Brain & Behavior Research Foundation

John Constantino and Jeffrey Borenstein examine how schools can support children with developmental and behavioural challenges. Teachers, counsellors and other education professionals are often among the first to recognise difficulties, and sustained school experience can strongly influence development. The discussion considers the design of individualised education plans and how educators and clinicians can apply more precise, child-specific approaches to make daily learning environments effective supports for maturation and mental health.

Nicole Provenza discusses deep brain stimulation for people with severe obsessive-compulsive disorder whose symptoms persist despite available treatments. Recordings from implanted devices allow researchers to examine neural activity associated with symptom changes, responses to stimulation and recovery. The talk connects these measurements with the longer-term goal of developing more precise, personalised treatments, using real-world recordings to understand how neuromodulation affects brain activity and behaviour.

Jenna Traynor examines how personality-disorder assessments, cognitive measures and neuroimaging can describe and predict changes in suicidal ideation among high-risk psychiatric populations, including people with borderline personality disorder. The talk presents findings linking these different measurements to outcomes and considers emerging brain-based treatments that target neural networks involved in cognitive control and emotion regulation.

Matthew J. Girgenti discusses how research on individual brain cells and the three-dimensional organization of DNA is changing the biological understanding of post-traumatic stress disorder. The seminar examines how these approaches reveal trauma-associated brain changes and identify possible targets for more effective, personalized treatments. Girgenti is a neuroscientist in Yale School of Medicine’s Department of Psychiatry. Jeffrey Borenstein moderates this Meet the Scientist session. Online via the BBRF Zoom webinar. Tuesday 13 October 2026, 14:00 EDT (America/New_York; UTC−4). Follow Register Today on the organizer’s event page to the event-specific Zoom form. Advance registration is available to researchers, students, healthcare providers, mental-health organizations, patients and family members.