FBI The Friedman Brain Institute is proud to present the 12th issue of the Informant. The Informant is a triennial newsletter highlighting announcements and events for basic and clinical at Mount Sinai. The purpose of Friedman Brain Institute the Informant is to keep everyone abreast of all that is going on in and out of the labs and clinics that comprise the Friedman Brain Institute, as well as acknowledge those individuals responsible for its success. In addition to sharing the informant information, our hope is that the Informant can be used as a tool to inspire, congratulate, and support one another.

Announcements

Welcome the and Systems Therapeutics Department Chair:

Dr. Paul J. Kenny Chair of Pharmacology and Systems Therapeutics We are pleased to announce the appointment of Paul J. Kenny, PhD, as Chair of the Dorothy H. and Lewis Rosenstiel Department of Pharmacology and Systems Therapeutics at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. Dr. Kenny has also been named Ward-Coleman Chair in Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics and Director of the Experimental Therapeutics Institute. A world-renowned researcher in the neurobiology of obesity and drug addiction, Dr. Kenny has helped to advance the understanding of the mechanisms behind addiction-like behaviors, which has led to the development of medications for these behaviors. His multidisciplinary research involves the study of behavioral paradigms, physiological analyses, and the molecular underpinnings of neurobehavioral disorders. Prior to joining Mount Sinai, Dr. Kenny served as an Associate Professor with Tenure in the Departments of Molecular Therapeutics and Neuroscience at Scripps Research Institute, in Jupiter, Florida. He earned his PhD in neuroscience from King’s College London, and completed his postdoctoral work at Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla, California.

Appointment of Richard N. Rosenthal, MD We are pleased to announce that Richard N. Rosenthal, MD, Professor of at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, will assume a new system-wide position as Medical Director of Addiction Psychiatry in the Mount Sinai Institute of Mental Health (MSIMH), effective January 21, 2014. Dr. Rosenthal will manage clinical operations for inpatient and outpatient addiction services, including inpatient detoxification and rehabilitation units, and opioid treatment programs. Dr. Rosenthal, a leading authority in addiction science, treatment, and policy, directed the Division of Addiction Psychiatry at Albert Einstein College of Medicine. He also founded and directed the Addiction Psychiatry program at Beth Israel Medical Center, creating one of the first ACGME-approved Addiction Psychiatry Fellowships in the United States. MSIMH integrates psychiatric services across the new Mount Sinai Health System.

Zou Lab (Neuroscience)

Recent publications: • Finelli M, Murphy K, Chen L, Zou H. Differential Phosphorylation of Smad1 Integrates BMP and NGF Signaling by Regulating ERK/DUSP during Axon Development. Cell Reports. May. 2013. PMID: 23665221

• Finelli M, Wong J, Zou H. Epigenetic Regulation of Sensory Axon Regeneration after Spinal Cord Injury. Journal of Neuroscience. 2013.

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1 Junqian Xu (Radiology / TMII)

Recent publications: • Xu J*, Moeller S*, Auerbach E, Strupp J, Smith S, Feinberg D, Yacoub E, Ugurbil K. Evaluation of slice accelerations using multiband echo planar imaging at 3 Tesla. NeuroImage, 83, 991–1001, 2013

• Sotiropoulos SN, Moeller S, Jbabdi S, Xu J, Andersson JL, Auerbach EJ, Yacoub E, Feinberg D, Setsompop K, Wald LL, Behrens TEJ, Ugurbil K, Lenglet C. Effects of image reconstruction on fibre orientation mapping from multi-channel diffusion MRI: reducing the noise floor using SENSE. Magnetic Resonance in Medicine, 70, 1682-9, 2013

Sklar Lab (Psychiatry)

Division of Psychiatric Genomics • Congratulations to Pamela Sklar, M.D., Ph.D. on being elected to the Institute of Medicine (IOM) of the National Academy of Sciences, one of the highest honors in health and medicine. The IOM serves as a cohort of the brightest minds, in their respective fields.

Schiller Lab (Psychiatry) • Congratulations to Dr. Collins for a successful thesis defense. • Dr. Schiller was awarded Kavli Frontiers of Science fellowship. Recent Publications: • Mendelsohn A, Pine A, and Schiller D (in press) Between Thoughts and Actions: Motivationally salient cues invigorate mental action in the human brain. Neuron.

• Schiller D, Kanen JW, LeDoux JE, Monfils MH, and Phelps EA (in press) Extinction during reconsolidation of threat memory diminishes prefrontal cortex involvement. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Schaefer Lab (Neuroscience)

• Anne Schaefer received a Sinai Innovation Partners Technology Development Fund Award to further develop the " Novel miRNA-based Treatment of Severe Epilepsy ".

• Mount Sinai filed a U.S. provisional patent application on " Novel miRNA-based Treatment of Severe Epilepsy ".

Recent Publications: • Tan CL, Plotkin JL, Venø MT, von Schimmelmann M, Feinberg P, Mann S, Handler A, Kjems J, Surmeier DJ, O'Carroll D, Greengard P, Schaefer A. MicroRNA-128 governs neuronal excitability and motor behavior in mice. Science. Dec 6;342(6163):1254-8. 2013

Paisán-Ruiz Lab (Neurology)

• The Paisan-Ruiz lab would like to welcome Elena Sanchez-Rodriguez who has recently been recruited as a Postdoctoral Fellow in the Department of Neurology. Dr. Sanchez-Rodriguez received her B.S degree and PhD in Immunogenetics from the University of Granada (Spain) and continued her postdoctoral training at the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation (USA) as an Associate Research Scientist and King’s College London (UK) as a Marie-Curie Postdoctoral Fellow. The focus of her work at Mount Sinai is to elucidate and understand the molecular basis underlying movement disorders. 2

2 Nestler Lab (Neuroscience)

• We congratulate Elizabeth Heller who recently was awarded a 2013 Postdoc Recognition Award.

Recent Publication: • Scobie KN, Damez-Werno D, Sun H, Shao N, Gancarz A, Panganiban CH, Dias C, Koo J, Caiafa P, Kaufman L, Neve RL, Dietz DM, Shen L, Nestler EJ. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2014 Jan 21. [Epub ahead of print] Essential role of poly(ADP-ribosyl)ation in cocaine action.

Recent press releases: • http://www.genengnews.com/gen-news-highlights/new-light-shed-on-role-of-epigenetics-in-cocaine-addiction/ 81249397/

Morishita Lab (Psychiatry)

• The Morishita lab welcomes Milo Smith as a PhD student (co-mentors: Dr. Hirofumi Morishita and Dr. Joel Dudley) and Jenna Short as a master student.

