A Systems Approach to Behavioral Neurobiology: Integrating Psychodynamics and Neuroscience in a Psychiatric Curriculum.

In the practice of medicine, an understanding of the biological functioning of organs and organ systems is the basis for theories of pathology and clinical practice. If psychoanalysis is to be accepted by the medical and psychiatric community, it must be based on a sophisticated understanding of the organ from which mental and emotional experiences emanate and use scientifically acceptable language. Each approach to psychotherapy has its own vocabulary for describing neuropsychological processes. Neurobiological vocabulary provides the various factions "neutral ground" upon which to carry on a multidisciplinary integrative dialogue. An understanding of behavioral neuroscience allows the therapist to look beyond the labels that spawn division and identify unifying biological principles that are described in a variety of ways in a multitude of theories. We contend that the neural network/representational approach to neurobiology views human mental experience as the result of multiple complex integrated systems, and is therefore holistic and antireductionistic in its perspective. Such a biologically informed psychotherapy facilitates integration of skill sets and flexibility in technique. With these principles in mind, the therapist can base his or her approach to the patient based on these principles rather than on devotion to one particular "school" or another. Because behavioral neuroscience supports many of the basic tenets of psychoanalytic theory, such an integrative psychotherapy would be psychody-namically informed. In this paper, we outline some of the ideas we present in our neuroscience course and how we relate biological concepts with some core principles of psychodynamics and psychotherapy.

Battlefield tracheal intubation training using virtual simulation: a multi center operational assessment of video laryngoscope technology.

Airway management is an essential skill in providing care in trauma situations. The video laryngoscope is a tool which offers improvement in teaching airway management skills and in managing airways of trauma patients on the far forward battlefield. An Operational Assessment (OA) of videolaryngoscope technology for medical training and airway management was conducted by the Center for Advanced Technology and Telemedicine (at the University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE) for the US Air Force Modernization Command to validate this technology in the provision of Out of OR airway management and airway management training in military simulation centers. The value for both the training and performance of intubations was highly rated and the majority of respondents indicated interest in having a video laryngoscope in their facility.

Winter depression recurrence one year after cognitive-behavioral therapy, light therapy, or combination treatment.

The central public health challenge in the management of seasonal affective disorder (SAD) is prevention of depression recurrence each fall/winter season. The need for time-limited treatments with enduring effects is underscored by questionable long-term compliance with clinical practice guidelines recommending daily light therapy during the symptomatic months each year. We previously developed a SAD-tailored group cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) and tested its acute efficacy in 2 pilot studies. Here, we report an intent-to-treat (ITT) analysis of outcomes during the subsequent winter season (i.e., approximately 1 year after acute treatment) using participants randomized to CBT, light therapy, and combination treatment across our pilot studies (N=69). We used multiple imputation to estimate next winter outcomes for the 17 individuals who dropped out during treatment, were withdrawn from protocol, or were lost to follow-up. The CBT (7.0%) and combination treatment (5.5%) groups had significantly smaller proportions of winter depression recurrences than the light therapy group (36.7%). CBT alone, but not combination treatment, was also associated with significantly lower interviewer- and patient-rated depression severity at 1 year as compared to light therapy alone. Among completers who provided 1-year data, all statistically significant differences between the CBT and light therapy groups persisted after adjustment for ongoing treatment with light therapy, antidepressants, and psychotherapy. If these findings are replicated, CBT could represent a more effective, practical, and palatable approach to long-term SAD management than light therapy.

The effect of psychiatric third-year rotation setting on academic performance, student attitudes, and specialty choice.

OBJECTIVE: Few studies have directly compared the effects of third-year clerkship rotation type on measures of academic performance, student attitudes about psychiatry and psychiatric patients, and level of interest in psychiatry as a career. The goal of this study was to assess the extent to which rotation type influenced these outcome variables among third-year medical students. METHODS: The authors conducted a prospective study of 647 third-year medical students administratively assigned to one of three clinical settings: an acute inpatient ward, a hospital-based consultation-liaison service, and an outpatient mental health care clinic. Academic performance was estimated using scores from a nationally standardized examination provided by the National Board of Medical Examiners (NBME), while responses to an anonymous survey developed by the investigators were used as indicators of student attitudes about and interest in psychiatry as a potential career field. Administrative residency match data were collected on all participants. RESULTS: Rotation type had no effect on NBME exam scores after controlling for grade point average, age, gender, rotation order, and rotation year. Although individuals who rotated on the inpatient service scored an average of 1.8 points higher on the examination relative to individuals who rotated on the consultation service, this small difference was not considered academically meaningful. Similarly, there were no statistically meaningful patterns that emerged between survey responses and rotation type. Approximately 4% of our sample matched into psychiatric residencies after graduating from medical school. Rotation type and survey responses were not statistically correlated with specialty choice. CONCLUSION: Rotation type does not appear to affect acquisition of psychiatric knowledge as estimated by standardized examination scores, nor does it appear to influence students' perceptions of psychiatry or specialty choice.

