Neuroscience Research Department: CAMH Research Annual Report 2002

Mental illness and addiction will continue to affect people's lives the same way until research reveals the mechanisms involved in these disorders. Understanding how alcohol, other drugs and psychiatric problems affect the human body and brain is crucial to the development of more effective approaches to treatment and prevention.

The Neuroscience Research Department focuses on neurobiological mechanisms underlying mental illnesses, addiction and their respective treatments. The Neuroscience Research Department benefits from state-of-the-art, in-house research facilities. These facilities include the Positron Emission Tomography (pet) Centre, which allows researchers to scan the brains of live human subjects, and the Transgenic Research Centre, which can alter the genetic makeup of laboratory mice to mimic human diseases such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder or addiction.

Each neuroscience research section has its own health theme and neurobiological emphasis. We are investigating how variations in the action of dopamine -- a "neuro-transmitter," or chemical that allows signals to pass between cells in the brain -- have been linked to a range of problems, from schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and Parkinson's disease to dependence on alcohol, cocaine, nicotine, and amphetamines. Disturbances in signal transduction and molecular and genetic mechanisms within cells are also of great interest, and are now believed to be critical determinants of mental illness and addiction. Examining the genes for neurotransmitters, and other systems known to be involved in drug response, may lead us to predict the type and amount of medication best for each individual patient. Pharmacogenetics, the study of how genes relate to drug response, may also help to predict those people who are at higher risk for addictions.

By exploring these research strategies, researchers within the Neuroscience Research Department broaden our understanding of mental illness and addiction and lay the basis for potential new treatments of the future.

The following pages show how the work of our neuroscientists is recognized throughout the world, and how we are making enormous strides toward unravelling the complexities of mind and brain. Our diverse research is well integrated, and a rich cross-fostering of ideas is evident in innovative combinations of methods across the department. One example of this integration is our recent initiative that combined molecular genetics, epigenetics, and pet scans to simultaneously assess the human brain's blueprint and biologic activity in depression and in Parkinson's disease. Following forward from our initial pilot studies linking pet images to genetic variants, we now have the world's largest collection (more than 250) of dna samples from patients who have undergone pet scans.

In the past few years, we have focused on consolidating and building on the strengths of our neuroscience research group, and establishing future priorities. In the months and years to come, neuroscience will gain increasing importance in the education, clinical and research activities of the Centre. The growth and activities of our department have been incorporated into the Functional Plan for the new Queen Street site development, which promises more space and resources to further enhance our world-class efforts in neuroscience research and training.

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