Excessive alcohol drinking represents a major social and public health problem for several countries. Alcohol abuse during pregnancy leads to a complex syndrome referred to as fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD), chiefly characterized by mental retardation. The effects of early exposure to ethanol can be reproduced in laboratory animals and this helped to answer several key questions concerning the human pathology. The interest of experimental models of FASD is twofold. First, they increase our knowledge about the dose and modality of alcohol consumption able to induce damaging effects on the developing brain. Second, experimental models of FASD can provide useful hints to elucidate the basic mechanisms leading to the intellectual disability. In fact, experimental exposure to alcohol can be carried out during discrete, often very restricted, time windows. As a consequence, FASD models, though depending on the multifaceted interference of alcohol with several molecular pathways, can provide valuable information about which specific developmental periods and brain areas are critically involved in the genesis of mental retardation. Putting together data obtained through several experimental paradigms of alcohol exposure and those deriving from other genetic and non-genetic models, one can figure out to what extent different types of mental retardation share common pathogenetic mechanisms. The present Research Topic is aimed at establishing the state of the art of the current research on experimental FASD, focusing on differences and homologies with other types of intellectual disability. The ultimate goal is to find out a common roadmap in view of future therapeutical approaches.

Personalized Psychiatry presents the first book to explore this novel field of biological psychiatry that covers both basic science research and its translational applications. The book conceptualizes personalized psychiatry and provides state-of-the-art knowledge on biological and neuroscience methodologies, all while integrating clinical phenomenology relevant to personalized psychiatry and discussing important principles and potential models. It is essential reading for advanced students and neuroscience and psychiatry researchers who are investigating the prevention and treatment of mental disorders. - Combines neurobiology with basic science methodologies in genomics, epigenomics and transcriptomics - Demonstrates how the statistical modeling of interacting biological and clinical information could transform the future of psychiatry - Addresses fundamental questions and requirements for personalized psychiatry from a basic research and translational perspective

Expanding on the National Research Council's Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals, this book deals specifically with mammals in neuroscience and behavioral research laboratories. It offers flexible guidelines for the care of these animals, and guidance on adapting these guidelines to various situations without hindering the research process. Guidelines for the Care and Use of Mammals in Neuroscience and Behavioral Research offers a more in-depth treatment of concerns specific to these disciplines than any previous guide on animal care and use. It treats on such important subjects as: The important role that the researcher and veterinarian play in developing animal protocols. Methods for assessing and ensuring an animal's well-being. General animal-care elements as they apply to neuroscience and behavioral research, and common animal welfare challenges this research can pose. The use of professional judgment and careful interpretation of regulations and guidelines to develop performance standards ensuring animal well-being and high-quality research. Guidelines for the Care and Use of Mammals in Neuroscience and Behavioral Research treats the development and evaluation of animal-use protocols as a decision-making process, not just a decision. To this end, it presents the most current, in-depth information about the best practices for animal care and use, as they pertain to the intricacies of neuroscience and behavioral research.

This open access book is a systematic update of the philosophical and scientific foundations of the biopsychosocial model of health, disease and healthcare. First proposed by George Engel 40 years ago, the Biopsychosocial Model is much cited in healthcare settings worldwide, but has been increasingly criticised for being vague, lacking in content, and in need of reworking in the light of recent developments. The book confronts the rapid changes to psychological science, neuroscience, healthcare, and philosophy that have occurred since the model was first proposed and addresses key issues such as the model’s scientific basis, clinical utility, and philosophical coherence. The authors conceptualise biology and the psychosocial as in the same ontological space, interlinked by systems of communication-based regulatory control which constitute a new kind of causation. These are distinguished from physical and chemical laws, most clearly because they can break down, thus providing the basis for difference between health and disease. This work offers an urgent update to the model’s scientific and philosophical foundations, providing a new and coherent account of causal interactions between the biological, the psychological and social.

