November 2023: Webinar Series About the Brain and the Mind
Each webinar takes 3 hours and 3 CE Credits will be awarded by CE credit sponsor.
New York State only: R. Cassidy Seminars is recognized by the New York State Education Department’s State Board for Psychology as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed psychologists.
Instructor Credentials: Elkhonon Goldberg, Ph.D., ABPP., a clinical neuropsychologist and cognitive neuroscientist, and Diplomate of The American Board of Professional Psychology in Clinical Neuropsychology. His critically acclaimed and bestselling books have been translated into 24 languages.
Tuition:
$165 for a three-hour webinar. There is no additional charge for the CEs certificate.
Format:
online webinar
Date:
1. Creativity and Cognition, November 4 (Saturday)
2. Traumatic Brain Injury, November 5 (Sunday)
3. Executive Dysfunction in Brain Disorders, November 11 (Saturday)
4. Tourette and ADHD: A new look at an old quandary, November 12 (Sunday)
5. Executive Functions and the Frontal Lobes, November 26 (Sunday)
Time:
1 pm – 4:15 pm Eastern Time (noon – 3:15pm Central Time, 10am – 1:15pm Pacific Time)
Training appropriate for: The course is intended for professionals concerned with mental health and with brain and brain disorders.
The course content level: Intermediate.
Creativity and Cognition
November 4, 2023, 1 pm – 4:15 pm EST
Creativity is a complex construct involving multiple components. We will discuss the various components of creativity. Creativity is not a monolithic trait; there are many paths to creativity. Even the most innovative creative individual ahead of his or her society is a product of that society. We will discuss the relationship between individual creativity, cognition, and the host culture. In order to be recognized by society as creative, a scientific or artistic product has to be novel. But novelty alone is not sufficient; the product must also be relevant. We will discuss the relationship between creativity, novelty, and salience. The relationship between creativity and intelligence has intrigued psychologists for decades. We will discuss this relationship, as well as the limitations of current approaches – intelligence defined as IQ and creativity as performance on “divergent thinking” tests. The connection between creativity and psychopathology has intrigued scientists, clinicians, and the general public for years. We will discuss the evidence for and against this relationship, as well as the possible brain mechanisms behind it. Can creativity be enhanced? We will discuss some of the programs designed to enhance creativity, or at least it components and prerequisites. Is creativity is the unique attribute of human cognition? This point of view may flatter our feeling of exceptionalism but rudimentary creativity may be present already in other species. We will review the evidence.
Topics to be covered:
Creativity and society. Innovator vs consumer.
Creativity deconstructed. Building blocks of creativity.
Innovation, salience, and how they interact in the creative process.
Creativity and intelligence. Are they linked and when do they become uncoupled?
Creativity and psychopathology: Affective disorders, FTD, and other conditions.
Enhancing creativity? Creativity as the new focus of educational process.
Evolutionary roots of creativity. Defining and studying creativity in other species. Creativity and artificial intelligence.
Learning objectives for training:
1. Analyze the role of novelty, salience and expertise as the components of the creative process.
2. Analyze creativity as a multicultural phenomenon, both historically and in modern society.
3. Analyze the relationship between creativity and intelligence.
4. Analyze the evolutionary roots of creativity.
Traumatic Brain Injury
November 5, 2023, 1 pm – 4:15 pm EST
Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) is a highly prevalent condition sometimes referred to as a “silent epidemic.” In this webinar we will review various types of TBI (closed, open, blast); various causes and unique characteristics of motor vehicle accidents, workplace-related, military and sports TBI; various mechanisms of TBI (diffuse axonal injury, contre-coup, neurometabolic cascade); cognitive characteristics (particularly executive and memory impairment); recovery from TBI and long-term outcomes; and forensic issues commonly associated with TBI.
Topics to be covered:
Epidemiology of traumatic brain injury (TBI). Types of traumatic brain injury (TBI): closed, open (penetrating and perforating), blast. Severity and criteria of traumatic brain injury (TBI): mild, moderate, severe.
