Translational neuroscience faces considerable challenges, as available therapies to treat brain and nervous system disorders are extremely limited and dated. Drug efficacy for depression, anxiety, schizophrenia, and bipolar disorder plateaued nearly a half century ago, and further development has all but been abandoned by the pharmaceutical industry. Disinvestment by the private sector has occurred just as promising new technologies in genomics, stem cell biology, and neuroscience have emerged which, if invested in, could initiate a new generation of treatments. This unique paradox clouds the ... More

Translational neuroscience faces considerable challenges, as available therapies to treat brain and nervous system disorders are extremely limited and dated. Drug efficacy for depression, anxiety, schizophrenia, and bipolar disorder plateaued nearly a half century ago, and further development has all but been abandoned by the pharmaceutical industry. Disinvestment by the private sector has occurred just as promising new technologies in genomics, stem cell biology, and neuroscience have emerged which, if invested in, could initiate a new generation of treatments. This unique paradox clouds the way forward, risking the possibility that new opportunities will not be exploited effectively. In this volume, experts from academia and industry grapple with the central issues involved. These include: (1) putting genomics and neuroscience to work in service of better diagnostics and identification of biomarkers; (2) new approaches to disease models based on stem cell technology and more careful use of animal models; (3) greater attention to human biology and consideration of what it will take to speed toward human administration of new therapeutic candidates. The volume concludes by presenting a conceptual roadmap for an effective and credible translational neuroscience: one that will take us from the bedside to the lab and back again.