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Brighton & Sussex Medical School

Biological Psychiatry

BSMS > Research > Clinical Neuroscience > Biological-psychiatry

Biological Psychiatry

The Biological Psychiatry research group encompasses research into the interaction between brain and body on mental health, cognitive neuroscience, immunopsychiatry, psychopharmacology and novel approaches to treatments for mental illness.

Current research interests include the interaction between internal physiology and mental processes (interoception), the clinical links between hypermobility and neurodevelopmental conditions and neuropsychiatric symptoms, the role of mitochondrial metabolism and the immune system in psychiatric presentations, and the use of ketamine, probiotics and biobehavioural therapies including neurofeedback in the management of depression and anxiety.  Supporting these research themes is the development of novel neuroimaging methods to characterise clinically relevant markers of brain metabolism and inflammation.

BACKGROUND IMAGE FOR PANEL

Our aims

  • To deliver a programme of applied health research that will build the evidence base on care, treatment, and causation.
  • To deliver research that makes a positive difference for people.
  • To deliver a programme of excellent and useful education and training (including at PGCert, PGDip and MSc level) that will develop and deliver skills for the wide multidisciplinary and interagency matrix of health and social services needed in psychiatry.
  • To accelerate research locally and regionally by providing an infrastructure for collaboration and access to clinical populations.
  • To support health and social services in the development and evaluation of new and improved models of service delivery.
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Research

  • Aligning Dimensions of Interoceptive Experience (ADIE)  

more about ADIE Therapy research >

  • Voices in Borderline Explored (ViBE) 

more about Borderline Explored research  >

  • Neurofeedback for Depression 

More about the Neurofeedback for Depression study > 

  • Viscero-sensory processes and neural responses to inflammation: mechanisms of pain and fatigue in fibromyalgia (MCPF)

  • Applying leading-edge multimodal neuroimaging and neural connectivity tools to characterise brain mechanisms that link joint hypermobility to anxiety

  • Investigating the Effects of mild inflammation on brain function in ME/CFS

Education

We contribute to undergraduate teaching at the Medical School, and support Individual Research Projects (IRPs), Junior Reseach Associates (JRAs) and Erasmus studentships. In collaboration with Health Education Kent, Surrey and Sussex, we offer an MSc in Psychiatry. We also provide several PhD opportunities. In partnership with SPFT, we host two symposia each year as part of their academic training programme.

BACKGROUND IMAGE FOR PANEL
BACKGROUND IMAGE FOR PANEL

Data protection

The University of Sussex Privacy Notice:

For information outlining the University’s privacy notice which explains how personal data is managed in accordance with GDPR, click here >

Hearing about Future Research

If you are interested to hear about our current research studies or you would like to express interest in hearing about upcoming studies, news and events, you can get in touch with a member of the research team using one of the contact methods listed at the end of this statement.  

When you indicate you would like to hear about future research, we will contact you to provide information about research studies, recent news and events.  By agreeing to be contacted in the future, we will collect your name, preferred method of contact (address, email and/or telephone number).  We do not pass your name to anyone outside the organisation.

Selected members of our Research Team will contact you to provide information about upcoming research studies, you can then choose to take part if you want to. 

We will store your data so we can contact you, unless you tell us otherwise.  If at any time you wish to withdraw from our future research contact list, please use one of the contact methods below. Please provide us with your full name for us to adjust our records accurately.

To get in touch with the research team, contact:

T: 01273 873 833 / 01273 872 819 
E: neuroscience@bsms.ac.uk
Address: Brighton & Sussex Medical School, Department of Neuroscience, Trafford Centre for Medical Research, University of Sussex, Falmer, BN1 9RY

If you wish to raise a complaint on how we have handled your personal data, you can contact our Data Protection Officer who will investigate the matter. If you are not satisfied with our response or believe we are processing your personal data in a way that is not lawful you can complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO).

If you have any queries concerning your personal data and how it is processed, contact the Data Protection Officer at dpo@sussex.ac.uk.