Humans are biologically programmed to seek out pleasurable experiences. These experiences are processed in the mesolimbic system, also referred to as the "reward center" of the brain, where a number of chemical messengers work in concert to provide a net release of dopamine in the Nucleus Accumbens. In some genetically predisposed individuals, addiction occurs when the mechanisms of the mesolimbic system are disrupted by the use of various drugs of abuse. Since Alcoholics Anonymous was founded in 1935, it's 12 step program of spiritual and character development has helped countless alcoholics and drug addicts curb their self-destructive behaviors. However, the program was developed at a time when comparatively little was known about the function of the brain and it has never been studied scientifically. This is the first book to take a systematic look at the molecular neurobiology associated with each of the 12 steps and to review the significant body of addiction research literature that is pertinent to the program.​

This booklet for schools, medical personnel, and parents contains highlights from the 2012 Surgeon General's report on tobacco use among youth and teens (ages 12 through 17) and young adults (ages 18 through 25). The report details the causes and the consequences of tobacco use among youth and young adults by focusing on the social, environmental, advertising, and marketing influences that encourage youth and young adults to initiate and sustain tobacco use. This is the first time tobacco data on young adults as a discrete population have been explored in detail. The report also highlights successful strategies to prevent young people from using tobacco.

The diagnosis of mental illness is frequently accompanied by sleep problems; conversely, people experiencing sleep problems may subsequently develop mental illness. Sleep and Mental Illness looks at this close correlation and considers the implications of research findings that have emerged in the last few years. Additionally, it surveys the essential concepts and practical tools required to deal with sleep and co-morbid psychiatric problems. The volume is divided into three main sections: basic science, neuroendocrinology, and clinical science. Included are over 30 chapters on topics such as neuropharmacology, insomnia, depression, dementia, autism, and schizophrenia. Relevant questionnaires for the assessment of sleep disorders, including quality-of-life measurement tools, are provided. There is also a summary table of drugs for treating sleep disorders. This interdisciplinary text will be of interest to clinicians working in psychiatry, behavioral sleep medicine, neurology, pulmonary and critical care medicine.

The anthrax incidents following the 9/11 terrorist attacks put the spotlight on the nation's public health agencies, placing it under an unprecedented scrutiny that added new dimensions to the complex issues considered in this report. The Future of the Public's Health in the 21st Century reaffirms the vision of Healthy People 2010, and outlines a systems approach to assuring the nation's health in practice, research, and policy. This approach focuses on joining the unique resources and perspectives of diverse sectors and entities and challenges these groups to work in a concerted, strategic way to promote and protect the public's health. Focusing on diverse partnerships as the framework for public health, the book discusses: The need for a shift from an individual to a population-based approach in practice, research, policy, and community engagement. The status of the governmental public health infrastructure and what needs to be improved, including its interface with the health care delivery system. The roles nongovernment actors, such as academia, business, local communities and the media can play in creating a healthy nation. Providing an accessible analysis, this book will be important to public health policy-makers and practitioners, business and community leaders, health advocates, educators and journalists.

The Handbook of Mental Health and Aging, Third Edition provides a foundational background for practitioners and researchers to understand mental health care in older adults as presented by leading experts in the field. Wherever possible, chapters integrate research into clinical practice. The book opens with conceptual factors, such as the epidemiology of mental health disorders in aging and cultural factors that impact mental health. The book transitions into neurobiological-based topics such as biomarkers, age-related structural changes in the brain, and current models of accelerated aging in mental health. Clinical topics include dementia, neuropsychology, psychotherapy, psychopharmacology, mood disorders, anxiety, schizophrenia, sleep disorders, and substance abuse. The book closes with current and future trends in geriatric mental health, including the brain functional connectome, repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS), technology-based interventions, and treatment innovations. - Identifies factors influencing mental health in older adults - Includes biological, sociological, and psychological factors - Reviews epidemiology of different mental health disorders - Supplies separate chapters on grief, schizophrenia, mood, anxiety, and sleep disorders - Discusses biomarkers and genetics of mental health and aging - Provides assessment and treatment approaches