ills ranging from headaches to insomnia. And yet, there is little scientific data supporting its medical use. In this podcast, Drs. Margaret Haney and Eden Evins discuss the relationship between cannabis use and two psychiatric disorders: post-traumatic stress disorder and psychotic illnesses, particularly schizophrenia.

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