The American College of Psychiatrists has presented Robert Sweet, MD with the Award for Research in Geriatric Psychiatry for his major contributions to the field. Dr. Sweet, UPMC Endowed Professor in Psychiatric Neuroscience and Professor of Neurology and Clinical and Translational Science, is recognized internationally for his investigation of the mechanisms which lead to the generation of psychotic symptoms that...

Adolescent suicide and suicidal behavior have shown dramatic increases in the past decade, making suicide the second leading cause of death in this age group. The standard practice is to hospitalize adolescents at highest imminent risk for a suicide attempt, but the risk for suicidal behavior is highest within the first three weeks after discharge. Currently there are no interventions designed to decrease the risk...

Associate Professor of Psychiatry and Pediatrics Abigail Schlesinger, MD, has dedicated her career to providing behavioral health services to children and adolescents. A gifted clinician educator and administrator, Dr. Schlesinger is currently Medical Director of Ambulatory Integrated Behavioral Health Service at UPMC Western Psychiatric Hospital. She is also Chief of the Behavioral Science Division and Children’s...

Schizophrenia is a challenging mental illness characterized by psychosis, cognitive deficits and other symptoms such as disorganized speech, difficulty showing emotion, and lack of motivation. People with schizophrenia, including those suffering their first psychotic break, known as a first episode of psychosis (FEP), also frequently experience sleep disturbances such as having a hard time falling and staying...

Why do adolescents engage in risky behavior? Scientists believe that the reason may stem from brain changes that occur during this period, including increased activity in certain regions of the mesolimbic dopamine system. The mesolimbic system connects the ventral tegmental area (VTA) and the nucleus accumbens, forming a reward pathway that enhances motivation in adolescents. In adolescent rodents and humans...

Early exposure to cutting-edge research and hands-on experiences in laboratories is crucial to preparing the next generation of physician-scientists for successful careers in psychiatric neuroscience research. It also can lead to transformative discoveries that ultimately improve the lives of individuals with mental illness. The Department of Psychiatry is an international leader in helping young scientists learn...

Pictured above: Vishwajit Nimgaonkar, MD, PhD and Leonardo D'Aiuto, PhD Unlike cells from other organs such as the liver or lungs, neurons are very difficult to collect from a living patient. In fact, one of the biggest hurdles to treating brain diseases is a lack of cells that researchers can use to study the conditions and develop new therapies. Over the last decade, a method to “reprogram” human skin cells into...

Department of Psychiatry faculty were big winners at the annual Curriculum Colloquium hosted by the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine on January 24th. The annual event recognizes outstanding faculty contributions to medical education through several prestigious awards. Honorees are selected by the Award Review Committee and Dean based on student and faculty nominations. Department of Psychiatry faculty...

People with anxiety conditions experience frequent and excessive anxiety that disrupts their ability to function. There are several different types of anxiety disorders, including generalized anxiety disorder and social anxiety disorder, that together will affect one in four adults at some point in their lives. With such an enormous public health burden, there is great need for more effective anxiety treatments...

When children and adolescents experience trauma, they are at risk for depression and anxiety. One way that this can occur is through trauma-induced impairment of the ventral striatum, a key region of the brain associated with reward learning. Impaired reward processing is associated with depression and anxiety in adolescence and adulthood, and young people with depression experience abnormally low ventral striatum...