Barchas

Hamburg

War is hell, as the old saying goes -- with loss of life and limb, destruction of infrastructure and the environment, and devastating costs. But other pernicious consequences of military conflict include post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), traumatic brain injury and other such conditions.

The 89th Annual Meeting of the Association for Research in Nervous and Mental Disease (ARNMD), organized in collaboration with NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center and held Dec. 16 at Rockefeller University, examined the psychological and neurological aspects of war -- from the experience of a Marine colonel in war and a presentation on "the mind of the terrorist" to a lecture on preventing mass violence given by Weill Cornell Medical College's Dr. David A. Hamburg, a leading expert on genocide.

"In the context of ongoing military conflict and extremist violence in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere, it is ever more important that we work to ameliorate the consequences of war as it affects the physical and mental health of combatants and non-combatants alike," said Dr. Jack Barchas, conference coordinator, chairman of the ARNMD board of trustees and chair of psychiatry at Weill Cornell Medical College. "At the same time, we endeavor to better understand and address some of the underlying motivations that perpetuate violence."

Panel sessions addressed cutting-edge research, treatment approaches and public policy issues with the goal of creating an agenda for further inquiry and action. Highlights included:

• Improving treatment for PTSD and related conditions using emerging technologies. Dr. JoAnn Difede, associate professor of psychology in psychiatry at WCMC and director of the program for anxiety and traumatic stress at NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell, discussed her research into virtual-reality exposure therapy for PTSD for survivors of the World Trade Center attack and the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.
• Treating traumatic brain injury. A panel addressed the neurological aspects of trauma-related brain injury and ways to assess and treat it.
• Addressing PTSD and related disorders -- including depression, anxiety, suicide and substance abuse -- among veterans and their families. Panelists offered perspectives on stress, hormones and biological markers in PTSD, and monitoring, screening, referrals and treatment outcomes.

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