Welcome to Session 2 of NPiP!
In many ways, psychosis can be seen as the archetypal psychiatric phenomenon. Accounts of psychotic experiences date back thousands of years. Some of the earliest work in psychiatry – before the field could even be called “psychiatry” – was trying to understand psychosis. What causes someone to lose their connection to the world? Perhaps more terrifying, what does it mean to lose connection to one’s self?
Today, we still categorize psychotic illnesses with a framework that was established more than a century ago. But, believe it or not: things have changed. Modern research is offering new insights into causes of psychosis, alternative diagnostic schema, and—crucially – new tools for treating psychosis. Jump into this session’s materials to explore one of the oldest and most salient topics in psychiatry!
On Your Own
- Ten to the Fifteenth, The Official Podcast of the National Neuroscience Curriculum Initiative: Episode 2: de novo.
Our first episode included discussion of heterogeneity among individuals with psychosis, including a description of the B-SNIP study. Episode 2 takes us back to the most fundamental question: What causes psychiatric illness?
Brief commentaries highlighting different aspects of the neurobiology of psychosis:
- Kraepelin’s Crumbling Twin Pillars: Using Biology to Reconstruct Psychiatric Nosology from the Bottom Up. A more in-depth version of the B-SNIP story. (Note: you can also check out Endophenotypes and Psychosis for a brief video of Godfrey Pearlson explaining the study.)
- Guided by Voices: Hallucinations and the Psychosis Spectrum. A piece that explores the provocative question of whether and when hearing voices is pathological.
- The N-Methyl-D-Aspartate Receptor: Memory, Madness, and More. A great foundational piece on the role of the NMDA receptor in health and illness.
- Afflicted by the Gods: The Shared History and Neurobiology of Psychosis and Epilepsy. What is a neurologic disease, and what is a psychiatric disease? The more we learn, the harder it is to answer that question.
Optional Readings / Activities
- “Old Syndromes, New Eyes” – one of our favorite “This ‘Stuff’ Is Really Cool” (TSIRC) videos (7-10’ presentations that are designed to be a hybrid between a TED talk, a Moth Story, and a Pecha Kucha. Each piece is designed to take one core concept in neuroscience and make it clear, relevant, and accessible for a broad audience.) If you haven’t already seen it… stop reading this right now and go watch.
- Same content, in commentary form: Schizophrenia: A Homecoming. Take your pick!
- “Windows to the Soul” – another cool TSIRC on an underappreciated aspect of psychosis.
- Same content in commentary form: Seeing Through Psychosis. Take your pick!
- “Franklin’s Future” – Integrating neurobiology and genetics into understanding psychosis
In Your Pod (or on your own)
- Neuroscience of Delusions. How can we integrate a neuroscience perspective into our every work? Discuss the case with your pod before and after watching the 12-minute video on how our brains can develop delusional beliefs.
- Neuroscience Lab, Cognition in Schizophrenia. A fun, interactive, online exercise on an underappreciated aspect of psychosis.