Academician of the Russian Academy of Science L.I. Aftanas: "...mental wellbeing is an essential component of human health"

Abstract

An interview with Professor Lyubomir Ivanovich Aftanas, Dr. Med. Sci., academician of the Russian Academy of Science; Director of the Scientific Research Institute of Neuroscience and Healthcare; Head of the Experimental and Clinical Neuroscience Section; Director of the Centre for Non-invasive Brain Stimulation at the clinic of psychosomatic medicine, Scientific Research Institute of Neuroscience and Healthcare; Chairperson at the Chair of Neuroscience of the Institute of Medicine and Psychology, Novosibirsk State University. Lyubomir Ivanovich told us about the fundamental achievements of the neuroscience in the study of integrative brain activity and psychosomatic connections for the last 15 years, which evidence the ongoing quiet revolution in mental health. Also, he shared his experience in the use of artificial intelligence technologies and described in detail priority studies conducted at the Scientific Research Institute of Neuroscience and Healthcare. Professor Aftanas places special emphasis on the activities under the auspices of ENIGMA. The study of the microstructural and functional markers of major depressive disorder continues; neuroimaging predictors of the resistant forms of depressions and the efficiency of rhythmic transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) are being analysed. The results are more than promising. The interview is concluded with a discussion of the currently developed non-invasive diagnostic methods for affective disorders and neurodegenerative diseases.