Mental Healthy

65 years ago, the discovery of mind-soothing medicines led to the unsatisfactory idea that schizophrenia is an imbalance of brain chemistry. 25 years ago, brain imaging revealed more subtle problems of brain coordination, transforming the goals of therapy, but without pointing to the means of achieving them. 15 years ago, brain imaging began to reveal that experience can sculpt the brain far more than anyone had thought possible.  Now, the integration of biological, psychological and social approaches promises to transform the delicate task of re-sculpting brain and mind.

Self-harm and suicide are significant public health issues worldwide. Around 50% of young people who die by suicide have previously self-harmed. Professor Townsend will describe her work on the psychological and social factors associated with self-harm in young people, including pioneering new techniques she has developed to understand the sequential patterning of thoughts, feelings, behaviours and events that lead to self-harm, and how these change over time. She will conclude with findings from her work on what services, supports and treatments help promote recovery from self-harm.

Post-traumatic stress disorders (PTSD) are twice as common in woman as in men, but the understanding behind this is unclear. People with PTSD are less likely to distinguish with trauma related cues (e.g. the sound of gunshot) to similar cues (e.g. the sound of a car back firing). This impairment could also lead to inhibition of learned fear by cues that predict safety. By investigating the auditory fear discrimination in males and females, more can be understood about the sex difference in fear discrimination and safety learning.