Hydrocortisone improves somnolence without hypotension in the postpartum period.

Hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis abnormality and adrenal insufficiency secondary to chronic steroid treatment can be present in the perioperative period. When this occurs in pregnant patients during the peripartum period, the usually expected physiological changes may not be present. The hypotension associated with adrenal insufficiency may be masked by the normal physiological changes of pregnancy and delivery. We report on a patient whose only presenting symptom was mental status changes; this occurred without any significant hemodynamic changes. These mental status changes responded within minutes to a single dose of hydrocortisone. We recommend administering a pharmacological dose of steroid as a maneuver to rule out adrenal insufficiency when faced with a patient with an unexplained altered mental status while other differential diagnoses are considered.

Perceptions and practices of graduates of combined family medicine-psychiatry residency programs: a nationwide survey.

OBJECTIVE: The authors evaluate the current practices and perceptions of graduates of combined family medicine-psychiatry residency programs in the following areas: preparation for practice, boundary formation, and integration of skills sets. METHOD: The authors conducted an electronic cross-sectional survey of all nationwide combined family medicine-psychiatry training graduates in the spring of 2005. RESULTS: Twenty-seven (62.8%) graduates participated. Nearly 30% worked in positions designed specifically for combined trained physicians, though only 11.1% participated in fully integrated practice. The mean time spent practicing psychiatry and family medicine is 70% and 16%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Combined trained graduates felt well prepared for practice in both specialties but somewhat less comfortable providing integrated care. Most are in positions that underutilize their ability to integrate family medicine and psychiatry in one practice. Contributing factors may include limited preparation for integration during residency training and lack of integrated job opportunities. Enhancing combined residents' training in the provision of integrated services may optimize their utilization.

A randomized controlled trial of cognitive-behavioral therapy, light therapy, and their combination for seasonal affective disorder.

This first controlled psychotherapy trial for seasonal affective disorder (SAD) compared SAD-tailored cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), light therapy (LT), and their combination to a concurrent wait-list control. Adults (N = 61) with major depression, recurrent with seasonal pattern, were randomized to one of four 6-week conditions: CBT (1.5-hr twice-weekly group therapy), LT (10,000-lux for 90-min/day with administration time individually adjusted), combined CBT + LT, or a minimal contact/delayed LT control (MCDT; LT following 6 weeks of monitoring). CBT, LT, and CBT + LT significantly and comparably improved depression severity relative to MCDT in intent-to-treat and completer samples. CBT + LT (73%) had a significantly higher remission rate than MCDT (20%). Using prospectively measured summer mood status to estimate the "functional" population, CBT + LT also had a significantly larger proportion of participants with clinically significant change over treatment compared with MCDT. The LT condition outcomes virtually replicated results from prior trials. CBT, alone or combined with LT, holds promise as an efficacious SAD treatment and warrants further study. If replicated, CBT + LT's remission rate would represent a clinically meaningful improvement over the 53% observed across LT studies.

The role of psychiatry in U.S. Air Force primary care: research-based models for clinical consultation and education.

The integration of mental health treatment with primary care is a U.S. Air Force priority. Unfortunately, manning shortages limit the utility of psychiatry in existing Air Force health care models. In this study, we present efficient and data-driven models for psychiatric involvement with primary care. These models include the use of psychiatrists as clinical consultants and primary care educators. Certain factors are required to implement these models including command support for locating psychiatrists within primary care, data-driven educational approaches, collaborative clinical care, and administrative support.

A neural systems-based neurobiology and neuropsychiatry course: integrating biology, psychodynamics, and psychology in the psychiatric curriculum.

OBJECTIVE: Psychotherapy and biological psychiatry remain divided in psychiatry residency curricula. Behavioral neurobiology and neuropsychiatry provide a systems-level framework that allows teachers to integrate biology, psychodynamics, and psychology. METHOD: The authors detail the underlying assumptions and outline of a neural systems-based neuroscience course they teach at the National Capital Consortium Psychiatry Residency Program. They review course assessment reports and classroom observations. RESULTS: Self-report measures and teacher observations are encouraging. By the end of the course, residents are able to discuss both neurobiological and psychodynamic/psychological concepts of distributed biological neural networks. They verbalize an understanding that psychology is biology, that any distinction is artificial, and that both are valuable. CONCLUSIONS: A neuroscience curriculum founded on the underlying principles of behavioral neurobiology and neuropsychiatry is inherently anti-reductionistic and facilitates the acquisition of detailed information as well as critical thinking and cross-disciplinary correlations with psychological theories and psychotherapy.

