February 18 - Psych Grand Rounds

Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences Grand Rounds 2021-2022

Originally recorded on February 18, 2022 

Rajita Sinha, PhD, Professor of Psychiatry, and of Neuroscience and Child Study, Director Yale Interdisciplinary Stress Center, Yale University School of Medicine

"Stress-related Motivation Neurocircuits and Addiction Risk and Relapse Outcomes"

Watch on-demand for CME credit - coming soon

Watch on-demand for APA and General CEU credit - coming soon

Join us as we host Dr. Rajita Sinha, Professor of Psychiatry, and of Neuroscience and Child Study, Director Yale Interdisciplinary Stress Center, Yale University School of Medicine as she presents on stress-related motivation pathways that are critical for adaptive resilient coping and self control. The impact of alcohol and drug use and misuse on this stress motivational neural circuitry and related clinical outcomes will be discussed. Interventions to address alterations in stress-related motivation and improve adaptive self control and coping to reduce addiction risk and relapse will also be presented.

Dr. Sinha is a licensed Clinical Psychologist and Clinical Neuroscientist, Deputy Chair of Psychology and Chief of the Psychology Section in Psychiatry and Co-Director of Education for the Yale Center for Clinical Investigation (home of Yale’s NIH supported Clinical Translational Science Award). She is the founding director of the Yale Interdisciplinary Stress Center that focuses on understanding the neurobiology of stress, trauma and resilient versus vulnerable biobehavioral coping mechanisms that promote neuropsychiatric diseases such as alcohol use disorders, substance use disorders, chronic pain, PTSD and other chronic diseases. She has developed novel stress, pain and craving provocation paradigms to understand mechanisms that drive these states and related pathologies and their impact on clinical addiction outcomes in alcohol use disorder, substance use disorders and related conditions. Her lab also develops and tests novel pharmacologic and integrative behavioral approaches to address chronic stress and addiction relapse risk to improve addiction treatment outcomes. These objectives are being accomplished through a series of NIH funded research projects and she has published widely on these topics. She is the 2020 recipient of the Research Society on Alcoholism's Distinguished Researcher Award, and the 2020 recipient of the James Tharpe Award for outstanding contributions to Addiction Research. She has served on many NIH special emphasis panels, review committees and workshops, presented at numerous national and international conferences, and her work is widely cited.

At the completion of the presentation, attendees will be able to:
1. Learn specific chronic drug related adaptations in brain and peripheral stress - motivation pathways that drive high drug craving, negative affect and relapse risk in addiction
2. Identify 1-2 therapeutic compounds that target stress pathophysiology in addiction.
3. Identify critical moderators of drug use outcomes that need to be evaluated and considered in order to improve outcomes in the treatment of substance use disorders.

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Supporting Psychiatry Grand Rounds

Psychiatry Grand Rounds are coordinated by the Department's Office of Continuing Education, Community and Alumni Relations and hosted free of charge to attendees. Grand Rounds are an opportunity to share knowledge and are part of the tradition of a medical school and a teaching hospital. Through philanthropic support of the Psych Grand Rounds Lecture Series, we are ensuring the future of medical education at MUSC and maintaining a valuable health care asset for our community. Join us and make a gift to Friends of Mental Health today.