About the Institute for Translational Neuroscience
The Institute for Translational Neuroscience, directed by Dr Jennifer Mitchell, operates within UCSF’s Departments of Neurology and Psychiatry. The group integrates behavioral pharmacology, neuroimaging, and translational neuroscience to clarify how drugs engage the neural systems that govern affect, motivation, and stress regulation.
Earlier work in the ITN established a strong foundation in animal and molecular models, delineating how dopaminergic and serotonergic systems mediate behavioral flexibility, impulsivity, and emotional reactivity. That research defined core mechanistic hypotheses that continue to guide current clinical investigations.
Today, the institute’s emphasis is on human studies and clinical trials designed to test those mechanistic models in patients. Projects examine how pharmacologic agents—ranging from established medications to emerging compounds such as MDMA and psilocybin—can modulate emotional processing, enhance neural plasticity, and improve outcomes across psychiatric disorders. These compounds serve dual roles: as investigative tools to reveal how the brain adapts and as potential therapies capable of reshaping maladaptive circuits.
Today, the institute’s emphasis is on human studies and clinical trials designed to test those mechanistic models in patients. Projects examine how pharmacologic agents—ranging from established medications to emerging compounds such as MDMA and psilocybin—can modulate emotional processing, enhance neural plasticity, and improve outcomes across psychiatric disorders. These compounds serve dual roles: as investigative tools to reveal how the brain adapts and as potential therapies capable of reshaping maladaptive circuits.
