Circuits of Reward and Decision-Making: Linking Monkey Tracing Studies to Human Connectivity, Disease, and Neurotherapeutic Targets

The Department welcomes Suzanne Haber, PhD from the University of Rochester to Pittsburgh as part of the Distinguished Scientist Lecture series.

Dr. Haber is Professor of Pharmacology and Physiology, Brain and Cognitive Sciences and Neuroscience at the University of Rochester.  She is also a visiting Professor of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, at McLean Hospital. Dr. Haber received her PhD in Neuroscience from Stanford University in 1978 and did her postdoctoral research in neuroanatomy at the University of Minnesota with Dr. Robert Elde and at MIT, with Dr. Walle Nauta.  Her research focuses on the neural networks that underlie incentive-based learning and decision-making.  Her work centers on the connections and pathways of the prefrontal cortical regions that are linked to mental health illnesses. Dr. Haber’s work demonstrates the complexity of the cortico-cortical connections and cortico-basal ganglia networks, showing a dual organizational system that permits both parallel and integrative processing.  Recently she has also focused on white matter bundles and segmenting them based on the origin of cortical fibers. These studies demonstrate the organization of white matter and the address the question of where within these bundles, electrodes for deep brain stimulation might be effective targets for specific psychiatric diseases. The collective results for the anatomical connectivity studies are linked to human imaging, both diffusion and functional MRI to better understand circuit abnormalities that may underlie psychiatric illnesses. Dr. Haber has been a recipient of a NIMH Merit Award.  She is presently principal investigator of several grants from the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), including a recently awarded multi-institutional Conte Center. Dr. Haber is on the NARSAD Scientific Council and a Fellow of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology (ACNP).  She serves on the Editorial Boards of several scientific journals and has been a member of a number of National Institutes of Health study sections, and special workshops. Dr. Haber has served, and continues to serve, on several committees for the Society for Neuroscience and ACNP. 

Location: Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic Auditorium

For More Information: Please contact Frances Patrick at patrickfm@upmc.edu. 

Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of this lecture, participants will be able to:

1. Learn the connections between the brain reward and cognitive circuits

2. Understand the fiber bundles these systems use to reach their targets.

3. Link the connections and pathways to abnormalities in disease in to potential therapeutic targets. 

Continuing Education Credit:  The University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education to provide continuing medical education for physicians. The University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine designates this educational activity for a maximum of 1.5 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits^TM. Each physician should only claim credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity. Other health care professionals are awarded .15 continuing education units (CEUs), which are equal to 1.5 contact hours. In accordance with Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education requirements on disclosure, information about relationships of presenters with commercial interests (if any) will be included in materials which will be distributed at the time of the conference. WPIC is approved by the American Psychological Association to offer continuing education for psychologists. WPIC maintains responsibility for this program and its contents. This program is being offered for 1.5 continuing education credits.