*Additional fees apply and pre-registration is required.*
This year’s Advanced Psychopharmacology Intensive is designed as a clinically grounded primer for the modern psychiatric clinician, focusing on emerging neurobiologic targets, metabolic pathways, and treatment strategies that are increasingly shaping real-world psychopharmacologic practice. As the field continues to expand beyond traditional monoaminergic models, clinicians must understand not only what new treatments exist but how novel systems are being leveraged to improve psychiatric outcomes.
Through four focused, expert-led sessions, this intensive will review foundational mechanisms, emerging evidence, and practical prescribing considerations for several rapidly evolving areas of psychopharmacology. Sessions will examine orexin pathways, glutamatergic and dopaminergic circuits, muscarinic receptor modulation, and bioenergetic and GLP-1–related pathways. Emphasis will be placed on translating neuroscience and systems-level biology into clinical decision-making, helping attendees build a strong conceptual framework that will support deeper learning throughout the remainder of the Psych Congress program.
Each session will include time for interactive discussion and clinical Q&A, ensuring attendees leave confident and prepared to integrate these concepts into patient care.
Topics to Be Covered
1. Glutamate and Dopamine Brain Circuits: Novel Approaches for Mood, Anhedonia, and Wellness - Brittany Albright, MD and Rakesh Jain, MD, MPH
Anhedonia is the symptom that most reliably predicts poor functioning and poor outcomes in mood disorders, and the one our first-line antidepressants were never designed to treat. This session maps the reward circuitry behind it: mesolimbic and mesocortical dopamine, corticostriatal glutamate, and how they converge to produce hedonic tone, effort valuation, and reward learning. We then move from circuit to clinic, examining mood disorder treatment strategies that harness glutamatergic and dopaminergic mechanisms of action, non-pharmacologic circuit modulation, and what the field's notable failures teach us about treatment selection.
2. GLP-1 Mechanisms and Bioenergetics: From Metabolism to Mood and Addictions - Brittany Albright, MD, MPH and Rakesh Jain, MD, MPH
A foundational review of bioenergetic principles and GLP-1–based treatments, examining how metabolic signaling intersects with brain function and psychiatric symptoms. This session will address mechanisms of action, clinical relevance, and practical considerations as these agents increasingly enter psychiatric conversations.
3. Targeting Muscarinic Systems: Redefining Psychosis and Beyond - Greg Mattingly, MD
An overview of muscarinic receptor pharmacology and its expanding role in psychiatric treatment. This session will review the science behind muscarinic-based agents, emerging clinical data, tolerability considerations, and how these therapies may reshape future treatment paradigms.
4. Orexin-Based Emergent Treatments: New Targets for Wakefulness, Mood, & Attention - David T. Plante, MD, PhD
A primer on orexin neurobiology and its role in regulating arousal, sleep–wake balance, and emotional processing. This session will review mechanisms of action, emerging clinical applications, safety considerations, and how orexin-based treatments may fit into evolving psychiatric treatment strategies
