Sectorial Activities - Scientific Sections
Chair: Prof. Werner Strik Co-Chair: Prof. Silvana Galderisi Secretary:Prof. Waldemar Szelenberger |
SECTION ON
PSYCHOPHYSIOLOGY
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| DIRECTIVE BOARD Chair:Prof. Werner Strik University Hospital for Clinical Psychiatry BollingenStrasse, 111 Waldau, CH-3000 Bern 60 - SWITZERLAND Tel.: +41 31 930 95 30 Fax: +41 31 930 99 58 Email: strik@puk.unibe.ch Co-Chair: Prof. Silvana Galderisi Department of Psychiatry University of Naples - SUN Largo Madonna delle Grazie 80138 Napoli - ITALY Tel: +39 081 566 6504 Fax: +39 081 566 6523 E-mail: sgalderi@tin.it Secretary: Prof. Waldemar Szelenberger Medical University of Warsaw Department of Psychiatry ul. Nowowiejska 27 00665 Warsaw - POLAND Tel: +48 22 825 1236 Fax: +48 22 825 1315 E-mail: wald@psych.waw.pl The activity of the WPA Section on Psychophysiology is aimed to favour the development and dissemination of psychophysiological techniques in the study of neurobiological bases of psychiatric syndromes and to promote the collaboration among different groups actively involved in this research field.
A renewed attention to psychophysiological methods in psychiatric research has been brought about by recent theories proposing that psychopathological phenomena do not result from a dysfunction of one or more brain regions, but from the failure to integrate the activity of different areas involved in cognitive processes. In this perspective, neurobiogical research should tap the dynamics of complex interactions over time among cerebral regions involved in the poorly integrated cognitive processes. The pursuit of this goal reqires the use of techniques with high sensitivity to the smoothest deviation in complex and integrated processes that last fractions of seconds. Techniques with these characteristics might also contribute to our understanding of psychotropic drugs effects on the central nervous system. It is increasingly acknowledged that psychotropic drugs act modifying the connectivity within largely distributed cortico-subcortical neural circuits. Therefore, brain imaging studies on receptor occupancy or modifications of cerebral blood flow or metabolism should be complemented by psychophysiological indices of integrated brain processes. Link to relevant congresses in the field:
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