The SIG Beat: New SIGs

NEWS FROM AND ABOUT THE SCIENTIFIC INTEREST GROUPS

NEW SIG: PSYCHONEUROENDOCRINOLOGY SCIENTIFIC INTEREST GROUP

The new Psychoneuroendocrinology Scientific Interest Group (PSIG) provides a forum for scientists and clinicians across multiple institutes and centers (ICs) at the NIH to present their latest scientific findings related to psychoneuroendocrinology and discuss their implications for future translational and clinical research as well as for clinical practice.

Psychoneuroendocrinology is the branch of science that studies the relationships among the endocrine system, the nervous system, and psychology. Researchers in this field aim to shed light on the complexity of how endocrine pathways affect and/or determine behaviors and thereby play a role in neuropsychiatric disorders. We try to understand the complexity of neuropsychiatric disorders by studying the effects of psychological stress; the role of the gut-liver-brain axis; the role of endocrine pathways that control feeding, appetite, sleep, and sexual desire; the endocrine correlates of sex differences in human behavior; the role of the neuroimmune system; and neuroinflammatory pathways. Thus, psychoneuroendocrinology includes basic, clinical, and translational knowledge on neuroscience, psychiatry, psychology, neurology, mental health, endocrinology, gastroenterology, human development, genetics, behavioral medicine, and general medicine.

PSIG has the potential to involve and create interactions across all the ICs and includes intramural investigators, staff, and trainees; extramural members; and academic scientists and clinicians outside the NIH. Special emphasis will be given to research findings and discoveries that advance science and help improve people’s health and lives.

The PSIG will meet every three months for approximately one hour each time. Speakers at the PSIG meetings will typically discuss topics relevant to the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of medical disorders, and topics will span basic, clinical, and translational science. Presentations will be kept short (no longer than 30 minutes) so there will be time for discussion that will facilitate brainstorming, trans-NIH collaborations, and mentoring trainees interested in field.

To join the LISTSERV, go to https://list.nih.gov/cgi-bin/wa.exe?A0=psychoneuroendocrinology-l. For more information, contact the PSIG chairs, Lorenzo Leggio (lorenzo.leggio@nih.gov) and Wendy A. Henderson (hendersw@mail.nih.gov).

The first meeting will be on Wednesday, April 26, 2:00–3:30 p.m., in FAES classrooms 1 and 2 (Building 10). It will feature Bryon Adinoff (University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas), who will speak on “Biological Stress Reactivity and Alcohol Use Disorders—From Early Intramural NIAAA to the Present.”

NEW SIG: DEEP LEARNING IN MEDICAL IMAGING AND BEHAVIOR INTEREST GROUP

The goal of the Deep Learning in Medical Imaging and Behavior (DLMIB) interest group is to engage investigators who are using or interested in using graphics-processing unit–accelerated computing and deep-learning software to develop new analytics, diagnostics, and treatments for diseases such as stroke, cancer, and epilepsy. Investigators in DLMIB are located across NIH ICs and use deep neural networks to extract features from medical-imaging data (magnetic-resonance imaging; computed tomography; electron microscopy) or signal time-series data from procedures such as magnetoencephalography, electroencephalography, and electrocorticography; or behavioral data that have predictive or diagnostic value). This work may also provide insights into brain function and novel treatments. Presentations focus on ongoing work at NIH and other academic institutions, or on hardware and software platforms. The group meets once a month. For more information, contact Sunbin Song (songss@ninds.nih.gov).