Causes of traumatic brain injury (TBI). Mechanisms of traumatic brain injury (TBI).
Focal vs. diffuse components of traumatic brain injury (TBI). Neuroanatomical structures most vulnerable in traumatic brain injury (TBI). Natural course of traumatic brain injury (TBI) and the multiple forms it may take.
Secondary complications in traumatic brain injury (TBI). Cognitive consequences of traumatic brain injury (TBI).
Executive deficit in traumatic brain injury (TBI).
Memory impairment in traumatic brain injury (TBI): anterograde and retrograde amnesia. Traumatic brain injury (TBI) in sports and Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy.
Military traumatic brain injury (TBI). Forensic issues in traumatic brain injury (TBI).
Learning objectives for training:
1. Describe the types of traumatic brain injury (TBI).
2. Explain the mechanisms of traumatic brain injury (TBI).
3. List the multiple possible courses of traumatic brain injury (TBI).
4. Explain the cognitive characteristics of traumatic brain injury (TBI).
Executive Dysfunction in Brain Disorders
November 11, 2023, 1 pm – 4:15 pm EST
Executive functions are the most fragile of all cognitive functions. They are affected in a wide range of neurological, psychiatric, neurodevelopmental, and neurogeriatric disorders. In this webinar we will examine how executive functions are affected in various dementias (including Alzheimer’s disease, Lewy body dementia, and Frontotemporal dementia); traumatic brain injury, cerebrovascular disease, neuropsychiatric disorders (including schizophrenia and affective disorders), infectious encephalopathies, seizure disorders, and other clinical conditions, including viral encephalopathies, like neuro-COVID.
Topics to be covered:
Executive dysfunction in dementias (Alzheimer’s disease, Lewy body dementia, Fronto-temporal dementia).
Executive dysfunction in traumatic brain injury (reticulo-frontal disconnection syndrome).
Executive dysfunction in cerebrovascular disorders (CVA, aneurysms).
Executive dysfunction in neurodevelopmental disorders (ADHD, Tourette’s Syndrome).
Executive dysfunction in neuropsychiatric disorders (schizophrenia, affective disorders).
Executive dysfunction in movement disorders (Parkinson’s disease, Huntington’s disease).
Executive dysfunction in infectious encephalopathies (neuro-COVID and others).
Executive dysfunction and seizure disorders.
Executive dysfunction and laterality.
Learning objectives for training:
1. Analyze executive dysfunction in neurodevelopmental disorders. Executive dysfunction and ADHD – same or different? Where do they overlap and where do they diverge?
2. Analyze executive dysfunction in dementias: Alzheimer’s, Lewy body, Fronto-temporal and others.
3. Analyze executive dysfunction in Traumatic Brain Injury: “mild” TBI is not so mild.
4. Analyze executive dysfunction in neuropsychiatric disorders: schizophrenia, affective disorders, Tourette’s syndrome and OCD.
Tourette and ADHD: A new look at an old quandary
November 12, 2023, 1 pm – 4:15 pm EST
The ADHD diagnosis has acquired the status of a fad and is often given too casually and inclusively. Conflation between two distinct classes of clinical phenomena, hyperactivity and exploratory behavior, is a common source of ADHD overdiagnosis. Inspired by early insights by Oliver Sacks, we examine the relationship between frontal-lobe syndromes, Tourette syndrome, and Parkinson’s disease. This synthesis leads to a new understanding of Tourette syndrome and helps identify its distinct subtypes. These subtypes are caused, respectively, by predominant dysregulation in the left vs right fronto-striatal systems, and result in the preponderance of tics vs excessive exploratory behaviors. We examine the difference between hyperactivity and excessive exploratory behavior, and the potential for diagnostic confusion between ADHD and Tourette if this difference is ignored.
Topics to be covered:
Overdiagnosis of ADHD. A source of overdiagnosis: conflation of hyperactivity and exploratory behavior. What is the difference?
