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Journal of Psychosomatic Res

Editorial

Research strategies and clinical challenges in neuroscience

This special issue of the Journal of Psychosomatic

Research brings together some of the clinical presentations

made at the International Neuroscience Conference held in

Al Ain in November 2005. The conference was organized

by the Neuroscience Research Priority Group of the Faculty

of Medicine and Health Sciences, United Arab Emirates

(UAE) University, in collaboration with the International

Neuropsychiatry Association, International Brain Research

Organization, and Collegium Internationale Neuro-Pharma-

cologicum. With significant regional and international

participation of speakers and delegates from around

50 countries, the conference served as a forum to strengthen

existing collaborative research links with leading interna-

tional centers and helped to foster new initiatives in the field

of neuroscience in the region.

The session themes included neurodevelopment and

regeneration, neurodegenerative diseases, neuropsychiatry

and behavior, neurotransmitters and neuroimaging in health

and disease, and motor control and movement disorders. In

the preconference workshop, the topics included in the

neurology theme were neurodegenerative disorders such as

dementia and Parkinson’s disease, while in the psychiatry

theme, the topics discussed were autism, attention deficit

hyperactivity disorder, psychiatric aspects of epilepsy,

substance use disorders, and depression. Along with several

plenary speakers, a significant number of other researchers,

some of whom are still in the early stages of their scientific

careers, presented interesting data at the conference and

have contributed to this special issue.

While the scientific program presented a good balance

between basic science research and clinical research, in

compiling this issue, special emphasis was given to con-

tributions that focused on clinical research and its applica-

tions. Recent research has made critical progress in

unraveling the mystery of Alzheimer’s dementia, and in

this regard, Ballard et al. [1] discusses altered neurogenesis

in Alzheimer’s dementia.

The brain is the most complex organ in the body and

affects all aspects of our functioning. The brain also controls

functions we are not conscious of, like digestion, breathing,

and circulation. Thompson [2], in his review of the sensory

0022-3999/06/$ – see front matter D 2006 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

doi:10.1016/j.jpsychores.2006.08.001

and motor control of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract, explores

the relationship between gut and the brain in health and

diseases. He provides recent experimental evidence of the

mechanisms by which the CNS plays a major role in the

control of the GI system by receiving and processing the GI

signals both at a conscious and a subconscious level.

Advances in neuroimaging have greatly enriched our

understanding of the structural and functional changes that

occur in the brain during disease states. Involvement of the

nervous system causes considerable morbidity and mortality

in up to 70% of patients with HIV infection and AIDS. Corr

[3], in his illustrative review, highlights the major neuro-

imaging findings in AIDS. This is complemented by another

review on the recent advances in the use and application of

neuroimaging in psychiatric disorders [4].

Papers in the neuropsychiatry theme focus on disorders

ranging from depression to substance use disorders and

from developmental disorders to dementia. Eapen et al. [5]

present the prevalence and psychosocial correlates of Global

Developmental Delay in the UAE and recommend the need

for better awareness and screening programs based on their

finding that majority of these children slipped through the

available pediatric surveillance. On the same epidemiolog-

ical line, Gureje et al. [6] report the profile and impact of

dementia from a sub-Saharan African community and

suggest that the diagnosis of dementia may be downwardly

biased in this culture due to relatively preserved social and

functional roles.

Substance misuse is a global health problem with great

health economic costs to affected people, to their families,

and to communities; Abou-Saleh [7], in his paper, reviews

the recent advances in treatment and models of care.

A number of papers focus on depression, and Robertson

[8] reviews the prevalence, etiology, comorbidity, and clinical

implications of mood disorder in the context of Tourette

syndrome. Furthermore, Abou-Saleh and Coppen [9] argue

that folic acid may have a potential role as a supplement to

antidepressant medication in depressed patients.

Decades of research have made it clear that every

aspect of our development is shaped by biological factors

such as genetics and brain function, as well as by our

earch 61 (2006) 281–282

Editorial / Journal of Psychosomatic Research 61 (2006) 281–282282

environment and experiences. Recent advances in genetic

research have had a significant impact on our under-

standing of neurodevelopmental and child psychiatric

disorders. In this regard, the genetics of inherited primary

nocturnal enuresis is explored by Bayoumi et al. [10] in

their paper, while Robertson et al. [11] describe a patient

with Tourette syndrome and CATCH 22 syndrome. Eapen

et al. [12], in their paper, examine the role of clinical

phenotypes in understanding the genetics of obsessive–

compulsive disorder.

Several papers have focused on the clinical and electro-

physiological correlates of psychiatric and neurological

disorders. Gururaj et al. [13], in their paper on seizures in

children, attempt to determine the clinical, EEG, and

radiological factors associated with medically intractable

seizures, while a paper by Moller et al. [14] examines a

novel standardized assessment methodology of detecting

impaired driving performance due to drowsiness in a

normative cohort.

While being diverse, we believe that the papers presented

in this issue are representative of what is new and significant

in clinical neuroscience, covering a broad range of topics

from epidemiological and clinical characteristics to neuro-

imaging and neurogenetic studies.

The guest editors thank Professor Colin Shapiro, the

Editor of Journal of Psychosomatic Research, and Elsevier,

the publisher, for their strong and enthusiastic support in the

production of this special issue. The organizers of the

conference would like to acknowledge the financial support

of the UAE University and extend their gratitude to Sheikh

Nahayan Mabarak Al-Nahayan, Minister of Higher Educa-

tion and Scientific Research and the Chancellor, for his

personal encouragement to pursue excellence in science.

The preconference workshops were supported by Sheikh

Hamdan Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Awards for Medical

Sciences, Dubai. We appreciate the support of the Depart-

ment of Health and Medical Services Dubai, the Emirates

Medical Association, and all other sponsors who supported

the event. We are indebted to the leadership of the Faculty of

Medicine and Health Sciences and to all the Conference

Committee members, who jointly made this conference

a success.

Further information on the conference can be found on

http://www.fmhs.uaeu.ac.ae/neuro.

Valsamma Eapen

Conference Chair

Abu Adem

Chair, Scientific Committee

Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences

UAE University

PO Box 17666, Al Ain

United Arab Emirates

References

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Ballard C. Altered neurogenesis in Alzheimer’s disease. J Psychosom

Res 2006;61:311–6.

[2] Thompson DG. Neurogastroenterology: imaging of the sensory and

motor control of the GI tract. J Psychosom Res 2006;61:301–4.

[3] Corr PD. Imaging of neuro-AIDS. J Psychosom Res 2006;61:295–9.

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Res 2006;61:289–93.

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Prevalence and psychosocial correlates of Global Developmental

Delay in 3-year old children in the United Arab Emirates.

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dementia in a sub-Saharan African community: results from the

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associations and implications. J Psychosom Res 2006;61:349–58.

[9] Abou-Saleh MT, Coppen A. Folic acid and the treatment of

depression. J Psychosom Res 2006;61:285–7.

[10] Bayoumi RA, Eapen V, Al Barwani HS, Hill RS, Al Gazali L. The

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[11] Robertson MM, Shelley BP, Dalwai S, Brewer C, Critchley H. A

patient with both Gilles de la Tourette syndrome and the chromosome

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Tourette syndrome? J Psychosom Res 2006;61:365–8.

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performance, microsleep episodes, and subjective sleepiness: norma-

tive data using convergent methodologies to assess driver drowsiness.


http://www.fmhs.uaeu.ac.ae/neuro