• Congratulations to Ayan Hussein (PREP student) who was awarded to the Gates Millennium Scholarship foundation which will cover her entire graduate study.

• Congratulations to Dr. Morishita on receiving the Mindich Child Health & Development Pilot Grant (co-PI: Hirofumi Morishita & Joel Dudley) and a travel award to present at the 47th Winter Conference on Brain Research.

Recent Publications: • Nabel EM, Morishita H. Regulating critical period plasticity: insight from the visual system to fear circuitry for therapeutic interventions. Front Psychiatry. 2013 Nov 11;4:146. Review.

Hurd Lab (Psychiatry and Neuroscience)

Recent Publications: • Tortoriello G, Morris CV, Alpar A, Fuzik J, Shirran SL, Calvigioni D, Keimpema E, Botting CH, Reinecke K, Herdegen T, Courtney M, Hurd YL and Harkany T. Miswiring the brain: Delta9- tetrahydrocannabinol disrupts cortical development by inducing an SCG10/stathmin-2 degradation pathway. EMBO Journal, in press.

• Michaelides M, Anderson SA, Ananth M, Smirnov D, Thanos PK, Neumaier JF, Wang GJ, Volkow ND, Hurd YL. In vivo cell-specific mesocorticolimbic whole-brain circuit dissection in freely-moving animals. Journal of Clinical Investigations, 123(12):5342-50, 2013.

• Anderson SAR, Michaelides M, Zarnegar P, Ren Y, Fagergren P, Thanos PK, Wang G-J, Bannon M, Neumaier JF, Keller E, Volkow ND, Hurd YL. Impaired Periamygdaloid-Cortex Prodynorphin is Characteristic of Opiate Addiction and Depression. Journal of Clinical Investigations, 123(12):5334-41 2013.

• Karatsoreos I, Thaler J, Borgland S, Champagne F, Hurd YL, and Hill M. Food for Thought: Hormonal, Experiential and Neural Influences on Feeding and Obesity. Journal of Neuroscience, 33(45):17610-6, 2013.

• Chadwick B, Miller ML, Hurd YL, Use during Adolescent Development: Susceptibility to Psychiatric Illness. Front Psychiatry, Oct 14;4:129, 2013.

• Kozlenkov A, Roussos P. Timashpolsky A, Barbu M, Rudchenko S, Bibikova M, Klotzle B, Byne W, Lyddon R, Di Narzo A, Hurd YL, Koonin E, Dracheva S. Differences in DNA methylation between human neuronal and glial cells are concentrated in enhancers and non-CpG sites. Nucleic Acids Research, Epub: Sep 20, 2013.

• Hurd YL, Michaelides M, Miller ML, Jutras-Aswad D. Trajectory of Adolescent Cannabis Use on Addiction Vulnerability. Neuropharmacology. Epub: Aug 14, 2013. 3

3 Hof Lab (Neuroscience)

• Dr. Hof was elected Member of the Dana Alliance for Brain Initiatives.

• Congratulations to Neha Uppal and Hannah Brautigam who successfully defended their PhD theses. Neha was co-mentored by Drs. Hof and Buxbaum and will continue her studies of autism as a postdoc at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine using functional brain imaging. Hannah was co- mentored by Drs. Hof and Gandy and will soon move on to a postdoc at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, where she will pursue her studies of molecular pathology of Alzheimer's disease.

Recent publications: • Kövari E, Herrmann FR, Hof PR, Bouras C. (2013) The relationship between cerebral amyloid angiopathy and cortical microinfarcts in brain ageing and Alzheimer’s disease. Neuropathol. Appl. Neurobiol. 39, 498-509.

• Gama Sosa MA, De Gasperi R, Paulino AJ, Pricop PE, Shaughness MC, Maudlin-Jeronimo E, Hall AA, Janssen WGM, Yuk FJ, Dorr NP, Dickstein DL, McCarron RM, Chavko M, Hof PR, Ahlers ST, Elder GA (2013) Blast overpressure induces shear-related injuries in the brain of rats exposed to a mild traumatic brain injury. Acta Neuropathol. Commun. 1, 51, doi:10.1186/2051-5960-1-51.

• Bianchi S, Stimpson CD, Bauernfeind AL, Schapiro SJ, Baze WB, McArthur MJ, Bronson E, Hopkins WD, Semendeferi K, Jacobs B, Hof PR, Sherwood CC (2013) Dendritic morphology of pyramidal neurons in the chimpanzee neocortex: specializations and comparison to humans. Cereb. Cortex 23, 249-2436.

• Dickstein DL, Weaver CM, Luebke JI, Hof PR (2013) Dendritic spine changes associated with normal aging. Neuroscience 251, 21-32.

• Vogt BA, Hof PR, Zilles K, Vogt LJ, Herold C, Palomero-Gallagher N (2013) Cingulate area 32 homologies in mouse, rat, macaque and human: cytoarchitecture and receptor architecture. J. Comp. Neurol. 521, 4189-4203.

• Teffer K, Buxhoeveden DP, Stimpson CD, Fobbs AJ, Schapiro SS, Baze WB, McArthur MJ, Hopkins WD, Hof PR, Sherwood CC, Semendeferi K (2013) Developmental changes in the spatial organization of neurons in the neocortex of humans and common chimpanzees. J. Comp. Neurol. 521, 4249-4259.

• Perez SE, Raghanti MA, Hof PR, Kramer L, Ikonomovic MD, Lacor PN, Erwin JM, Sherwood CC, Mufson EJ (2013) Alzheimer’s disease pathology in the neocortex and hippocampus of the Western lowland gorilla (Gorilla gorilla gorilla). J. Comp. Neurol. 521, 4318-4338.

Han Lab (Pharmacology and Systems Therapeutics)

• Barbara Juarez was selected to present a “Breaking News” talk at this years Gordon Research Conference on Alcohol & the Nervous System in Galveston, Texas and received the Carl Storm Underrepresented Minority (CSURM) Fellowship.

4 Frangou: Psychosis Research Program (Psychiatry)

Recent Publications: • Frangou S. Snipping at the endophenotypic space. Am J Psychiatry. 2013 Nov 1;170(11): 1223-5.

• Dima D, Jogia J, Collier D, Vassos E, Burdick KE, Frangou S. Independent Modulation of Engagement and Connectivity of the Facial Network During Affect Processing by CACNA1C and ANK3 Risk Genes for Bipolar Disorder. JAMA Psychiatry. 2013;70(12):1303-11.

