Brain and mental health
Every stage of life brings its own risks to the brain and mind, from the first signs of psychosis in adolescence to epilepsy, brain cancer and the conditions of older age. At RCSI, researchers bring together expertise in neuroscience, psychiatry, pharmacy and clinical medicine to better understand the brain and to develop new approaches to preventing, diagnosing and treating neurological and psychiatric disorders.
Our research spans childhood through to older age, combining laboratory discovery, clinical research and population health to improve outcomes for people living with neurological conditions and mental illness.
A national centre for brain science
RCSI is proud to host FutureNeuro, the Research Ireland Centre for Translational Brain Science, which brings together researchers, clinicians, industry partners and patient organisations to accelerate the development of new diagnostics, therapies and medical technologies for neurological disease. Much of its work focuses on epilepsy: under the direction of Professor David Henshall, FutureNeuro researchers identified specific microRNAs that help control seizure activity in the brain. This discovery now forms the basis of a new treatment being developed by Neumirna Therapeutics.
FutureNeuro's remit also extends to the wider effects of a changing climate on brain health. This is the subject of 'The Brain and Climate Change', a short film produced with the International League Against Epilepsy Climate Change Commission, which examines how rising temperatures affect people living with epilepsy and other neurological conditions.
Watch The Brain and Climare Change short film here
Understanding youth mental health
Research from Professor Mary Cannon and the team in the RCSI Department of Psychiatry has shaped international understanding of youth mental health, identifying early life factors that increase the risk of psychosis and other mental illness in adolescence and young adulthood. Their findings have informed healthcare policy and early intervention strategies in Ireland and internationally, and have established RCSI as a leading centre for research into how mental illness develops in young people.
Treating aggressive brain cancer
RCSI is also advancing research into glioblastoma, the most common and aggressive form of adult brain cancer. Led by Professor Annette Byrne, the Precision Cancer Medicine Group has identified distinct glioblastoma subtypes that respond differently to treatment, work that is helping to inform more targeted approaches to a disease for which treatment options remain limited.
Across neuroscience and mental health, RCSI researchers work in partnership with patients, clinicians, healthcare providers and industry to bring new understanding into clinical practice. From epilepsy and brain cancer to youth mental health and lifelong well-being, this research is helping shape a future in which more people can live with better brain health.