Mannheim - CIMH

Zentralinstitut für Seelische Gesundheit
Central Institute of Mental Health
Square J5,
68159 Mannheim
Germany

http://www.zi-mannheim.de/

Role in project

The Central Institute of Mental Health will play a significant role in respect of IMAGEN especially in the fields of genetic analyses, recruitment and psychometric characterisation and neuroimaging: Identification of differentially expressed genes will be performed by Prof. Spanagel (CIMH), who used to lead an Affymetrix platform as part of a FP5 EU project (Targalc). Based on the differential expression data of this group and of the group of Prof. Elalouf (CEA) and the mouse validation data as well as results from the literature, candidate genes will be selected by Prof. Spanagel. Prof. Mann and coworkers have experiences in the interphase between neuroimaging and neurogenetics which were first established when Prof Schumann and Prof Heinz worked at the CIMH. Equally, the CIMH has extensive experience in the field of recruitment, psychometric and behavioural characterisation of adolescent. Therefore our institute (Prof. Rietschel) will constitute a support center for the remaining recruitment centers and will audit the recruitment process. The CIMH will be the support center for Germany and France. Cognitive tasks selected for neuroimaging analysis will be established under the leadership of Prof. Flor.

Professor Dr. Karl Mann Head of the Department of Addictive Behavior and Addiction Medicine  Phone: +49 (621) 1703 3501  Fax: +49 (621) 1703 3505  Contact

During the first twenty years, its research activities were focusing mainly on social psychiatry and epidemiology. Starting from 1995 a phase of structural change and reorientation towards biological psychiatry was initiated. More and more the focus of research was shifted towards the biological basis of psychiatric disorders, and this process was grounded on two fundamental strategies fostering an interactive and cooperative research structure in the Institute:

1. Establishment of modern research technologies in biological psychiatry,
   (e.g. neuroimaging, molecular biology, animal models, molecular genetics, etc. ),
2. Clustering of basic and clinical research units, 
   (e.g. preclinical research in addictive behaviour / psychopharmacology with clinical addiction research / addictive medicine, molecular basis of memory with clinical gerontopsychiatry, etc.), and

Today research focuses on the following three themes:

1. Psychiatri disorders across the life span,
2. Neural plasticity,
3. Development and evaluation of innovative forms of treatment.

Over all these years the research achievements of the CIMH have resulted in a continuously growing number of publications in recognised scientific journals and in several collaborative research funds, awarded by the German Research Council and the Federal Ministry of Education and Research: Selected research area N° 116 “Psychiatric Epidemiology“ (1973-1985), N° 258 “Indicators and risk models for development and course of psychiatric disorders“ (1987-1999), N° 636 “Learning, Memory and Brain Plasticity: Implications for Psychopathology” (since 2004); the Dementia Competence Network (2002-2007) and the German Network for Addiction Research (2001-2008).

Major research activities

The Central Institute of Mental Health in Mannheim is a globally recognised centre of modern psychiatry delivering outstanding science, research and teaching in partnership with institutions at home and abroad. From hyperactivity disorders to depression and dementia, from addiction processes to schizophrenia and "stalking", from eating disorders to dream research and phobias - the researchers at the CIMH examine the ways in which mental illness occurs, develops and is medically treated. With a view to determining the reasons behind psychological disorders, they develop new therapeutic methods and observe the complex interconnections in the human brain. The CIMH is making an outstanding contribution to mental wellbeing - in the coordination centre of the Dementia Competence Network, the headquarters of the German Addiction Research Network, the Collaborative research centre "Learning, Memory and Brain Plasticity: implications for Psychopathology" and in numerous other areas of research.

Summary of experience relevant to IMAGEN

Prof. Flor is laboratory head and chairperson of the Department of Clinical and Cognitive Neuro¬science at the CIMH. She studied psychology, received her PhD from the University of Tübingen and held pre- and postdoctoral positions at Yale University and the University of Pittsburgh. Her main research interests are the psychobiology and interdisciplinary treatment of chronic pain, cortical plasticity in humans, learning and plasticity in anxiety disorders, depression, tinnitus and substance abuse. In these fields Prof. Flor has established numerous experimental studies ranging from sensory-affective processing to fundamental learning and memory mechanisms including complex higher-order information processes in humans.

Prof. Mann was appointed the first chair in Addiction Research in Germany. At the CIMH he laid the foundation of Imaging Genetics in addiction together with coworkers and collaborators (Profs Schumann, Heinz, Smolka). He is speaker of the German Addiction Network and has published around 120 papers in international peer-¬reviewed journals. Preclinical genetic information is usually retrieved from the work of the Division of Psychopharmacology (Head: Prof. Spanagel). Prof. Spanagel is working on drug-induced reward processes since 1989 and has published more than 100 peer-reviewed papers. He is Co-ordinator of the NGFN program Genetics on Alcoholism and has combined his behavioural work with gene expression profiling in a very successful EU funded project (TARGALC; 5th EU-program).

Prof. Rietschel is the Head of the Division of Genetic Epidemiology in Psychiatry at the CIMH. She is a psychiatrist and psychotherapist and has a registration for medical genetics. As well as her involvement in and leadership of several national and international research projects into the genetics of psychiatric disorders, she has been project leader in two projects funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research, which investigated the ethical implications of genetic research into common psychiatric disorders as well as the fears, expectations and understanding of such research and its results among the general population. Prof. Rietschel was one of the PIs for the genetic studies within the framework of the German national competence networks “Schizophrenia” and “Depression”, funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research and was responsible for all ethical issues pertaining to the genetic aspects of the study. She participated as a consultant in an ELSI project, funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research, examining the preconditions required for applying genetic tests in the general population.

Prof. Tobias Banaschewski, MD, PhD, is Medical Director of the Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at the Central Institute of Mental Health, Mannheim, and member of the Medical Faculty Mannheim of the University Heidelberg, Germany. His main research interests are ADHD and comorbid disorders (conduct disorder, tic disorder), psychophysiology (event-related brain electrical potentials), neuropsychology and psychopharmacology. He is Co-Principal Investigator of the International Multi-Centre ADHD Genetics Project and was honoured with the Kramer-Pollnow-Award (German research award for biological child and adolescent psychiatry for special scientific performance in clinical research, particularly for research into attention deficit hyperactivity disorder). Furthermore, he is Co-Editor of the Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry and several journals on child and adolescent psychiatry, and member of Advisory Committee of the European Network of Research on Hyperkinetic Disorders (EUNETHYDIS). Equally, Prof Banaschewski and colleagues have extensive experience in the field of recruitment, psychometric and behavioural characterisation of adolescents.

Luise Poustka, MD, is Assistant Medical Director at the Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Head of the Outpatient Centre and Working Group for Autistic Disorders at the CIMH.  Her research interests focus mainly on first episode Schizophrenia and Autism including comorbid disorders (ADHD and Conduct disorder, Aggressive behavior). In this field, she has established several projects on neuroimaging and neuropsychology at the CIMH and is research coordinator for a multicentre hometreatment  project for the prevention of delinquency in adolescents at risk for dissocial behavior.