This last Saturday at the Staglin Music Festival for Mental Health I had the opportunity to hear Dr. Thomas Insel share his new vision for the National Institute of Mental Health.

"Building on the Decade of the Brain, we are poised for a Decade of Translation, with new discoveries from genomics, neuroscience, and behavioral science leading to new, more effective treatments, and ultimately to the possibility of preventing and curing mental illness. Our priority setting, new funding strategies, and new organization are designed to optimize the translation of our best science to the service of those with mental and behavioral disorders."

As part of this new focus the NIMH has reorganized its research programs into five divisions (from three), effective October 1, 2004:

1. Division of Neuroscience and Basic Behavioral Science (DNBBS)
2. Division of Adult Translational Research and Treatment Development (DATR)
3. Division of Pediatric Translational Research and Treatment Development (DPTR)
4. Division of AIDS and Health and Behavior Research (DAHBR)
5. Division of Services and Intervention Research (DSIR)

These changes represent a shift from basic science, such as studies of emotional regulation or cognitive development, to new translational divisions to accelerate the development of tools to help patients.

Tom's talk was inspirational, informative and also a bit depressing. The direct and indirect cost of mental illness in the US easily surpasses $200B/year, yet the NIMH budget to create substantial change remains a drop in the bucket -- increasing from $1.3B to $1.4B this past year. That said, Tom's understanding of where neurotechnology is headed was definitely a breath of fresh air.