Molecular and Behavioral Neuroscience Institute

Perhaps the greatest discovery Stanley J. Watson, Ph.D., M.D., has made, he says, is the realization that one needs to be flexible.

"You can't get tied to any one way of thinking," explains the Department's Associate Chair for Research. With research, things change quickly and theories need to be updated on a regular basis. Dr. Watson admits that constantly re-evaluating your direction can be an exhausting process, but it is also what he finds most rewarding about his work.

"You can sit down and look at data and every week find out something completely new something that no one else in the world knew," he says. "You need a large, effective, well-integrated team to do this kind of work."

Dr. Watson has such a team through the Molecular and Behavioral Neuroscience Institute in the Department of Psychiatry which both he and Dr. Huda Akil co-direct. It is an interdisciplinary unit undertaking a broad program of basic research on the etiology and treatment of mental illness. Since its founding in 1955, the Institute has grown from three scientists to more than 200 active in both basic and applied studies of the brain and behavior. The applied and basic research programs are concerned with understanding the etiology and basis of mental illnesses. It is a nationally and internationally recognized research institute.

"The brain is the most complex machine we know anything about," says Dr. Watson. "We're trying to understand the machinery and processes that allow the brain to operate. When we learn what's normal, we'll begin to realize how illnesses affect the brain." Dr. Watson and his colleagues use basic findings to move directly to the patient care setting and back, if necessary.

At the core of the research is a commitment to investigate biological and psychological dysfunctional behavior using the resources of neurobiologists, chemists, psychopharmacologists, psychiatrists, cognitive psychologists and geneticists. Currently, research on memory, affective illness, schizophrenia, synaptic communication, brain cell membrane, mRNA, molecular genetics, cognition, genetic linkage and psychodiagnostic techniques is under way.

The Institute also has a teaching function, offering a highly respected series of seminars that present outstanding researchers from the United States and abroad. Experience in the laboratory is open to qualified medical and graduate students, senior psychiatry residents and postdoctoral scholars. A research fellowship is offered to residents and scholars to promote their opportunity to work on a particular project. A biweekly Preclinical/Clinical Neuroscience Seminar series provides a forum for discussion and a rich educational opportunity for residents and others dealing with basic science/clinical science interface.

The essential support facilities at the Institute include highly equipped laboratories, data analysis and computer units, a research-oriented library, electronics and instrument shops, and private interview and conference rooms.