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Dear colleagues, It’s a great pleasure to invite you to the 5th International Congress on Neurobiology, Psychopharmacology and Treatment Guidance which will take place in Chalkidiki, Greece, on May 25-28, 2017. After the great success of the 4th Congress which was held in 2015, this fifth Congress again aims at being valuable for the clinicians who fight daily in the front line for the treatment of real-world patients. In this frame, our goal is to provide a global and comprehensive update of the newest developments in Psychiatry and the allied sciences in a manner, which will be both focused and enriched. The rule is to avoid content-free eloquence and authority and to face hard questions on the base of research findings. Many worldwide experts have been invited to share with us their knowledge and experience once again with the support and guidance of the European Psychiatric Association, the World Psychiatric Association and under the Auspices of the School of Medicine, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. During these difficult circumstances for the world economy, advanced education and training is the only way to the future. Teaching clinical usefulness and application of new knowledge and informed treatment with psychopharmacological agents in a truly multidisciplinary approach is the central axis of the meeting and although the congress will embrace high tech research con- cerning psychopathology, new treatment methods, genetics and molecular biology, it also aims on putting the emphasis on the human factor, both the therapist and the patient. Apart from the humanistic tradition of Psychiatry and life sciences, the continuous and uncondi- tional investment on the high level training of professionals and education of patients and their families, emerged as a significant challenge during the last few decades. Medical scientists and public health policy makers are increasingly concerned that the scientific discoveries are failing to be translated efficiently into tangible human benefit. Today, in an all the more complex and technologically advanced environment, the human factor emerges again as the most valuable one, the factor that determines the final outcome. This 5th ICNP specifically focuses on the ultimate aim: that is to empower and eventually free patients and their families from the burden of mental disease and fighting for full remission and functional rehabilitation. It also includes the distinguished aim to spread high-level training to younger generations by including symposia organized by medical students and psychiatric residents from around the world. As hosts and organizers, we shall spare no effort in making your participation scientifically re- warding and meaningful and your stay in Chalkidiki as enjoyable as possible. Konstantinos N. Fountoulakis Associate Professor of Psychiatry, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece Chair of the 5th International Congress on Neurobiology, Psychopharmacology & Treatment Guidance - ICNP2017 3 Friends and Colleagues, I regret that I cannot join you at the 5th International Congress on Neurobiol- ogy, Psychopharmacology and Treatment Guidance in the beautiful Chalkidiki Peninsula. With a fine scientific program of quality speakers, I have no doubt that the event will be a meaningful and enjoyable use of your time. ‘Working together for a better future’ is an ongoing goal of this congress and stresses the impor- tance of working collaboratively not only with other psychiatrists and mental health profession- als but also with patients and empowering them throughout the treatment process; is a topic that underpins much of my own work with the World Psychiatric Association (WPA). Indeed it is my belief that it is vital for all stakeholders in the mental health enterprise - patients, family members, mental health providers, social welfare agencies, and others - to work together to reach an understanding about their common interests. Combining their efforts will help create the convincing arguments needed to persuade government leaders and community members to invest societal resources in mental health care and in the educational and research efforts essential to the promotion of mental health. A taskforce established by the WPA in the years 2008-2011 highlighted the importance of de- veloping a unified approach to advocacy for mental health at country and international levels. Adequate support for mental health care in any country requires a united voice, but in many countries there are weak partnerships between the many stakeholders concerned about men- tal health. Patients and their family members are a crucial component of the coalition that is needed to instigate changes in the provision of services to people with mental illnesses. However, support