Title: The interplay between metabolic health, brain structure, and cognition in severe mental illness

Speaker: Maya Selitser, MSc Student, Department of Medical Neuroscience, Dalhousie University

Date: Thursday, April 10, 2025

Time: 11:30am - 12:30pm  

Location: Room 3H-1, Tupper Building

Description: People suffering from a severe mental illness (SMI) are affected by psychiatric conditions, primarily schizophrenia and bipolar disorders (BD), that are so debilitating that their ability to engage in daily functional, social, and occupational activities is severely impaired. Both schizophrenia and BD are associated with neurostructural and cognitive alterations, yet the exact cause of these alterations is difficult to pinpoint and remains unknown. Considering metabolic disturbances such as obesity, diabetes, and hypertension are disproportionately prevalent in people with SMIs, it is crucial to investigate whether poor metabolic health contributes to adverse neurological and cognitive outcomes in this clinical population. This seminar explores this question by considering both the biological and epidemiological perspectives of how different components of metabolic health impact people with SMIs at different stages of the illness.