Are the diagnostic criteria for ADHD too broad? Duality of symptoms in Tourette syndrome: tics vs exploratory behavior.
Are the diagnostic criteria for Tourette too narrow? The triple-decker: Frontal lesions, Tourette syndrome, and Parkinson’s disease.
Introducing “hemi-Tourette” subtypes.
Clinical features of “hemi-Tourette” subtypes.
Clearing up the diagnostic confusion between Tourette and ADHD.
Learning objectives for training:
1. Explain the relationship between Tourette and ADHD diagnoses.
2. Describe the concept of “excessive exploratory behavior” and how it is different from hyperactivity.
3. Explain the role of fronto-striatal interaction breakdown in Tourette syndrome.
4. Summarize the concept of “hemi-Tourette” syndrome variants.
Executive Functions and the Frontal Lobes
November 26, 2023, 1 pm – 4:15 pm EDT
Executive functions represent the highest level of cognitive control and involve goal formation, planning, mental flexibility, impulse control, working memory. Executive functions are mediated by the prefrontal cortex and related structures. In this webinar we will examine their cognitive composition, neural mechanisms, changes throughout the lifespan, and gender differences. We
will also examine the role of executive functions in creativity and their relationship to intelligence.
Topics to be covered:
Executive functions and frontal-lobe functions: are they the same?
Components of executive functions (planning, impulse control, working memory, and others).
Novel approaches to understanding the frontal-lobe functions.
Frontal lobes and large-scale networks (Central Executive, Default Mode, and others).
Executive functions and laterality.
Executive functions and sex differences.
Regulation of emotions: frontal lobes and amygdala.
Executive functions and intelligence.
Executive functions in development and aging.
Learning objectives for training:
1. List brain mechanisms of executive functions: Prefrontal cortex, anterior cingulate cortex, striatum, related structures and their subdivisions.
2. Explain the process and brain mechanisms of decision-making: The frontal lobes and “executive functions”.
3. Explain the brain mechanisms of emotions: Amygdala and the frontal lobes.
4. Describe executive functions in normal development and aging.
Conflicts of Interest:
There is no known commercial interest or conflict of interest for this program.
Cancellation Policy:
If for any reason you need to cancel, please contact the trainer so we can work together to determine a resolution.
Dr. Elkhonon Goldberg, Ph.D., ABPP: info@lninstitute.org 800-906-5866
Grievance Policy:
We seek to ensure equitable treatment of every person and to make every attempt to resolve grievances in a fair manner. Please email us with your written grievance. Grievances would receive, to the best of our ability, corrective action in order to prevent further problems.
ADA Needs:
If you have any special requests, please email/call: Karen Newell: 707-321-0926 newell@sonic.net
CE and Commercial Support:
CUE Management Solutions, LLC does not have a relevant financial relationship(s) with ineligible companies or other potentially biasing relationships to disclose to learners.
Continuing Education
New York State only:
NY Psychologists: R. Cassidy Seminars is recognized by the New York State Education Department’s State Board for Psychology as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed psychologists #PSY-0018. 3 clock hours. Live online.
NY Creative Arts Therapists: R. Cassidy Seminars is recognized by the New York State Education Department’s State Board of Mental Health Practitioners as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed creative arts therapists, #CAT-0005. (3) contact hours. Live online.
Social Workers: R. Cassidy Seminars is recognized by the New York State Education Department’s State Board for Social Work as an approved provider (#0006) of continuing education for licensed social workers. This program is approved for 3 contact hours Live In-person.
NY-LMHCs: R. Cassidy Seminars is recognized by the New York State Education Department’s State Board of Mental Health Practitioners as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed mental health counselors. #MHC-0015. (3) contact hours. Live online.
NY-LMFTs: R. Cassidy Seminars is recognized by the New York State Education Department’s State Board of Mental Health Practitioners as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed marriage and family therapists. #MFT-0011. (3) contact hours. Live online.