from others for their systematic involvement is uncommon The WPA has reinforced calls from psychiatrists and advocacy groups for the inclusion of service users and family carers in all decisions directly and indirectly related to the treatment, rehabilitation and recovery of people with mental illnesses. Part of my responsibility within WPA’s current action plan is to explore ways we can help to achieve this. It is work that WPA is committed to doing and that we look forward to continuing with your help in this triennium and the next. I wish you a wonderful Congress! Helen Herrman President Elect, World Psychiatric Association 4 Reflections of human neurocognitive abilities The Chauvet Cave is located in the Ardèche department of south- ern France. It is a cave that contains some of the best preserved figurative cave paintings in the world, as well as other evidence of Upper Paleolithic life. Discovered on December 18, 1994, it is con- sidered one of the most significant prehistoric art sites and the UN’s cultural agency UNESCO granted it World Heritage status on June 22, 2014. Its paintings, along with those of Lascaux and the Cave of Altamira, have been dubbed a "prehistoric Sistine Chapel". Based on radiocarbon dating, the cave appears to have been used by humans during two dis- tinct periods: the Aurignacian and the Gravettian. Most of the artwork dates to the earlier, Aurignacian, era (30,000 to 32,000 years ago). The later Gravettian occupation, which occurred 25,000 to 27,000 years ago, left little but a child's footprints, the charred remains of ancient hearths, and carbon smoke stains from torches that lit the caves. The footprints may be the oldest human footprints that can be dated accurately. Hundreds of animal paintings have been catalogued, depicting at least 13 different species, including some rarely or never found in other ice age paintings. Rather than depicting only the familiar her- bivores that predominate in Paleolithic cave art, i.e. horses, cattle, mammoths, etc., the walls of the Chauvet Cave feature many pred- atory animals, e.g., cave lions, panthers, bears, and cave hyenas. There are also paintings of rhinoceroses. The artists who produced these unique paintings used techniques rarely found in other cave art. Many of the paintings appear to have been made only after the walls were scraped clear of debris and concretions, leaving a smoother and noticeably lighter area upon which the artists worked. Similarly, a three-dimensional qual- ity and the suggestion of movement are achieved by incising or etching around the outlines of certain figures. The art is also excep- tional for its time for including "scenes", e.g., animals interacting with each other. These exceptional cave paintings clearly show that the mind of primi- tive humans several thousand years ago had the inherent ability to catch and reproduce three-dimensional images and scenes of every- day life with remarkable mastery and impressive elaboration. This hap- pened without any formal training and education, at least not in the way we conceive them today. 5 Main Topics of the Congress The main topics of the Congress are the following: Organizing/Scientific Committee & Faculty • Animal Models • Neuropsychology • Anxiety disorders • Neurophysiology • Basic Neuroscience • Neuropsychobiology • Behavioural disorders • Neuropsychoendocrinology • Bioethics • Non pharmacological biological therapies • Biological rhythms • Nosology and classification • Biomedical Technology • Pharmacogenetics • Childhood and adolescence disorders • Psychiatric Genetics • Clinical Psychiatry • Psychogeriatrics • Clinical Psychopharmacology • Psychoimmunology • Dementia • Psychometrics • Drug development • Psychopharmacology • Eating disorders • Psychophysiology • Evidence-based psychiatry • Psychosocial and other non-biological • Experimental Psychopharmacology therapies and interventions • Forensic Psychiatry • Schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders • Health Economics and Quality of Life • Sexual behaviour and disorders • Information technology and neuroscience • Sleep • Learning abilities and disabilities • Social Psychiatry • Major disaster and mental health • Stress • Memory and cognitive disorders • Substance abuse and dependence • Methodology in Psychiatric research • Suicide • Molecular Psychiatry • Transcultural Psychiatry • Mood disorders • Treatment guidelines • Neural Networks • Violence • Neuroimaging 6 Honorary Chair of the Congress: Constantin Soldatos (Greece) Executive Chair of the Congress: Konstantinos N. Fountoulakis (Greece) Organizing/Scientific Committee & Faculty Chairman: Hagop S. Akiskal (USA) Members: Agorastos A. (Germany) Halaris A. (USA) Pastiadis K. (Greece) Aleman A. (The Netherlands) Halbreich U. (USA) Perugi G. (Italy)

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