• Dima D, Jogia J, Frangou S. Dynamic causal modeling of load-dependent modulation of effective connectivity within the verbal working memory network. Hum Brain Mapp. 2013; doi: 10.1002/hbm.22382

• Frangou S. Neurocognition in early-onset schizophrenia. Child Adolesc Psychiatr Clin N Am. 2013;22(4):715-26.

• Schneider C, Corrigall R, Hayes D, Kyriakopoulos M, Frangou S. Systematic review of the efficacy and tolerability of Clozapine in the treatment of youth with early onset schizophrenia. Eur Psychiatry. 2013; 10.1016/j.eurpsy. 2013.08.001

Filizola Lab (Structural and Chemical Biology)

• The Filizola lab welcomes visiting student Ramon Guixà González from the University of Pompeu Fabra, in Barcelona, Spain, and postdoctoral associate Dr. Paola Bisignano from the University of Genoa, in Italy. Ramon is a graduate student completing a thesis on molecular mechanisms of dimerization of adenosine receptors. Paola received her PhD in Drug Discovery from the Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, and has been involved in the development of anti- Alzheimer’s drugs using fragment-based drug design techniques.

• Dr. Filizola joins the Steering Committee for the new Design Technology and Entrepreneurship (DTE) multidisciplinary training area of the Graduate School. • Dr. Filizola was a plenary speaker at the GPCR Workshop 2013, in Maui, Hawaii

Recent Publications: • Mondal S, Johnston J, Wang H, Khelashvili G, Filizola M, Weinstein H. “Membrane Driven Spatial Organization of GPCRs” Nature Scientific Reports (2013) 3 (2909): 1-9 [PMID: 24105260] • Scarabelli G, Provasi D, Negri A, and Filizola M. “Bioactive Conformations of Two Seminal Delta Opioid Receptor Penta-peptides Inferred from Free-Energy Profiles” Biopolymers (2014) 101(1):21-27 [PMID: 23564013]

Casaccia Lab (Neuroscience)

RecentR Publications: PublishedP the first report of genome-wide DNA methylation in the brain of MS patients: • Huynh JL, Garg P, Thin TH, Yoo S, Dutta R, Trapp BD, Haroutunian V, Zhu J, Donovan MJ, Sharp AJ, Casaccia P. Epigenome-wide differences in pathology-free regions of multiple sclerosis- affected brains. Nat Neurosci. 2013 Nov 24. doi: 10.1038/nn.3588. [Epub ahead of print] PubMed PMID: 24270187.

5 Dr. Rita Goldstein and Dr. Alia-Klein (Psychiatry) CCo-Chief’s of NARC (Neuropsychoimaging of Addiction and Related Conditions) ResearchR Program • NARC has begun its imaging protocol in the new state-of-the-art Translational and Molecular Imaging Institute within the Hess Center for Science and Medicine. Our subjects’ testing will be conducted in the KCC (neuropsychology including CANTAB tests, EEG/ERPs and Brain Computer Interface experiments, clinical/diagnostic interviews) and CSM (fMRI, PET/MRI).

• New group members include Tom Maloney, Ph.D., who joined as the Laboratory Operations Manager in November. Tom’s Ph.D. is in biopsychology from Stony Brook University; he managed study operations for Drs. Goldstein and Alia-Klein at Brookhaven National Laboratory. His background includes years of human sleep research as well as clinical sleep disorders medicine, cognitive event-related potentials, neuropsychological testing in drug addicted populations, and database architecture.

Recent press releases: • http://www.mountsinai.org/about-us/newsroom/press-releases/adhd-drug-shows-promise-in-treating-addiction; Consequently press releases in: CBSnews.com (http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-204_162-57591202/cocaine-addiction- may-be-cured-by-ritalin/); • http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-11/tmsh-msf111813.php); Picked up by numerous online outlets including Science Daily (http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/11/131120192151.htm)

Recent Publications: • Moeller SJ, Konova AB, Parvaz MA, Tomasi D, Lane RD, Fort C, & Goldstein RZ (2013). Functional, structural, and emotional correlates of impaired insight in cocaine addiction. JAMA Psychiatry. E-Pub. • Konova AB, Moeller SJ, Goldstein RZ (2013). Common and distinct neural targets of treatment: changing brain function in substance addiction. Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews. 37(10 pt.2): 2806-17

Rita Z. Goldstein, PhD • Received the Society for Neuroscience’s prestigious Jacob P. Waletzky Award in the area of substance abuse and the brain and nervous system (November 2013).

Nelly Alia-Klein, PhD • Board Member, Institutional Review Board (IRB) at the Bronx Veterans Administration, NY (September, 2013).

Scott J. Moeller, PhD • Promoted to Assistant Professor of Psychiatry (October, 2013).

Muhammad A. Parvaz, PhD • Selected for the Mount Sinai Business Fellows program through the Mount Sinai Innovation Partners (October, 2013) • Received the Mount Sinai Postdoctoral Travel Award to attend the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology (ACNP) annual meeting (November, 2013) • Received the ISMMS Postdoc Recognition Award (December, 2013)

Rebecca Preston-Campbell, PhD • Selected to submit a full-proposal on the “Longitudinal patterns of alcohol and aggressive behavior in emerging adults with Intermittent Explosive Disorder” to the UCLA Center for Advancing Longitudinal Drug Abuse Research (CALDAR) Pilot Study Support Program for Emerging Investigators.

6 Buxbaum Lab (Psychiatry)

Update from the Seaver Autism Center In 2013, the Seaver Autism Center published over 40 papers in prestigious peer-reviewed journals, including Neuron, JAMA Psychiatry, American Journal of Human Genetics, and PLOS ONE. The Center received 8 new grants, totaling over $2.25M. New Initiative: Autism Program at the American Museum of Natural History Drs. Michelle Gorenstein-Holtzman and Danielle Halpern have developed and begun a monthly autism program at the American Museum of Natural History. They have conducted two trainings thus far to teach volunteers at the museum about autism, as well as interventions that they can use when conducting tours with children on the spectrum. In addition, staff from the Seaver Center have developed materials (i.e, social stories, visual cues, prompt cards) that the museum utilizes for this program. The first official tour was held in November, and Drs. Gorenstein-Holtzman and Halpern are developing a similar program at the Jewish Museum. New members The Seaver Autism Center welcomes 4 new Seaver Fellows: Aslihan Dincer, MS; Nancy J. Francoeur, MS; Paige Weinger, PhD, and Megan Young, PhD.

Recent Publications: • Hamilton PJ, Campbell NG, Sharma S, Erreger K, Herborg Hansen F, Saunders C, Belovich AN; NIH ARRA Autism Sequencing Consortium, Sahai MA, Cook EH, Gether U, McHaourab HS, Matthies HJ, Sutcliffe JS, Galli A. De novo mutation in the dopamine transporter gene associates dopamine dysfunction with autism spectrum disorder. Mol Psychiatry. 2013 Dec;18(12):1315-23.

