Global Collaborations Unveil Insights into Mental Health: A Journey through International Research Efforts in Psychology and Neuroimaging

The Department of Clinical Psychology at Friedrich Schiller University Jena in Germany is dedicated to the study and treatment of mental health disorders. Led by Carina Heller, the department collaborates with the Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy at Jena University Hospital to conduct research on adaptive and maladaptive brain circuits underlying mental health at the Center for Intervention and Research (C-I-R-C) in Halle. In addition, Heller and her team are affiliated with the German Center for Mental Health (DZPG) in Jena-Magdeburg-Halle.

Heller is also involved in international collaborations, working with the Psychiatry Neuroimaging Laboratory at Brigham and Women’s Hospital at Harvard Medical School in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. Along with Zora Kikinis, she explores cutting-edge research in psychiatric neuroimaging. Claudia Barth of the Department of Psychiatric Research at Diakonhjemmet Hospital in Oslo, Norway, is another collaborator in the field.

In Australia, Tim J. Silk and Nandita Vijayakumar from the Centre for Social and Early Emotional Development study mental health and child development at Deakin University. They are also affiliated with the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute and the Department of Paediatrics at the University of Melbourne.

Susana Carmona and Magdalena Martínez-García from the Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria Gregorio Marañón in Madrid, Spain, are part of the Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Salud Mental (CIBERSAM), conducting research on mental health in collaboration with international institutions.

At the Imaging Genetics Center at the Mark and Mary Stevens Neuroimaging and Informatics Institute at the Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Sophia I. Thomopoulos, Neda Jahanshad, Lauren Salminen, Katherine Lawrence, and Paul M. Thompson study the genetics of brain imaging to understand mental health disorders.

Lastly, Nicole Petersen of the Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA contributes to research on mental health and treatment options. These collaborations across institutions and countries contribute to a better understanding of mental health