Educational Need

The societal impact of mental disease and the devastating impact on individual lives are profound.  According to the National Institute of Mental Health (The Numbers Count: Mental Disorders in America, 2006 [rev]), an estimated 26.2 percent of Americans ages 18 and older — about one in four adults — suffer from a diagnosable mental disorder in a given year.  When applied to the 2004 U.S. Census residential population estimate for ages 18 and older, this figure translates to 57.7 million people.  Mental disorders are the leading cause of disability in the U.S. and Canada for ages 15-44, and many people suffer from more than one mental disorder at a given time. Nearly half (45 percent) of those with any mental disorder meet criteria for 2 or more disorders, with severity strongly related to co-morbidity. In 2004, 32,439 (approximately 11 per 100,000) people died by suicide in the U.S.  More than 90 percent of people who kill themselves have a diagnosable mental disorder, most commonly depression or substance abuse.

Mental illness, including suicide, accounts for over 15 percent of the burden of disease in established market economies, such as the United States — more than the disease burden caused by all cancers.  The economic costs — direct (treatment and rehabilitation) and indirect (loss of productivity in the workplace, school and home) — are equally staggering, and much of the burden is born by the public sector:  Individuals with serious mental illness represent the single largest diagnostic group (35%) on the SSI rolls; Medicaid is the largest single payer of mental health services in the country; more than 50% of all mental health expenditures are paid for by Medicaid, Medicare, state and local government (President’s New Freedom Commission on Mental Health, 2003).

The Surgeon General’s 1999 Report on Mental Health heralded the opportunities for substantive progress in the fight against mental disease: “Today, integrative neuroscience and molecular genetics present some of the most exciting basic research opportunities in medical science.  Molecular and genetic tools are being used to identify genes and proteins that might be involved in the origins of mental illness and that clearly are altered by drug treatment and by the environment.  Genes and gene products promise to provide novel targets for new medications and psychosocial interventions.”

Yet, nearly a decade later, we are not winning the battle against mental disease, the consequences are severe, and new approaches must be developed. In a November 2006 address to the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health Department of Psychiatry, National Institute of Mental Health Director Dr. Thomas Insel spoke of the urgent need for a major shift in emphasis in brain research to discovery technologies — a concerted cross-disciplinary effort incorporating clinical genomics, neuroimaging, proteomics, molecular diagnostics and preventive interventions.  Dr. Insel emphasized the need for creative integration of these cutting edge disciplines to achieve a far more precise understanding of the pathophysiology of mental diseases and importantly, individual variation in expression.  The objective and indeed the promise of such an approach is the development of treatments, and ultimately prevention, scientifically grounded in discovery-based research targeted with ever-increasing precision at the neurobiological pathways and mechanisms at the root of psychiatric disease.

The techniques and technologies exist, and they are improving rapidly with increasing sophistication.  What these tools will ultimately reveal, and how these discoveries will translate to treatment, is limited only by the imagination and creativity of the scientists using them. In this regard, there is a need to ensure that the most promising minds in mental health research and treatment are exposed to, learn from and have the opportunity to discuss in-depth current state-of-the-art mental health research and treatment in critical areas from acknowledged scientific leaders in the study and treatment of psychopathology.  To move the science forward, foster translational research and enhance patient care, it is important that experienced researchers and young scientists early in their careers, as well as established professionals and trainees in clinical practice, stay abreast of the burgeoning body of knowledge about the pathophysiology of mental disease. The 2007 Wisconsin Symposium on Emotion meets this need, providing a heuristic forum in which to learn from and discuss some to the most advanced work in the diagnosis and treatment of psychopathology with seven of the world’s leading experts.

Intended Audience

Research scientists specializing in the study of psychopathology, psychiatrists, psychologists, clinical social workers, psychiatric nurses, medical residents, medical students, postdoctoral trainees, graduate and undergraduate students with a current or intended career path focusing on research and treatment of psychiatric disorders.

Policy on Faculty and Sponsor Disclosure

As a sponsor accredited by the ACCME, it is the policy of the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health to require the disclosure of the existence of any significant financial interest or any other relationship a faculty member or a sponsor has with either the commercial supporter(s) of this activity or the manufacturer(s) of any commercial product(s) discussed in an educational presentation. Detailed disclosure will be made in the course handout materials.

Policy on Title IX and ADA Requirements

The University of Wisconsin provides equal opportunities in employment and programming, including Title IX requirements. The University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health fully complies with the legal requirements of the ADA and the rules and regulations thereof. If any participant in this educational activity is in need of accommodations, please call the HealthEmotions Research Institute at 608-263-6161 in order to receive service.

Continuing Education Credit for Physicians

Accreditation Statement: The University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education to provide continuing medical education for physicians. Credit Designation Statement: The University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health designates this educational activity for a maximum of 12.25 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s). Physicians should only claim credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

There is a $25 fee in addition to registration for MDs requesting CME credit. This fee can be submitted along with the registration fee.

For Wisconsin Psychologists

The Psychology Examining Board of the Wisconsin Department of Regulation and Licensing accepts continuing education credit for educational activities relevant to the professional practice of psychology offered by accredited colleges and universities. This symposium offers a maximum of 12.25 hours of continuing education credit for Wisconsin psychologists. Each psychologist should claim only those hours that he/she actually spent in the educational activity.  There is no additional fee for CEU certification.

Continuing Education Units

The University of Wisconsin-Madison, as a member of the University Continuing Education Association (UCEA), authorizes this program for 1.225 continuing education units (CEUs) or 12.25 hours.

Learning Objectives

At the conclusion of this symposium, attendees should be able to:

• Describe the use of multimodal neuroimaging techniques to delineate biological pathways and mechanisms by which individual differences in brain function emerge and potentially bias behavior and risk for psychiatric disorder.

• Identify social factors important in mediating the development of psychopathology with emphasis on factors that protect individuals at risk for development of psychiatric disorders.

• Identify the genetic and environmental factors that lead to the development of bipolar disorder in children and adolescents.

• Explain treatment strategies that reduce vulnerability and promote resilience to development of bipolar disorder in children and adolescents.

• Describe environmental influences and corresponding mechanisms in the brain that mediate the influence of early trauma and stress in the development of psychopathology.

• Describe the role of the pre-frontal cortex in the regulation of cognition and emotion in the development of or resistance to psychopathology.

• Identify targets within the prefrontal cortex that are relevant to the development of new treatments for psychopathology.

• Explain current diagnostic and treatment issues related to substance abuse co-morbid with psychiatric disorders that must be addressed in treating patients with these conditions.

• Describe advanced breeding techniques for development of animal models for depression and other psychopathologies.