• Poultney CS, Goldberg AP, Drapeau E, Kou Y, Harony-Nicolas H, Kajiwara Y, De Rubeis S, Durand S, Stevens C, Rehnström K, Palotie A, Daly MJ, Ma'ayan A, Fromer M, Buxbaum JD. Identification of small exonic CNV from whole-exome sequence data and application to autism spectrum disorder. Am J Hum Genet. 2013 Oct 3;93(4): 607-19.

• Ionita-Laza I, Lee S, Makarov V, Buxbaum JD, Lin X. Family-based association tests for sequence data, and comparisons with population-based association tests. Eur J Hum Genet. 2013 Oct;21(10):1158-62.

• Cross-Disorder Group of the Psychiatric Genomics Consortium. Genetic relationship between five psychiatric disorders estimated from genome-wide SNPs. Nat Genet. 2013 Sep;45(9):984-94. Epub 2013 Aug 11.

• Grodberg D, Weinger PM, Halpern D, Parides M, Kolevzon A, Buxbaum JD. The Autism Mental Status Exam: Sensitivity and Specificity Using DSM-5 Criteria for Autism Spectrum Disorder in Verbally Fluent Adults. J Autism Dev Disord. 2013 Aug 29. [Epub ahead of print]

Brennand Lab (Psychiatry)

• The Brennand lab welcomes two new postdocs: Megan Fitzgerald obtained her PhD from Weill Cornell Graduate School of Medical Sciences in New York. While working with Dr. Virginia Pickel, she studied ultrastructural evidence for the involvement of receptors in the maturation of dopamine receptive prefrontal cortical neurons. Brigham Hartley obtained his PhD from Monash University in Melbourne, Australia. He trained with Dr. John Hayne, and collaborated extensively with Dr. Colin Pouton, where he applied targeted LMX1A- and PITX3-reporter hiPSC lines to improve differentiation of midbrain dopaminergic neurons for the treatment of Parkinson's disease. • Additionally, we would like to congratulate Ngoc Tran for her admission to SUNY Downtown Medical Center!

7 Baxter Lab (Neuroscience)

• The Baxter lab welcomes Levana Amrock (Anesthesiology Research Fellow) and Wendy Schnebelen (Master’s Student) to the Baxter Lab. • Congratulations to Ashley Russo (Master’s Student) on the successful defense of her thesis on the involvement of acetylcholine in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex in working memory.

• Congratulations to Mark Baxter on his appointment as Associate Editor of the journal Behavioral Neuroscience.

Promotions:

Lakshmi Devi, PhD Congratulations to Dr. Devi on her appointment as Dean for Academic Development and Enrichment. Erin A. Hazlett, PhD Congratulations to Dr. Hazlett on her Secondary Appointment as Associate Professor in the Department of Neuroscience. Nellie Alia-Klein, PhD Congratulations to Dr. Alia-Klein on her Secondary Appointment as Research Professor in the Department of Neuroscience. Rita Goldstein, PhD Congratulations to Dr. Goldstein on her Secondary Appointment as Professor in the Department of Neuroscience.

Funding Opportunities

NIH's BRAIN initiative: (http://www.nih.gov/science/brain/index.htm) These RFAs are focused on developing and validating tools to study neural activity, neuronal cell types, and neural circuits in brain. U01 grants: • http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/rfa-files/RFA-NS-14-007.html • http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/rfa-files/RFA-NS-14-008.html • http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/rfa-files/RFA-NS-14-009.html • http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/rfa-files/RFA-MH-14-215.html • http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/rfa-files/RFA-MH-14-216.html R24 grant • http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/rfa-files/RFA-MH-14-217.html

Rensselaer-Icahn School of Medicine Collaborative Project Awards

We are pleased to announce the awardees of the inaugural Icahn School of Medicine- Rensselaer seed funding program to advance collaborative science between the two institutions. These projects were selected from among 29 excellent applications. The remarkably enthusiastic response reflects a strong mutual interest in aligning the strengths of each institution to advance discovery and innovation in biomedical sciences, consistent with the recent establishment of the Mount Sinai Institute of Technology. These projects underscore the value of cross-disciplinary teams in translating our science into new technologies.

We congratulate the awardees and all the applicants for embracing this opportunity, and look forward to learning of the new advances that the projects generate.

Awardees: • Proteoglycan Metabolism and Painful Intervertebral Disc Degeneration (J. Iatridis & R. Linhardt) • Inducing Targeted Mutations in Cells in the Brain In Vivo (E. Nestler & S. Kotha) 8

8 New Grants:

PI Agency Title/Description

Schahram Akbarian, PSY UC Irvine Coordinate Gene Expression via Nucleosome Remodeling and Chromatin Looping Nelly Alia-Klein, PSY NIMH Genes, Brain, and Behavior in Human Aggression Kristen Brennand, PSY NIMH Contrasting causal microRNAs in forebrain and midbrain COS hiPSC neural cells Kristen Brennand, PSY NYSCF Modeling Neurodevelopment of Childhood-Onset-Schizophrenia Joseph Buxbaum, PSY NIMH 1/4-The Autism Sequencing Consortium: Autism gene discovery in >20,000 exomes Patrizia Casaccia, NEU Karyopharm Orally active, Selective Inhibitors of Nuclear Export (SINEs) as Therapeutics neuroprotective agents for MS Roger Clem, NEU BBRF An mGlu1-dependent Mechanisms for Persistent Fear Attention Barbara Coffey, PSY Astrazeneca Lp. A 6-Month, Multicenter, Randomized, Safety, Tolerability, Pharmacokinetic, and Preliminary Efficacy Study of AZD5213 in Adolescents with Tourette's Disorder. Sophia Frangou, PSY EU Commission IMAGEMEND Roland Friedel, NEU NIH-R21 Tracking the in vivo proliferative history of human glioma-derived Jenny Zou, NEUROL stem cells Joseph Friedman, PSY RFMH A Pilot Study of Early Cognitive And Brain Imaging Changes Associated With Risk Factors for Cardiovascular Disease. Samuel Gandy, PSY Polyphenolic, Inc. Phase 11-Grape Seed Extract as Anti-Oligomerization Agent in Alzheimer's Disease Thomas Hildebrandt, PSY Noom Inc. Innovative Use of the Noomonitor Mobile Application in CBT-GSH in Binge Eaters Thomas Hildebrandt, PSY NYU Kappa opioid receptor imaging in anorexia. Yasmin Hurd, PSY NIDA Supplement - Neurodevelopmental Effects of Cannabis and its Epigenetic Regulation Alexander Kolevzon, PSY KTGF Beatrix hamburg Fellowship in Child/Adolescent Psychiatry Alexander Kolevzon, PSY ASF A Pilot Study of Insulin-Like Growth Factor-1 in Autism Hirofumi Morishita, PSY Knights Templar Eye Molecular and Circuit Based Therapeutic Strategy for Amblyopia Fndn. Inc. Hirofumi Morishita, PSY MCDHI Drug Repositioning for Enhancing Brain Plasticity to Reverse & Joel Dudley, GEN Neurodevelopmental Disorders

