February Agenda

In Sickness and In Health: Our Evolving Understanding of Neural Networks and Neurocircuitry in Mental Health

In just the past few years, there has been exponential growth in our understanding of the neuroscientific bases of mental health. These advances in knowledge have brought with them the identification of novel therapeutic targets with potential for ameliorating the suffering of patients with psychiatric conditions. During this February Saturday Morning Live half-day program, we will explore cutting-edge discoveries on the neural networks and circuits thought to contribute to mental illness as well as potential targets for pharmacological intervention within those networks and circuits. The education provided in this February half-day program will set the stage for the March Saturday Morning Live half-day program in which we will take a deep dive into the evidence for novel and emerging glutamatergic- and cholinergic-based therapeutics that hold promise for improving our ability to successfully treat patients with serious mental illness.

All sessions will be held in Pacific Time (PT).

Saturday, February 22, 2025

7:00 am - 8:00 am

Exciting Advances in Our Understanding of Glutamatergic Neurotransmission in Mental Illness

As our understanding of the neuroscience of mental health conditions rapidly evolves, the role of glutamate is increasingly recognized as pivotal. In this presentation, we will describe the various neurocircuitry involving glutamate with particular focus on the cortical network of glutamatergic pyramidal cells and GABAergic interneurons that are believed to underly cognitive processes. We will also identify potential therapeutic targets within the cortical network (including the glutamatergic N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor) that may ameliorate cognitive impairment evidenced in patients with psychiatric conditions such as schizophrenia.

8:00 am - 9:00 am

Industry Session^†: More information to come

Break

9:05 am – 9:35 am

Poster Session^†: More information to come

Upstream Muscarinic Modulation of Downstream Dopamine

Jonathan M. Meyer, MD

It is an incredible time in the field of psychiatry as we move beyond longstanding dopamine D2 receptor-based treatments for psychosis and more fully appreciate the need for treatments that improve non-psychotic symptoms of schizophrenia, such as negative and cognitive symptoms. In this regard, cholinergic muscarinic modulating agents are on the forefront. Here, Dr. Jonathan Meyer will discuss the state of the science when it comes to muscarinic receptors and how their upstream modulation may impact downstream dopamine levels in circuits believed to underly positive (i.e., psychotic) as well as negative and cognitive symptoms of schizophrenia.

10:35 am - 11:00 am

Live Panel Q&A

Jonathan M. Meyer, MD

^†The content of all non-CME/CE events (Industry Symposia, Disease State Sessions, and Poster Sessions) and the views expressed therein are those of the presenting entity and not of NEI. These events are not part of the scientific program and do not provide CME/CE credit. By opening a non-CME/CE event, the attendee opts in to receive follow-up information from the commercial sponsor.

Program Faculty

Jonathan M. Meyer, MD

Voluntary Clinical Professor, Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, La Jolla, CA

Dr. Jonathan Meyer is a Voluntary Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at University of California, San Diego, and a Distinguished Life Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association. Dr. Meyer is a graduate of Stanford University and Harvard Medical School, finished his adult psychiatry residency at LA County-USC Medical Center and completed fellowships there in Consultation/Liaison Psychiatry and Psychopharmacology Research. Dr. Meyer has teaching duties at UC San Diego and the Balboa Naval Medical Center in San Diego, and is a psychopharmacology consultant to the first episode psychosis programs at Balboa Naval Medical Center in San Diego and in the State of Nevada.

Dr. Meyer has lectured and published extensively on psychopharmacology, and is the sole author of the chapter on the Pharmacotherapy of Psychosis and Mania for the last 3 editions of Goodman & Gilman's The Pharmacological Basis of Therapeutics. Along with Dr. Stephen Stahl he is co-author of the Clozapine Handbook published in 2019, The Clinical Use of Antipsychotic Plasma Levels released in 2021, and The Lithium Handbook published in 2023, all three by Cambridge University Press.