The Center for Psychiatric Neuroscience (CPN) is a multidisciplinary research coalition at the University of Mississippi Medical Center. The primary mission of the CPN is to facilitate the transition of junior faculty researchers to independent neuroscientists with major research grant support. The CPN emphasizes research dedicated to the generation of knowledge about the relationship between basic neurobiology and clinical psychiatry. This area of research, i.e. psychiatric neuroscience, is an exciting field that has contributed many recent major discoveries regarding the biological bases of behavior. The timeliness and health significance of such research is emphasized by a recent report from the World Health Organization, indicating that 5 out of the 10 leading causes of disability worldwide in 1990 were psychiatric conditions including unipolar depression, alcohol use, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, and obsessive-compulsive disorder (Murray, et al., WHO, Global Burden of Disease, 1996). Hence, the ultimate goal of research supported by the CPN is to enhance our understanding of the biological underpinnings of psychiatric illnesses and their treatment, and to open the door to novel, more effective treatments for these illnesses.

The mission of the CPN is addressed by providing direct funding of junior investigator research, and by enhancing research activities and research career development in psychiatric neuroscience through a number of supportive mechanisms. These mechanisms include the funding of educational, mentorship, and internship programs (see Mentoring and Education Core), providing state-of-the-art research resources (see Research Resources: Cellular Neuroimaging Core, Animal Core, Human Brain Collection Core, Information Technology Services, Molecular Biology Core), and facilitating collaborations and research initiatives through a Small Grants Program. Overall, the CPN provides a diverse and nationally competitive research environment highly conducive to productive and modern research in psychiatric neuroscience.

The Center for Psychiatric Neuroscience is funded by a grant (NIH Grant # P20-RR-17701) from the National Center for Research Resources (NCRR) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) as part of the Institutional Development Award (IDeA) Program.