Judith Neugroschl, PSY Takeda Phameceutical A Double Blind, Randomized, Placebo Controlled, Parallel Group Study to Simultaneously Qualify a Biomarker Algorithm for Prognosis of Risk of Developing Mild Cognitive Impairment due to Alzheimer's Disease (MCI due to AD) and to Test the Safety and Efficacy of Pioglitazone (AD-4833 SR 0.8 mg QD) to Delay the Onset of MCI due to AD in Cognitively Normal Subjects Nikolaos Robakis, PSY NIA /NIH Presenilin1/g-secretase regulate miRNAs and neuronal survival Scott Russo, NEU Sub-contract - Role of NG2+- Cells in Brain Homeostasis and Depression Stony Brook Pamela Sklar , PSY NIMH/NIH Supplement - 4/4-Psychiatric GWAS Consortium:Genomic Follow-Up9 Next-Gen Sequencing & Genotypi

9 In the News:

NIH To Consolidate Brain Biospecimens with “One-Stop” Biorepository of Brain Tissue

The National Institutes of Health is seeking to foster expedited research on brain disorders through a new biospecimens biorepository that will offer a “one-stop” shop for brain tissue used for research. The new NIH NeuroBioBank initiative, which was announced in December, will be a user-friendly web-based resource that will consolidate five leading brain banks toward a tissue-sharing network for the neuroscience community. The initiative, which is being funded by the NIMH, the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), and the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, will feature brain tissue biospecimens from five leading brain banks, including the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, and others. Dr. Vahram Haroutunian, Professor, Psychiatry, Neuroscience Learn more: http://bionews-tx.com/news/2014/01/06/nih-to-consolidate-brain-biospecimens-with-one-stop- biorepository-of-brain-tissue/

Hot Topics 2014: Alzheimer's Disease 1

What do researchers anticipate will be the most important clinical developments in Alzheimer's disease in 2014? Three leading researchers in the field weigh in: Sam Gandy, MD, PhD, Mount Sinai Professor in Alzheimer’s Research, Professor of Neurology and Psychiatry, and Associated Director of the Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, among others. Their answers converged on imaging tests for amyloid plaques, and the treatment and prevention studies those tests will enable. Dr. Sam Gandy, Professor, Neurology, Psychiatry, Associate Director, Alzheimer's Disease Research Center Learn more: http://www.medpagetoday.com/HOTTOPICS2014/special-reports/SpecialReports-Videos/363

Vitamin E May Slow Functional Decline For Some Alzheimer's Patients

Taking vitamin E supplements may delay declines in daily functioning experienced by patients with mild to moderate Alzheimer’s disease, a new study reveals. The research, which will be published on Jan. 1 in the Journal of the American Medical Association, showed that patients who took vitamin E daily were able to stave off annual declines in functioning by about 19 percent longer when it came to performing tasks like shopping and traveling, compared to people who took placebos. “Alzheimer’s disease is a devastating disease that costs individuals quite a bit in quality of life and costs us all in terms of economic expenses," study author Mary Sano, PhD, a professor in the department of psychiatry at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, told CBS News. ”Finding good treatments and cures is very important.” Dr. Mary Sano, Associate Dean for Clinical Research, Professor, Psychiatry, Director of the Alzheimer’s Disease Research Learn more: http://www.cbsnews.com/news/vitamin-e-may-slow-down-functional-decline-for-mild-alzheimers- patients/

Study: Immune Cells outside the Brain may Regulate Propensity to Develop Depression

A new study shows that immune cells outside the brain may regulate propensity to develop depression. The data were presented today at the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology (ACNP) Annual Meeting. In a study, led by Georgia Hodes, MD, Postdoctoral Fellow of Neuroscience at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, the effects of the circulating pro-inflammatory immune chemical called interleukin-6 on depression-like behaviors was investigated in rodents. The investigators found that rodents with increased propensity to show depression-like behaviors had elevated levels of circulating interleukin-6, suggesting that individual differences in the peripheral immune system contributes to vulnerability to developing depression. Dr. Georgia Hodes, Postdoctoral Fellow, Neuroscience Learn more: http://www.news-medical.net/news/20131213/Study-Immune-cells-outside-the-brain-may-regulate- propensity-to-develop-depression.aspx 10

10 In the News (continued):

Nutritional Supplement May Benefit Parkinson's Patients

A common nutritional supplement called inosine safely boosts levels of an antioxidant thought to help people with Parkinson's disease, according to a small new study in JAMA Neurology. "As a phase 2 study, this protocol was not designed to demonstrate whether or not treatment with inosine delayed need for symptomatic therapy for Parkinson's disease," said Steven Frucht, MD, Professor of Neurology and Director of the Movement Disorders Division at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. Dr. Steven Frucht, Professor, Neurology, Director, Movement Disorders Division Learn more: http://consumer.healthday.com/vitamins-and-nutrition-information-27/nutritional-supplements-health- news-504/briefs-emb-12-23-4pmet-inosine-parkinson-s-jama-neurolgy-mgh-release-batch-1071-683277.html

New Research Links miR-128 with Motor Hyperactivity, Epilepsy

A team led by researchers from Mount Sinai this week reported the discovery that a single microRNA — miR-128 — plays a major role in nerve cell excitability and motor activity by regulating an entire neuronal signaling pathway. The data, which were generated in mice, also show that inhibition of the miRNA triggered increased motor activity and fatal epilepsy, and that its overexpression attenuated neural responsiveness, suppressed motor activity, and alleviated the movement abnormalities associated with Parkinson's-like disease and seizures. “Taken together, the findings indicate that miR-128 may be a therapeutic target for epilepsy and other movement disorders,” said study author Anne Schaefer, MD, Assistant Professor of Neuroscience and Psychiatry at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai.