A systems approach to behavioral neurobiology: integrating psychodynamics and neuroscience in a psychiatric curriculum.

In the practice of medicine, an understanding of the biological functioning of organs and organ systems is the basis for theories of pathology and clinical practice. If psychoanalysis is to be accepted by the medical and psychiatric community, it must be based on a sophisticated understanding of the organ from which mental and emotional experiences emanate and use scientifically acceptable language. Each approach to psychotherapy has its own vocabulary for describing neuropsychological processes. Neurobiological vocabulary provides the various factions "neutral ground" upon which to carry on a multidisciplinary integrative dialogue. An understanding of behavioral neuroscience allows the therapist to look beyond the labels that spawn division and identify unifying biological principles that are described in a variety of ways in a multitude of theories. We contend that the neural network/representational approach to neurobiology views human mental experience as the result of multiple complex integrated systems, and is therefore holistic and antireductionistic in its perspective. Such a biologically informed psychotherapy facilitates integration of skill sets and flexibility in technique. With these principles in mind, the therapist can base his or her approach to the patient based on these principles rather than on devotion to one particular "school" or another. Because behavioral neuroscience supports many of the basic tenets of psychoanalytic theory, such an integrative psychotherapy would be psychodynamically informed. In this paper, we outline some of the ideas we present in our neuroscience course and how we relate biological concepts with some core principles of psychodynamics and psychotherapy.

Psychotropic drugs in pregnancy and lactation.

The management of psychotropic medications during pregnancy and lactation involves a difficult and complex decision for both patient and provider, particularly due to the many unknown effects medication may have on the infant. Available studies concerning use of psychotropic medications in pregnant and lactating women are limited and there are no universal guidelines. This article reviews the literature on the use of psychotropic drugs, including antidepressants, mood stabilizers, antipsychotics, and benzodiazepines, in pregnant and breast-feeding women and presents relevant data on teratogenic effects, neonatal toxicity, perinatal syndromes, and neurobehavioral sequelae.

Characteristics of combined family practice-psychiatry residency programs.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate how family practice-psychiatry residency programs meet the challenges of rigorous accreditation demands, clinical supervision, and boundaries of practice. METHOD: A 54-question survey of program directors of family practice-psychiatry residency programs outlining program demographic data, curricula, coordination, resident characteristics, integration, and overall satisfaction was mailed to 11 combined family practice psychiatry-residency programs. RESULTS: Programs surveyed were meeting residency review committee (RRC) requirements, and a majority of the program directors believe that the training is as good as or better than categorical programs, and categorical residents benefited from training alongside combined residents. CONCLUSIONS: Training programs are growing in size and producing quality physicians.

Supervision and boundaries in a combined family practice and psychiatry residency training program: the National Capital Consortium experience.

OBJECTIVES: The combined discipline of family practice and psychiatry was created in 1995. There are no established guidelines for 1) teaching residents how to integrate these two specialties, 2) providing appropriate supervision, and 3) helping residents develop personal and professional boundaries. The authors share their approach and aim to stimulate dialogue and promote the establishment of standards for combined programs. METHOD: The authors review some of the difficulties encountered in supervising family practice-psychiatry residents and the rationale for their approach. RESULTS: Providing residents with clear boundaries of practice and supervision that initially separate the two specialties during training facilitates the development of specialty knowledge and skills as well as the capacity to form clear boundaries. CONCLUSION: Our experience suggests that only when residents learn the appropriate practice and boundaries of each specialty can they successfully integrate the two without boundary or role confusion.

Teaching psychiatry to family practice residents.

OBJECTIVE: This article outlines a psychiatry curriculum developed for family practice residents by family practice-psychiatry residents. METHODS: A literature review, needs assessment, planning, implementation, and initial assessment were conducted. CONCLUSION: Early results demonstrated improved general psychiatric knowledge and a high level of satisfaction.

Integrated medical-psychiatric care of a dying borderline patient: a case of dynamically informed "practical psychotherapy".

Combined training in family practice and psychiatry is relatively new and consists of equal proportions of each specialty intermixed throughout a 5-year period. This blending of two distinct skill sets and patient populations creates opportunities to provide unique patient care. An understanding of psychodynamic principles is vital to treating patients with comorbid medical and psychiatric illnesses in a primary care setting. The patient presented in this article had several medical and psychiatric problems and was treated by a combined family practice-psychiatry resident who cared for her medically and psychiatrically until the time of her death from cancer. Complex patients such as this defy the use of purely applied school-specific psychotherapies. Rather, they require the creative application of integrated psychotherapeutic strategies. Integrated approaches to psychotherapy have been increasingly advocated in recent years. In keeping with terminology used by Carl Jung, this approach may be thought of simply as practical psychotherapy.

