News and events
Behavioural and Brain Sciences Seminars
The BBSU hosts a number of external speakers each year as part of its regular Thursday afternoon seminar series.
Forthcoming seminars
‘Developmental trajectories towards sexually abusive behaviour and emerging severe personality disorder in childhood’
Dr Eileen Vizard, Consultant Child & Adolescent Psychiatrist, specialising in work with young offenders
Thursday 23 May 2013, 12.00-13.00
PUW4, Institute of Child Health
The Impact of the Prenatal Environment on Child Neurodevelopment and Mental Health
Dr Alina Rodriguez, Dept of Epidemiology & Biostatistics, Imperial College
Thursday 21 March 2013, 12.00 – 13.00
Levinsky Room, Institute of Child Health
Recent seminars
The limitations of using one set of diagnostic criteria for all purposes
Dr Alison Field, Children’s Hospital Boston & Harvard School of Public Health
Thursday 26th January 2012, 15:30 to 16:30
Seminar Room 4, PUW, Institute of Child Health
The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for Mental Disorders (DSM-IV) is widely used to classify eating disorders, but inadequacies of the classification have been identified. Even in treatment-seeking populations, the majority of eating disordered individuals meet some, but not all, of the criteria for anorexia nervosa (AN) or bulimia nervosa (BN) and thus are classified as having an eating disorder not otherwise specified (EDNOS). In non-treatment seeking populations the problem is even greater. Dr Field will show that although the DSM-5 will lower the frequency cut-offs for binge eating and purging and include one of the subtypes of EDNOS, binge eating disorder (BED), as a distinct disorder, many eating disorder cases will not meet the diagnostic criteria. Since treatment success is modest, efforts should be made to prevent eating disorders from developing. Her data from 8594 girls throughout the United States who have been followed from 1996-2008 shows that many females have sub-threshold eating disorders and are therefore at increased risk of starting to use drugs, starting to binge drink frequently, and developing high depressive symptoms. Her results highlight the need for prevention of eating disorders and suggest that primary prevention should focus on prevention of disorders of at least sub-threshold severity. Rather than using one set of diagnostic criteria for prevention and treatment, Dr Field will show that a staging approach, similar to that used to classify hypertension and obesity, would improve the classification of eating disorders for a variety of purposes.
Functional MRI of ADHD: current status and future perspectives
Samuele Cortese, MD, PhD, Institute for Pediatric Neuroscience, New York University Child Study Center
Thursday 6th October 2011, 11:15-12:15 (note unusual time)
Seminar Room 4, PUW, Institute of Child Health
This talk will aim to provide a critical and evidence-based systematic overview of the current status of the functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) research in Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) as well as to highlight some relevant future directions of the research in this field. It will include the results of a recent meta-analysis that revealed abnormalities of multiple brain regions in networks involved in high-level cognitive but also in more basic sensori-motor functions. It will also address the relevance of novel methodological approaches based on data-sharing of international databases of “resting-state” fMRI as a mean to strengthen the quality of the research in the field and provide a better understanding of the pathophysiology of ADHD.
Outcome in individuals with autism: An investigation of the factors associated with functioning in adulthood
Philippa Moss, Kings College London
Thursday 22nd September 2011, 16:00-17:00
Leolin Price Lecture Theatre, Institute of Child Health
Most research into outcomes for adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) has focussed on individuals in early adulthood and with a range of cognitive abilities. Additionally, findings are varied for those with an IQ in the normal range. This presentation will detail the findings from a long-term follow-up study of 60 autism participants, previously seen as children around 5-7 years of age, who at the time had an IQ ≥ 70. At the current follow-up (mean age at follow-up = 44 years 2 months) the participants were assessed using neuropsychological, autism symptomatology, mental health and adult social outcome assessments. The overall outcomes and childhood and adult factors affecting adult social outcomes for this group were explored. The results indicate that higher ability individuals with autism continue to require support in adulthood and services must to provide for this need. Interventions which focus on the factors known to affect outcomes could help to reduce these difficulties.
Biology of Social Cognition Summer School
The 7th Biology of Social Cognition Summer School is scheduled to take place from 10-17 July 2012, at the Banbury Center, Cold Spring Harbor, USA.
Further details are available on the Cold Spring Harbor website. The deadline for applications is 15 April 2012.
Co-organised by the BBSU Head of Unit, David Skuse, and Jason Mitchell (Harvard), the school will provide an intensive week of training for advanced graduate students, post-doctoral fellows and faculty.
The school runs every year, alternating between venues in Europe and the
USA. For information about the 2011 School in Hinxton, Cambridgeshire, UK, please see
Page last modified on 09 may 13 17:01
