Let's Talk WITH Young Researchers: our new podcast sideline in which we give the word to young researchers in the field of women's mental health!

We kick-off with our very own Gloria Matte Bon, PhD Candidate in the IRTG2804, who is working with Prof. Tobias Kaufmann, applying computational models to investigate sex differences in brain structure, with particular focus on hormonal transition periods and women’s mental health.

We end this podcast by introducing a new closing category and Gloria is the first one to answer our "3 Burning Questions":

• Who is your science crush?
• What did you not know/expect before starting a PhD?
• What do you enjoy most about your work as a PhD researcher?

Gloria's hot-off-the-press-paper: Modeling brain sex in the limbic system as phenotype for female-prevalent mental disorders (Matte Bon, Kraft, Comasco, Derntl, & Kaufmann, 2024). https://bsd.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s13293-024-00615-1

Sound recording: Franziska Weinmar with the equipment of the IRTG2804

Editing: Franziska Weinmar

Do you have any feedback, suggestions, or questions? Get in touch with us: irtg2804.podcast@gmail.com

Are you intrigued by this topic and want to be kept updated? Follow us on twitter: @irtg2804 or instagram: @irtg2804

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Computational methods and machine learning are currently THE hot-topics and they are also applied in neuroscience research, showing us where the field is heading in the future. If you have ever wondered how these methods work, what their advantages - but also limitations - are and how they are implemented in research on women's mental health: We got you!

In this episode Franziska is hosting Tobias Kaufmann, professor of neurotechnology and computational psychiatry at the University of Tübingen, who is also part of the IRTG2804. Tobias explains the basics of computational methods and gives us concrete examples of his own work, providing a first glimpse into the computational world. Also, we hear about his new ERC project: "HealthyMom: Modeling and maintaining maternal mental health".

Timestamps:

00:25 Introduction

01:18 Computational psychiatry: Advantages & limitations

10:15 Tobias' computational methods & examples: Prediction & classification models

21:14 Computational methods in women's (mental) health: Focus on adolescence

30:11 HealthyMom Project: Brain plasticity during pregnancy loss

40:26 Recruitment information for Healthy Mom Study

41:30 Summary

43:40 Next steps in computational psychiatry and women's mental health

Website to Kaufmann Lab: https://www.kaufmannlab.org/

About the HealthyMom Project: https://www.kaufmannlab.org/post/20230202-erc-consolidator-grant/

References:

• Population-based neuroimaging reveals traces of childbirth in the maternal brain (de Lange, Kaufmann et al., 2019). https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1910666116
• Menarche, pubertal timing and the brain: female-specific patterns of brain maturation beyond age-related development (Gottschwesky, Kraft, & Kaufmann, 2024). https://bsd.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s13293-024-00604-4
• Domain adapted brain network fusion captures variance related to pubertal brain development and mental health (Kraft, Alnaes, & Kaufmann, 2023). https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-023-41839-w
• Modeling brain sex in the limbic system as phenotype for female-prevalent mental disorders (Matte Bon, Kraft, Comasco, Derntl, & Kaufmann, 2024). https://bsd.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s13293-024-00615-1

Outline & questions: Franziska Weinmar & Gloria Matte Bon

Sound recording: Franziska Weinmar with the equipment of the IRTG2804

Editing: Franziska Weinmar

Do you have any feedback, suggestions, or questions? Get in touch with us: irtg2804.podcast@gmail.com

Are you intrigued by this topic and want to be kept updated? Follow us on twitter: @irtg2804 or instagram: @irtg2804

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Celebrate with us the first anniversary episode of Let's Talk About Women!! - This time as PhD Candidate Franziska is hosting Dr. Nicole Petersen, Assistant Professor at the Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, UCLA, California. Directing the Translational Neuroimaging Lab, Nicole's research focuses on neuromodulation and neuroendocrinology. Amongst others, she has investigated the effects of the menstrual cycle and oral contraceptives on brain and behavior.

In this episode, Nicole explains what "SHAPERs" are and what we know about their effects on the brain - but also what gaps there are still today. As one of the founding chairs of the ENIGMA Consortium for Neuroendocrinology, Nicole introduces the idea of ENIGMA and the working group and explains how this can contribute to rigorous studies, which will allow us to address exactly these knowledge gaps.

Timestamps:

02:00 - Introduction of our guest Dr. Nicole Petersen and her field of research

02:30 - Explaining underlying concepts: What are hormones?

04:22 - Do sex hormones have functions beyond reproduction?

05:44 - The acronym SHAPERs & how it emphasizes on the dual role of sex hormones

08:38 - How are sex hormones associated with specific psychological aspects?

10:29 - Example: The influence of sensitivity to sex hormones on emotions

12:26 - Mysteries in neuroscience: How exactly are psychological conditions related to sex hormones?

14:18 - Why are some women more sensitive to hormones & mental health disorders?

17:20 - What does research say about the effects of SHAPERs on the brain?

23:20 - Is it especially important to investigate SHAPERs in women?

26:44 - The ENIGMA Neuroendocrinology consortium: aims & how to join!

34:26 - Summary

36:20 – Future directions in research & next steps for investigating women’s mental health

41:09 – Closing remarks

Website to the ENIGMA consortium: https://enigma.ini.usc.edu/

Website to the ENIGMA Neuroendocrinology workgroup: https://enigma.ini.usc.edu/ongoing/enigma-neuroendocrinology/

If you would like to get in touch with Nicole, you can reach her at: npetersen@ucla.edu

... or find her research group here: https://www.translational-neuroimaging.com/home

Sound recording: Franziska Weinmar with the equipment of the IRTG2804

Editing: Franziska Weinmar

Do you have any feedback, suggestions, or questions? Get in touch with us: irtg2804.podcast@gmail.com

Are you intrigued by this topic and want to be kept updated? Follow us on twitter: @irtg2804 or instagram: @irtg2804

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.