Dr. Anne Schaefer, Assistant Professor, Neuroscience, Psychiatry

Learn more: http://www.genomeweb.com/rnai/new-research-links-mir-128-motor-hyperactivity-epilepsy

Zapping the Brain can Help to Spot-Clean Nasty Memories

A technique, called electroconvulsive (ECT) or electroshock therapy, induces seizures by passing current into the brain through electrode pads placed on the scalp. Despite its sometimes negative reputation, ECT is an effective last-resort treatment for severe depression, and is used today in combination with anesthesia and muscle relaxants. The strategy relies on a theory called memory reconsolidation, which proposes that memories are taken out of 'mental storage' each time they are accessed and ‘re-written' over time back onto the brain's circuits. "This provides very strong and compelling evidence that memories in the human brain undergo reconsolidation, and that a window of opportunity exists to treat bad memories," says Daniela Schiller, MD, Assistant Professor of Psychiatry and Neuroscience at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. Dr. Daniela Schiller, Assistant Professor, Psychiatry, Neuroscience Learn more: http://www.nature.com/news/zapping-the-brain-can-help-to-spot-clean-nasty-memories-1.14431

Delving into Brain Injuries with the NFL’s Money

The National Institutes of Health outlined Monday how it planned to use part of a $30 million grant from the National Football League to finance a series of research projects designed to answer some of the most vexing questions about how and why athletes sustain traumatic brain injuries. The NIH has allocated $12 million to researchers at Boston University School of Medicine, a leader in diagnosing CTE in deceased players, and doctors at The Mount Sinai Hospital, which is working with researchers at the University of Washington who have been examining the brain tissue of thousands of people. The second project, led by Wayne Gordon, PhD, Professor of Rehabilitation Medicine and Associate Professor of Psychiatry at The Mount Sinai Hospital, will seek to describe the effects of mild, moderate and severe brain trauma and compare them to features of CTE. Dr. Wayne Gordon, Professor, Rehabilitation Medicine, Associate Professor, Psychiatry Learn more: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/17/sports/football/agency-selects-brain-trauma-projects-for-nfl- grant.html 11

11 In the News (continued):

Epigenetic Changes Color the Genomes of People with MS

The chemical decorations that adorn DNA could sway the onset or severity of multiple sclerosis just as much as the DNA sequence itself, suggests a study published in Nature Neuroscience. In addition to the genetic sequence that encodes the proteins expressed in each cell, chemical modifications to DNA dictate which genes get turned on and off. The study showed that people with MS display a different set of these modifications—collectively called the epigenome—than do people without the disease. Changes to the epigenome can be sparked by environmental factors such as diet, smoking, stress, and vitamin D levels, so the results of the study support the need for a “more holistic approach” to MS research, said Senior Author Patrizia Casaccia, MD, PhD, Professor of Neuroscience, Genetics and Genomic Sciences, and Neurology at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai.

Dr. Patrizia Casaccia, Professor, Neuroscience, Genetics and Genomic Sciences, Neurology

Learn more: http://www.msdiscovery.org/news/new_findings/8877-epigenetic-changes-color-genomes-people-ms

Brain Injuries Tied to PTSD in Marines

Active-duty Marines who suffer a traumatic brain injury face significantly higher risk of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), according to a new study. "This is an important study that shows an even greater effect between a brain injury and psychological trauma than might have been expected," said Rachel Yehuda, MD, Professor of Psychiatry and Neuroscience, and Director of the Traumatic Stress Studies Division at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai.

Dr. Rachel Yehuda, Professor, Psychiatry; Neuroscience, Director, Traumatic Stress Studies Division

Learn more: http://health.usnews.com/health-news/news/articles/2013/12/11/brain-injuries-tied-to-ptsd-in-marines

Alzheimer's Theory That's Been Drug Graveyard Facing Test

BACE is an enzyme that works like scissors to release the sticky amyloid and create the characteristic plaques that build up in the brains of Alzheimer’s patients. Merck announced this week that it will start approval studies of its BACE inhibitor. “The rationale for this drug is about as good as it gets,” said Samuel Gandy, MD, Mount Sinai Professor in Alzheimer’s Research, Professor of Neurology, Psychiatry, and Associate Director of the Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. “In the lab, BACE inhibitors have been among the most potent compounds for reducing the production of amyloid, thereby preventing formation of the nerve-cell-killing form.”

Dr. Sam Gandy, Mount Sinai Professor in Alzheimer’s Research, Professor, Neurology, Psychiatry, Associate Director, Alzheimer's Disease Research Center

Learn more: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-12-12/merck-s-bid-to-treat-alzheimer-s-tests-fundamental- cause.html

7 Health Predictions for 2014: Better Artificial Body Parts, Thanks to 3D Printing

Whether we're talking about treatment breakthroughs, medical research, or changes in healthcare policy, it's clear that 2013 was a big year for health news. So what's coming in 2014? Earlier this month, Kristjan Ragnarsson, MD, Dr. Lucy G. Moses Professorship and Chair of Rehabilitation Medicine at The Mount Sinai Hospital, unveiled a bionic body suit that allows a patient paralyzed from the waist down to walk.

Dr. Kristjan Ragnarsson, Dr. Lucy G. Moses Professorship in Rehabilitation Medicine, Chair

Learn more: http://www.healthline.com/health-news/tech-what-does-2014-hold-120613

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12 In the News (continued):

Cannabis Effects Passed Down Three Generations in Rats; Offspring Show Reduced Motivation

New evidence shows an intergenerational effect on the motivation of rats whose genetic forbears had been exposed to marijuana. In experiments, investigators gave half the study population injections of marijuana’s active ingredient, delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol. The other half received a saline solution. A generation or two later, the descendants of the first group showed a lowered desire to seek the reward of “highly tasty food,” in laboratory experiments conducted by Yasmin Hurd, PhD, Professor of Psychiatry, Neuroscience, Pharmacology and System Therapeutics at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. Dr. Yasmin Hurd, Professor, Psychiatry, Neuroscience, Pharmacology and System Therapeutics Learn more: http://www.medicaldaily.com/cannabis-effects-passed-down-three-generations-rats-offspring-show- reduced-motivation-264094

Researcher Tests First-in-Class Compound for Neuroprotection with Hope of Stopping MS Disease Progression

A $500,000 drug development grant from the National Multiple Sclerosis Society (NMSS) was awarded to a partnership between a multiple sclerosis research team at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and Karyopharm Therapeutics Inc., a clinical stage pharmaceutical company. Patrizia Casaccia, MD, PhD, a Professor of Neuroscience, and Genetics and Genomics at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, will be the academic lead and will test the effectiveness of a novel Karyopharm compound that can be orally administered and aimed at stopping the progressive phase of the disease. With the 14-month grant, Dr. Casaccia also hopes to gather information that will help design future clinical trials for MS treatments. Dr. Patrizia Casaccia, Professor, Neuroscience, Genetics and Genomics Learn more: http://www.msdiscovery.org/professional-resources/bulletin-boards/8612-researcher-tests-first-class- compound-neuroprotection

