Brain Medicine Early Online Release

In this vignette, Dr. Esther Sternberg contributes to Dr. Seymour Reichlin's Festschrift, describing how he has influenced her career for over 35 years, first as a reviewer of her National Institutes of Health (NIH) research program, then as a mentor, and now as a friend. She explores the elements that have made him a role model for thriving through the decades, and which have kept Dr. Reichlin vibrant beyond his 100th year. She concludes that Reichlin embodies many elements known to contribute to healthy aging and long health spans: many friends and positive intergenerational relationships; a deep sense of meaning and purpose in life; an abiding wonder in the world around him; a great sense of humor and ability to laugh; and, in later years, his own brand of spiritual pursuit.

Professor Siegfried Kasper, a transformative pioneer in modern psychiatry, serves as Professor Emeritus at the Medical University of Vienna's prestigious Center for Brain Research, where his groundbreaking research continues to revolutionize the understanding of treatment-resistant depression's molecular basis. Following his distinguished tenure as Chair of the Department of General Psychiatry and later Psychiatry and Psychotherapy at the Medical University of Vienna from 1993 to 2019, Professor Kasper has authored over 800 peer-reviewed publications with an exceptional H-index of 131, establishing him as Austria's most frequently cited psychiatrist. His pioneering contributions have focused on demonstrating that psychiatric disorders have a biological basis alongside psychosocial determinants, exploring neuroendocrinological pathways as windows to the brain, and utilizing advanced imaging technologies, including CT, MRT, and PET, to study structural and functional changes in schizophrenia and depression. Professor Kasper was instrumental in introducing revolutionary psychopharmacological treatments, including SSRIs, atypical antipsychotics, and, most recently, intranasal esketamine, demonstrating their effectiveness in specific disease subgroups with improved side effect profiles. As founding president of the Austrian Society of Neuropsychopharmacology and Biological Psychiatry and former President of both the World Federation of Societies of Biological Psychiatry and the International College of Neuropsychopharmacology, he has shaped global psychiatric practice through his leadership of the European Group for the Study of Resistant Depression. His extraordinary achievements have earned him the Grand Decoration of Honor in Silver for Services to the Republic of Austria, the Austrian Cross of Honor for Science and Art First Class, the 2019 City of Vienna Award for Medical Science, the 2024 WFSBP Lifetime Achievement Award, and the 2025 CINP Pioneer Award. In this exclusive Genomic Press Interview, Professor Kasper shares profound insights from his remarkable career dedicated to transforming psychiatric treatment and improving countless lives worldwide.

Professor Alexei Verkhratsky revolutionizes our understanding of neuroglia through groundbreaking research that transforms how we view brain disorders and therapeutic possibilities. This illuminating Genomic Press Interview reveals the extraordinary journey of an internationally acclaimed neurophysiologist whose pioneering discoveries in neuroglial pathophysiology have fundamentally reshaped neuroscience. Born in Ukraine and now at the University of Manchester, Verkhratsky stands as a towering figure with over 600 publications, including landmark articles on glial ionic excitability, astroglial sodium signalling, and pathophysiology of neuroglia that fundamentally changed our understanding of brain function in health and disease. His election to prestigious academies, including the German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina, Academia Europaea, and multiple European academies, underscores his profound scientific impact. Verkhratsky's revolutionary work discovered that while neurons communicate through electrical impulses, glial cells possess specific form of intracellular excitability mediated by dynamic changes in ions and second messengers, demonstrating that glia actively participate in brain information processing through neurotransmitter receptors and calcium waves rather than being passive support cells. This paradigm-shifting concept of glial calcium excitability revealed an entirely new dimension of brain communication. His groundbreaking research on neuroglial ionic signalling, including sodium and chloride mechanisms, provides crucial insights for developing therapeutic strategies. As Professor of Neurophysiology in Manchester and through distinguished professorships worldwide, he champions the view that neuroglial malfunction drives brain disorders including neuropsychiatric and neurodegenerative diseases. His comprehensive 730-page reference book on neuroglia, published in 2023 with Arthur Butt, represents the culmination of decades of transformative research. Through extensive international collaborations and mentorship, Verkhratsky continues advancing neurogliopathology, offering hope for treating depression, Alzheimer's disease, multiple sclerosis, and other devastating brain disorders by targeting neuroglial homeostatic support and neuroprotection mechanisms.

Introduction

The Tachykinin 2 pathway has been shown to modulate fear memory consolidation in healthy animals and humans. Here, we studied the Tac2 pathway antagonist Osanetant administered shortly after immobilization stress on fear memory consolidation in female mice. Osanetant reduced freezing during fear expression, indicating diminished fear memory consolidation. These findings support the potential preventive therapeutic role of Osanetant in a posttraumatic stress disorder-like model.

Fear is a survival mechanism triggered by certain threats that result in instant defensive responses, allowing one to preserve their well-being. Fear memory refers to the association between a neutral and an aversive stimulus (unconditioned