Urbach-Wiethe Disease (UWD) has been reported in a community in the Namaqualand region, where 40% of the world’s approximately 100 reported cases of the condition are found. Studying five female patients, Professor von Honk examined lesions of the basolateral amygdala characteristic of the disease to reveal that it made the patients hypervigilant for fearful expressions.

The findings have important implications for the understanding of the basolateral amygdala’s role in an array of social behaviours, and especially its role in fear and anxiety disorders. Furthermore, they highlight the value of brain-imaging capabilities and the importance of UCT’s geographic location.

“Cultural neuroscience holds promise for South Africa, given the genuine cultural diversity of the population and the modern neuroimaging infrastructure in Cape Town,” says Professor von Honk, an NRF A-rated scholar, who published his work on UWD in PNAS (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America), one of the world’s most prestigious scientific journals, last year.

The backbone of any effective treatment is rigorous, empirically tested data and a dedicated research team, according to EUSARNAD. To support this, the project brings together researchers from UCT and 11 other institutions to produce first-rate research. By placing individual exchange researchers in institutions with novel populations and methodologies, this international collaboration allows for greater attention to important questions about anxiety. The result is a stronger body of data that can be used to inform more effective care.

The EUSARNAD initiative was first launched in 2011 by David Baldwin, professor of psychiatry at the University of Southampton and honorary professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Mental Health at UCT, as the Anxiety Disorders Research Network. The collaboration originated within the network of a number of leading research centres in Europe and with support from the European College of Neuropsychopharmacology.

Associate Professor Lund and his team at the Alan J Flisher Centre for Public Mental Health, of which he is director, are looking at ways of narrowing this treatment gap. One such project is AFFIRM (Africa Focus for Intervention Research in Mental Health), part of a global drive to find low-cost interventions by using non-specialist health workers to treat mental disorders in Africa. AFFIRM’s work will contribute towards models of how to deliver low-cost mental health interventions, which will ultimately inform ministries of health across Africa. It is also building capacity in the area by funding fellowships for students from Ghana, Ethiopia, Uganda, Malawi and Zimbabwe to complete an MPhil in Public Mental Health at UCT.

Associate Professor Lund’s research has a direct impact on policy and is, in many ways, the epitome of engaged scholarship. He received the Alan Pifer Award earlier this year – the Vice-Chancellor’s annual prize in recognition of outstanding socially responsive research and one of UCT’s most prized awards. Speaking at the award ceremony, Associate Professor Lund said: “This [award] is particularly important for me, not just personally, but also because it’s an opportunity to draw attention to this neglected area of mental health.

“People who live with mental disorders are among, and continue to be among, the poorest, the most marginalised, the most disenfranchised members of our society, not just in South Africa but across the African continent.”

Over its nearly seven-year history, access to this cutting-edge brain imaging has made possible multiple research projects in key areas, including neurocognitive effects of HIV, TB, medical drugs, alcohol, crystal methamphetamine (tik), foetal alcohol syndrome, psychological trauma and schizophrenia.

For researchers whose work centres on correlating what is seen clinically with vital structures in the brain, the CUBIC technology and its staff are invaluable. “Having access to the 3T scanner is tremendous and very few countries in the developing world have access to this technology,” says Dr Jacqueline Hoare, director of the Division of Liaison Psychiatry in the Department of Psychiatry and Mental Health.

The CUBIC has also led to impressive growth in basic science research with improved imaging and analysis techniques. In a collaboration with the Centre for High Performance Computing, data archiving and analysis is facilitated on the largest computer cluster in Africa.

The core focus of the centre is collaborative neuroimaging research and establishing the CUBIC as a cutting-edge neuroimaging research facility. In this way, the centre aims to develop and foster technical expertise, publish results in peer-reviewed journals and strive towards better healthcare management in South Africa.

Part of a joint initiative between Siemens, Stellenbosch University, UCT and the Medical Research Council, the CUBIC is situated on the Stellenbosch University Health Sciences Campus.