Visionary Medicine: Neurosurgery Simulation and the Potential to Save Lives

Brain surgery simulation has remained elusive, both because of its inherent complexity and because of the exquisite, mushy, wet, softness of the human brain itself. It's also hard to distinguish critical structures within the brain from each other. Joshua Bederson, MD, Professor and Chair of Neurosurgery at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, made opening remarks at the Second Annual Neurosurgery Simulation Symposium that included a sobering figure: Neurosurgery in the Mount Sinai Health System covers eight hospitals where 3,290 open neurosurgery procedures are performed each year. Although safety has reached unprecedented levels, brain surgery, he said, entails serious risks and high cost. Dr. Joshua Bederson, Professor and Chair, Neurosurgery Learn more: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/traci-l-slatton/neurosurgery-simulation_b_4268463.html

Addiction Specialists Wary of New Painkiller

A new issue is being raised about the drug Zohydro. The drug will be manufactured by the same company, Alkermes, which makes a popular medication called Vivitrol, used to treat patients addicted to painkillers or alcohol. In addition, the company provides financial support to a leading professional group that represents substance abuse experts, the American Society of Addiction Medicine. For some critics, the company’s multiple roles in the world of painkillers is troubling. Stuart Gitlow, Associate Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, and the current President of the American Society of Addiction Medicine, said he had been unaware until now of Alkermes’s involvement with Zohydro. Dr. Gitlow said that the group would seek more information from Alkermes about the situation and then decide what, if anything, to do next. Dr. Stuart Gitlow, Associate Clinical Professor, Psychiatry Learn more: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/16/business/addiction-specialists-wary-of-new-painkiller.html? hpw&rref=health&_r=0 13

13 In the News (continued):

Gene Deletions May Be Linked to Autism

Researchers reported that individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are more likely to have gene deletions than those without the disorder. Published in the American Journal of Human Genetics, the comparison study included genetic analyses of 431 participants with ASD and 379 people without the condition. “This is the first time that the autophagic pathway has been implicated in autism,” said Joseph Buxbaum, PhD, Lead Author and Professor of Psychiatry, Neuroscience, and Genetic and Genomic Sciences at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. “Since we know that there is excess brain size early in life in individuals with autism, it may be a result of the pathway’s failure to properly prune brain connections.” Dr. Joseph Buxbaum, Professor, Psychiatry, Genetic and Genomic Sciences, Neuroscience Learn more: http://psychnews.psychiatryonline.org/newsarticle.aspx?articleID=1778676

Heroin Addiction Warps Brain's Ability to Change

In a study of abusers' post-mortem brains, longer duration of heroin use was associated with changes in the shape and packaging of DNA in the brain in the ventral and dorsal striatum, areas of the brain associated with drug addiction, according to Yasmin Hurd, PhD, Professor of Psychiatry, Neuroscience, Pharmacology and System Therapeutics at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and colleagues. “The DNA of these patients' brains became more "open" to gene expression and overactive, which may mean that a treatment that helps "close" this gap and reduce overactivity may help temper addiction,” said Dr. Hurd. Dr. Yasmin Hurd, Professor, Psychiatry, Neuroscience, Pharmacology and System Therapeutics Learn more: http://www.medpagetoday.com/MeetingCoverage/SFN/42901

Why Can’t I Remember Names Anymore?

Misplacing the car keys, going blank on the name of a colleague’s wife, or spacing about why you walked into a room can trigger panic, making some of us wonder whether our memories are failing or if we might have early-onset Alzheimer’s Disease. Although cognitive loss is inevitable as we age, the results of a 10-year study of 10,000 adults published in the British Medical Journal suggest that for most people, it won’t happen until age 45. According to Carolyn Brockington, MD, Director of the Stroke Center at St. Luke’s and Roosevelt Hospitals, the reason for your mind fumbles is likely very simple. “Most short-term memory loss is stress-related. We're all running around doing a million things, and although many people think they can multitask well, the brain sometimes has trouble moving from one thing to another and back again.” But if your forgetfulness starts to disrupt your daily functions, such as accomplishing your work or taking care of your family, then you might have a problem that you shouldn't ignore. Dr. Brockington suggests talking with your doctor who can help address any underlying conditions and possibly reverse the memory damage, and determine if you need neuro-psychological testing. Dr. Carolyn Brockington, Director of the Stroke Program, St. Luke’s-Roosevelt Hospital Learn more: http://www.shape.com/lifestyle/mind-and-body/why-can%E2%80%99t-i-remember-names-anymore

Gene Variants May Contribute to Bipolar Illness by Changing Brain

Although variants of the CACNA1C gene and the ANK3 gene may contribute to bipolar disorder by acting on an area of the brain involved in processing facial emotions, how they might do so is a mystery. Sophia Frangou, MD, PhD, Senior Faculty of Psychiatry, and Chief of the Psychosis Research Program at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, and colleagues decided to evaluate whether having the CACNA1C gene variant linked with bipolar disorder as well as the ANK3 gene variant also linked with the illness showed a relationship with the brain area involved in processing facial emotions. They did find such a link in both controls and bipolar subjects. However, the associations were somewhat different between the two groups. Dr. Sophia Frangou, Senior Faculty, Psychiatry, Chief, Psychosis Research Program Learn more: http://psychnews.psychiatryonline.org/newsarticle.aspx?articleid=1768298

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14 In the News (continued):

New Businesses Let you Smash your Way through Stress and Anger

At the Anger Room in Dallas, people can break somebody else's things in a controlled environment. In fact, these pay-to-throw-a-fit businesses have been popping up all over the world - the most recent to launch are The Break Club in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and The Rage Room in Novi Sad, Serbia. Nelly Alia-Klein, MD, a Professor of Psychiatry at The Mount Sinai Hospital, acknowledges that letting pent-up stress build is not a good idea, but she emphasized that long-term solutions are the best way to prevent explosions. “Long-term benefits come from changing your thoughts about a situation,” said Dr. Alia-Klein.

Dr. Nelly Alia-Klein, Professor, Psychiatry

Learn more: http://www.healthline.com/health-news/mental-clubs-smash-away-stress-110613

The Psychiatrist’s Jigsaw

Researchers are piecing together the devilishly complex sets of genetic alterations underlying schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. One theory that has arisen from genetic studies is that schizophrenia is caused by dysfunctional oligodendrocytes—non-neuron brain cells that produce myelin sheaths. In 2001, Joseph Buxbaum, MD, and colleagues at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai ran gene expression microarrays of brain samples from patients with schizophrenia and healthy, matched controls from the hospital’s brain bank. When the results came in, “there was only one glaringly obvious similarity - there were coordinated groups of genes, which were going down in schizophrenic patients, and they were all directly tied to oligodendrocytes,” says Buxbaum.