Cognitive-behavioral therapy, light therapy, and their combination in treating seasonal affective disorder.

BACKGROUND: The need to develop supplementary or alternative treatments for seasonal affective disorder (SAD) is underscored by the significant minority (47%) of SAD patients that is refractory to light therapy, the persistence of residual symptoms despite light treatment, and poor long-term compliance with light use. Because preliminary studies suggest that cognitive and behavioral factors are involved in SAD, cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) warrants investigation as a possible treatment option. METHODS: We piloted a 6-week randomized clinical trial to compare a standard light therapy protocol; a novel, SAD-tailored, group CBT intervention; and their combination in ameliorating and remitting a current SAD episode and as prophylaxis against episode recurrence. Depressive symptom severity and remission rates were assessed at post-treatment and at a 1-year follow-up visit to examine long-term treatment durability. RESULTS: CBT, light therapy, and their combination all demonstrated significant reductions in depressive symptoms on two different outcome measures. Remission rates varied by measure, but did not reach statistical significance. During the subsequent winter, CBT, particularly in combination with light therapy, appeared to improve long-term outcome regarding symptom severity, remission rates, and relapse rates. No CBT-treated participant, with or without light, experienced a full SAD relapse compared to over 60% of those treated with light alone. LIMITATIONS: These results should be viewed as preliminary and are limited by the small sample size (n=23) and lack of a control group. CONCLUSIONS: The nearly half of SAD patients who do not remit with light alone may benefit from CBT as an adjunct or alternative treatment, especially as a prophylaxis against episode recurrence.

Use of standardized patients to enhance a psychiatry clerkship.

Changes in psychiatric health care delivery driven by such major shifts as deinstitutionalization, community-based care, and managed care have greatly altered the educational milieu for third-year psychiatry clerkships. Students may be assigned exclusively to alcohol and substance abuse treatment units, consultation-liaison services, or outpatient clinics, and may not have as broad an exposure as is desirable to patients with a variety of psychiatric illnesses. The authors describe a pilot course they developed in 2001, Clinical Psychiatric Assessment and Diagnosis, for third-year medical students at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences medical school. The course uses standardized patients (SPs) to help students gain broader clinical experience. In psychiatry, a growing body of literature supports the acceptability, reliability, and validity of objective structured clinical examination assessment using SPs for medical students. Only a few articles report the use of SPs to primarily teach psychiatry instead of evaluating student proficiency in clinical psychiatry. Since this course was developed, the National Board of Medical Examiners announced that all medical students will be required to pass a clinical skills test in order to practice medicine, beginning with the class of 2005. The examination will use SPs modeling different clinical scenarios. In light of this change, many medical schools may have to reevaluate and possibly revamp their curriculums to insure sufficient acquisition of clinical skills in different specialties. The use of SPs in psychiatry could provide an effective, primary clinical teaching experience to address this new requirement as well.

Terrorism and weapons of mass destruction: managing the behavioral reaction in primary care.

Any terrorist attack using weapons of mass destruction will result in substantial psychological trauma and stress. Primary care and emergency clinics will likely see patients who have stress-related emotional or physical symptoms, or exacerbations of preexisting health concerns. Significant psychological and behavioral reactions to an attack with weapons of mass destruction are certain, include both group and individual reactions, and will follow a predictable course. Possible group reactions include mass panic, acute outbreaks of medically unexplained symptoms, and chronic cases of medically unexplained physical symptoms. Possible individual reactions include psychiatric disorders such as posttraumatic stress disorder, which occurs in approximately 30% of people exposed to extreme trauma. Most people have symptoms of arousal that are normal reactions to abnormal events and that resolve with rest, reassurance, support, and education. Mandatory debriefings are not recommended, and medications may be used when more conservative measures are not sufficient.

Use of atypical antipsychotic drugs in patients with dementia.

Increasingly, atypical antipsychotic drugs are prescribed for elderly patients with symptoms of psychosis and behavioral disturbances. These symptoms often occur in patients with Alzheimer's disease, other dementias, or Parkinson's disease. As the average age of Americans increases, the prevalence of Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease will rise accordingly. Although nonpharmacologic treatments for behavioral disturbances should be tried first, medications often are needed to enable the patient to be adequately cared for. Current guidelines recommend using risperidone and olanzapine to treat psychosis in patients with Alzheimer's dementia. Quetiapine and clozapine are recommended for treatment of psychosis in patients with Parkinson's disease. Additional research is needed for a recently approved agent, ziprasidone. To minimize side effects, these medications should be started at low dosages that are increased incrementally. Drug interactions, especially those involving the cytochrome P450 system, must be considered. Clozapine's potentially lethal side effects limit its use in the primary care setting. Informed use of atypical antipsychotic drugs allows family physicians to greatly improve quality of life in elderly patients with dementia and behavior disturbances.