What Are the Neuropsychiatric Manifestations of Trauma, Epilepsy, and Somatoform Disorders? Find Out in September NeuroPanels!

September 4, 2024

A free benefit to AAN members, NeuroPanels is the Academy’s popular case-based, live webinar series that features discussing cases of varying complexity in their neurology specialty. The September 17 discussion will focus on the intricate relationships and neuropsychiatric manifestations of trauma, epilepsy, and somatoform disorders. Host José Posas, MD, FAAN, will be joined by experts Deepti Anbarasan, MD, and Trey Bateman, MD.

“We will hear from panelists who have expertise in neurology who understand their audience is neurologists,” Posas said. “We will learn what the salient features are of disease states that many of us commonly see, but may have limited views and perspective on some of the rarer and less discussed and less taught manifestations.”

The discussion will be followed by a case review of a patient presenting with worsening depression and memory loss, and audience participants will have the opportunity to engage in a meaningful Q&A session.

The webinar will take place from 6:00 p.m.–7:00 p.m. CT on September 17 and interested members can register here.

Read on to see why the panelists and host find this topic so important and what participants can expect to get out of the webinar—including residency program directors who can easily incorporate NeuroPanels learning opportunities into their lesson plans.

Why is this topic so important?

Bateman: “Almost every neurological condition we treat has neuropsychiatric symptoms associated with it. It remains common for behavioral and emotional symptoms to be treated apart from other, seemingly more ‘concrete’ symptoms of neurological disease. Yet these symptoms are no less causally related to the diseases of the brain and are within our purview to treat and manage. What’s more, identification and management of those symptoms can be life-changing for patients. Yet these symptoms are no less causally related to the diseases of the brain and are within our purview to treat and manage. What’s more, identification and management of those symptoms can be life-changing for patients. Norman Geschwind, often credited with being the modern progenitor of modern behavioral neurology in the US, said that every behavior has an anatomy. These cases will highlight how seemingly ‘psychiatric’ symptoms can be due to neurological illness and how dismissal as an indication that psychiatric, rather than neurological (a somewhat false dichotomy to begin with) disease is the culprit can lead to incorrect diagnosis and management.”

Anbarasan: “This case illustrates that an established diagnosis of functional neurological disorder (FND) does not negate the presence of additional neurological diagnoses, e.g., the co-occurrence of functional seizures and epileptic seizures. Clinicians should remain aware of potential anchoring bias, which refers to prioritizing information and data that support one’s initial diagnostic impressions, even when those impressions may not hold true.”

What do you hope all participants will take away from this discussion?

Bateman: “I want people to take away the importance of an integrated neuropsychiatric approach to problems involving emotion and behavior. The relevance of the mind in neurology and brain in psychiatry.”

Anbarasan: “We hope that this case highlights why clinicians should always remain open to modifying one's diagnostic impressions as a patient's symptoms evolve and seem atypical for the initial diagnostic impression.”

Posas: “Discrimination against neurological and psychological conditions can be widespread, and one of the best ways we can deliver excellent and equitable health care is to make sure that not only are we nailing down the ‘can’t miss’ diagnoses, but also learning the nuance and way that neurological disease burden can manifest in the behavioral realms.”

How can residency program directors use this NeuroPanels within their residency program?

Posas: “This can be used as a standalone or supplemental resource to help residents learn from the topic and have a guided discussion with each other in near-peer learning environments, but also have a guided discussion with faculty to see about how to apply the learning in their particular patient population and figure out how best to serve the local community.”

Bateman: “These cases highlight the importance of recognizing behavioral and emotional symptoms as part of brain diseases. I think all residents would benefit from listening to these cases and discussing as a program. They would make an excellent stand-in for a didactic and cover a topic that some programs do not have local expertise in.”

Anbarasan: “Program directors could use this case to illustrate how FND can often co-occur with neurological disorders. For example, up to 20% of patients with non-epileptic seizures (NES) may also have epileptic seizures.”

Learn more about this and other upcoming NeuroPanels webinars, and access recordings of past webinars.