Dr. Joseph Buxbaum, Professor, Psychiatry, Genetic and Genomic Sciences, Neuroscience

Learn more: http://www.the-scientist.com/?articles.view/articleNo/38034/title/The-Psychiatrist-s-Jigsaw/

Cause For A Headache

Recent imaging studies indicate that migraine headaches leave behind battle scars, pockmarking the brain with lesions similar to those seen in stroke patients. The findings have led clinicians to question whether casual headaches could be harbingers of debilitating neurological disease. Sait Ashina, MD, Director of the Headache program at was often dismissed as relatively minor neurologic events. Dr. Ashina and his colleagues analyzed 19 different studies that had previously found a correlation between migraines and structural brain abnormalities Beth Israel Medical Center says, “Generally, migraines have been considered benign, primary headaches, with no long- term consequences, however our study suggests the opposite.” He says until recently, migraines. This so-called “meta-analysis” was published in the August 28 edition of Neurology.

Dr. Sait Ashina, Director of the Headache Program, Beth Israel Medical Center

Learn more: http://scienceline.org/2013/10/migraines/

Researchers Explore Drug Combinations that Reduce Adverse Effects

Researchers using data from the FDA’s Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS) have hypothesized that certain drug combinations can be used to mitigate serious adverse events. They have tested their hypothesis with an animal model to determine the mechanisms of action by which these drugs interact. According to a study published in the journal Science Translational Medicine, this could be the starting point for the development of clinical trials. Lead author Ravi Iyengar, PhD, Professor of Pharmacology and Systems Therapeutics, and Director of the Systems Biology Center at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, said that after studying different drug combinations in FAERS, the researchers noticed that the first drug had different levels of adversity when combined with different second drugs.

Dr. Ravi Iyengar, Dorothy H. and Lewis Rosenstiel Professor, Pharmacology and Systems Therapeutics, Director, Systems Biology Center

Learn more: http://drugtopics.modernmedicine.com/drug-topics/news/researchers-explore-drug-combinations-15 reduce-adverse-effects

15 In the News (continued):

Regular Cannabis, Cocaine Use Reduces Impulse Control

Regular cannabis and/or cocaine use impairs impulse control, new research suggests. In addition, decreased response times during impulsivity tasks, at the cost of making more errors, were found after receiving a single dose of cocaine (HCl 300 mg). "This study really isn't surprising. We'd expect individuals to have fairly significant cognitive impairment from marijuana and from cocaine," said Stuart Gitlow, MD, an Associate Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai.

Dr. Staur Gitlow, Associate Clinical Professor, Psychiatry

Learn more: http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/813491?src=rss

Epigenetics May Tie Diabetes to Dementia

According to a study conducted at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, altered genomic regulation of expression of key synaptic proteins may be responsible for the increased risk of dementia seen in diabetic individuals. "Based on our findings, it is plausible that the epigenetic alterations in diabetic brains make them more susceptible to the peptides and amino acids that cause Alzheimer’s disease,” said Giulio Maria Pasinetti, MD, PhD, a Professor of Neurology and Neuroscience at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, the study’s lead researcher.

Dr. Giulio Maria Pasinetti, Professor, Neurology; Psychiatry, Neuroscience; Geriatrics and Palliative Medicine

Learn more: http://www.medpagetoday.com/Endocrinology/GeneralEndocrinology/42503

Institutional Milestones for 2014 - Mount Sinai Archives

1989 – 25 Years Ago

March 3: Dedication of the Dr. Arthur M. Fishberg Research Center for Neurobiology on Annenberg 14

2004 – 10 Years Ago

Two former centers become full departments: the Dept. of Oncological Sciences and the Fishberg Dept. of Neuroscience

Joseph Buxbaum, Ph.D. and colleagues in Psychiatry identify the first common gene variant linked to autism

Upcoming Calendar:

2nd Annual Innovations in Psychiatry Symposium (February 7, 2014)

The 2nd Annual Innovations in Psychiatry Symposium will be held on Friday, February 7th from 8:30am to 4:00pm in Goldwurm Auditorium at Mount Sinai Medical Center. It is titled “Advances in Understanding Resilience and Treating Traumatic Stress”. Speakers will include Steven Southwick (Yale), Roger Pitman (Harvard), and Bruce McEwen (Rockefeller) as well as leaders in the field from our own faculty.

To sign up and reserve a seat, please email Brenda Ramirez-Paulino at [email protected]. Registration is on a first-come-first-serve basis and seating is limited. So it is best to register as soon as possible. You can also email Brenda with any questions. We look forward to seeing you there!

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16 Upcoming Calendar:

2nd Annual Brain Awareness Week Brain Fair (March 13, 2014) Sinai Neuroscience Outreach Program is gearing up to host it’s 2nd Annual Brain Awareness Week Brain Fair on Thursday, March 13th! Last year, the event was a huge success, with nearly 25 volunteers including 4 faculty members running 11 booths for local elementary, middle, and high school students and members of the community. The event garnered press within Mount Sinai, as well as from the Dana Foundation for Brain Initiatives.

Brain Awareness Week is a global campaign to increase public awareness about the brain and brain research, established by The Dana Alliance for Brain Initiatives. As a part of this campaign, Sinai Neuroscience Outreach Program and the Center for Multicultural and Community Affairs host a Brain Awareness Fair for local school children, their parents, and community members to learn about basic concepts in brain health and brain science.

Thursday, March 13, 2014 in the West Lobby of the Annenberg building

Center for Excellence in Youth Education (CEYE)

The Center for Excellence in Youth Education will begin accepting applications for our high school summer programs on February 1st, 2014. All summer programs will run June 30th, 2014 through August 11th, 2014. We will offer three research courses and one internship program. Please check out our website for full details at www.mssm.edu/ceyesummer – or contact Alyson Davis, MSW, [email protected], with any questions.

New additions to the Friedman Brain Institute (and future contributors to the Informant):

Collin Bon-Jae Koo Alexander Christian von Schimmelmann Son of Jawook Koo Son of Melanie von Schimmelmann

Born: December 26, 2013 Born: July 25, 2013 (6lbs 14oz)

17 Future issues of the Informant:

Please send updates of your laboratory, clinic, or department to Veronica Szarejko ([email protected]).

The next issue will be May 2014 All submissions are due April 15th, 2014

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