The Gatsby/Wellcome Neuroscience Project

Through its 5-year Gatsby/Wellcome Neuroscience Project, the Royal College of Psychiatrists is at the forefront of innovations in neuroscience training and education for psychiatrists (https://www.rcpsych.ac.uk/training/neuroscience-in-training/neuroscience). This will ensure that the next generation of UK psychiatrists is trained to be neuroscientifically literate; armed with the latest neuroscience knowledge, they will be better prepared to critically evaluate new research findings and integrate these with psychosocial explanations.

BJPsych Advances special issue

This special issue of BJPsych Advances illustrates some of the diversity of impact of modern neuroscience on psychiatry. Particularly thought-provoking contributions explore state-of-the-art knowledge of the complex biology behind substance misuse (Hayes Reference Hayes, Herlinger and Paterson2020), some of the challenges associated with benzodiazepine pharmacotherapy in depression (Cates Reference Mizen and Stanfield2020) and the neuropsychiatric sequelae of Parkinson's disease (Jones Reference Jones, Torsney and Scourfield2020).

Two key articles illustrate the power of modern neuroscience to support the development of fully integrated biopsychosocial models of human experience. First, Mizen & Hook describe how interdisciplinary thinking across the biological–psychological divide is enabling a reworking and refinement of key psychological concepts, such as Freudian metapsychology. This raises the possibility of improved therapeutic techniques and better outcomes for patients. Second, Novick & Ross give examples of how neuroscience is increasingly providing the crucial data to demonstrate the often subtle ways in which the brain mediates and brings together bio-, psycho- and social processes. This has the potential to strengthen the status of psychiatry as an evidence-based specialty that considers all possible causes of a person's mental illness and has the capacity to incorporate all of these diverse components into treatment planning.

There is an opportunity to reflect on and update your knowledge of neuroscience by reading about the clinical relevance of evidence gained through imaging methods in addiction studies (Hayes Reference Hayes, Herlinger and Paterson2020). You can also revisit your understanding of investigative laboratory techniques that are used to study single-gene psychiatric disorders (Mizen Reference Mizen and Stanfield2020).

Embedding psychiatry in neuroscience and neuroscience in psychiatry

Of course, besides bringing greater understanding of the brain, cutting-edge neuroscience research also raises further questions that require investigation, such as the nature of free will and to what extent society can hold an individual responsible for behaviour that may be driven by their biology. Genetic mutations, epigenetic modifications and the impact of early life experience on the structure and function of the developing brain are areas of enquiry with multiple practical and ethical implications. Psychiatrists need to be at the heart of that process of discovery, able to accept uncertainty and to work with neuroscientists to develop future research that will, in turn, lead to even greater progress.

Embedding neuroscience in psychiatric training and clinical practice enhances the specialty. Ultimately, this will improve patient care. Neuroscience will enable everyone in psychiatry to make an even bigger difference to patients’ lives.