Speaker: Graziano Pinna PhD

Title: The Neurosteroid Signature: A New Frontier in Precision Neuropsychiatry

Introduction: 

Over the past several decades, neuropsychiatry has achieved remarkable progress in symptom-based diagnosis and treatment. Yet across many conditions, including major depression, postpartum depression, PTSD, epilepsy, and alcohol use disorder, we continue to treat syndromes rather than directly targeting the underlying neurobiology.

This talk will focus on a neurobiological system that is increasingly emerging as a unifying and translational bridge across these disorders: The neurosteroid system.

Neurosteroids are powerful, rapidly acting modulators of neural circuits that regulate mood, stress responsivity, seizure susceptibility, and reward processing. Converging evidence suggests that disruptions in neurosteroid synthesis, metabolism, and receptor signaling contribute to vulnerability, symptom expression, and variability in treatment response across a range of neuropsychiatric and neurologic conditions.

In this presentation, Dr. Graziano Pinna will highlight translational discoveries spanning preclinical models and human studies, illustrating how neurosteroid research is helping shift the field from symptom management toward mechanism-based, precision approaches. This work positions neurosteroids as one of the most promising cross-diagnostic targets in neuropsychiatry.

Learning Objectives: 
Upon completion of this activity, participants should be able to:

• • Interpret the pathophysiology of major depression and the unexpected neurosteroidgenic actions of SSRIs.
  • Identify biomarkers that may predict risk for postpartum depression.
  • Utilize treatment approaches in pediatric epilepsies using neurosteroid analogs.
  • Examine the interaction between neurosteroid and endocannabinoid systems in alcohol use disorder (AUD).

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TRANSCRIPT
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