Please note: This is the general version of the course: Brain Metabolism and Mental Health N554. No pharmacology credits will be earned. Click here to take the pharmacology version.

Course Summary

Expiration Date: 06/28/2028

The relationship between brain energy metabolism, mitochondrial function, and mental health disorders illustrates how the brain’s high energy demands and reliance on glucose metabolism impact mental health. Metabolic dysregulation, along with psychiatric conditions such as depression, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and neurodegenerative diseases, highlights the role of mitochondrial dysfunction in oxidative stress, neuroinflammation, and neurocellular communication. Potential therapeutic interventions are discussed, including dietary strategies, exercise, pharmacological treatments, and emerging mitochondrial-targeted therapies, to mitigate metabolic dysfunction and improve mental health outcomes. Nurses play a critical role in patient education and monitoring of lifestyle and pharmacological interventions to optimize brain metabolism and mental health outcomes.

Course Format

Homestudy

Course Syllabus

  • Introduction
  • Metabolic Psychiatry: Brain Metabolism’s Effect on Mental Health
  • The Cellular Basis of Brain Metabolism
  • Brain Metabolism: Role of Cellular Membranes
    • Substance Movement Across Brain Membranes
  • The Role of Mitochondria in Brain Metabolism
    • ATP Production and Glucose Metabolism Pathways
    • Fatty Acid Metabolism and Ketogenesis
  • Neurotransmission and ATP Supply
    • ATP in Neuron Maintenance and Repair
  • Neurological and Mood Disorders: Brain Metabolic Processes
  • Metabolic Dysfunction and Mental Health
    • Epilepsy
    • Alzheimer’s Disease
    • Parkinson’s Disease
    • Depression
    • Bipolar Disorder
    • Schizophrenia
  • GLP-1 Receptor Agonists and Lifestyle Changes
    • Lifestyle Options: Nutrition and Supplements
  • Clinical Pearls: Brain Metabolism and Energy Sources
    • Glucose and Ketones
    • ATP Production and Mitochondrial Function
    • Metabolic Dysfunction and Cognitive Impairment
    • Oxidative Stress and Neuroinflammation
    • Targeted Nutrition and Pharmacological Interventions
  • Case Study: Differential Diagnosis of Schizophrenia vs. Encephalitis with Changes of Brain Metabolism
  • Summary

Authors

Kathryn Brogan, MD

Kathryn Brogan, MD is a physician and board-certified general and child and adolescent psychiatrist. Dr. Brogan graduated from medical school at University of Louisville School of Medicine in 2016. She then completed Psychiatry Residency at Northwestern University and Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Fellowship at University of Utah, graduating in 2021. Dr. Brogan’s special interests and areas of expertise include first break psychosis, bipolar disorder, psychopharmacology, and systems of care. In addition to clinical and academic work, Dr. Brogan is passionate about advocacy, teaching, and physician-led team based care.

Susan Depasquale, MA, MSN, PMHNP-BC

Susan DePasquale is a board certified Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner. Her current practice is with families, youth and adults who have mental illnesses in both inpatient and outpatient settings, including telepsychiatry for Montana, Washington and Wisconsin communities. She completed her Masters of Art in Political Science at the University of Victoria, British Columbia, Masters of Science in Nursing at Seattle Pacific University in Seattle, Washington with a focus in neurogastroenterology and the Post-Masters of Science in Nursing at the Montana State University in Bozeman, Montana with a focus in psychiatry. She has worked with small and rural healthcare teams in British Columbia and the Northwest Territories, Canada, and in teaching and research hospitals such as Providence Health and Virginia Mason Medical Center Digestive and Liver Disease Departments in Seattle. Since 2012, she has been actively involved in online continuing education program development for nurses and health teams.

Dana Bartlett, RN, BSN, MSN, MA, CSPI

Dana Bartlett is a professional nurse and author. His clinical experience includes 16 years of ICU and ER experience and over 27 years as a poison control center information specialist. Dana has published numerous CE and journal articles, written NCLEX material, textbook chapters, and more than 100 online CE articles, and done editing and reviewing for publishers such as Elsevier, Lippincott, and Thieme. He has written widely on the subject of toxicology and was a contributing editor, toxicology section, for Critical Care Nurse journal. He is currently employed at the Connecticut Poison Control Center. He lives in Wappingers Falls, NY.

Bernice L. Muir, M.Sc.

Bernice Muir is an educator and author with a strong foundation in nursing, biochemistry, and biology. She began her career by earning a Diploma in Nursing from the Vancouver General Hospital School of Nursing in 1964, followed by a B.Sc. (Honours) in Biochemistry from the University of British Columbia in 1970. She continued her academic journey, completing a Master of Science in Biology at the University of British Columbia in 1974. With a passion for education and healthcare, Muir dedicated much of her career to teaching. She served as an Instructor of Anatomy & Physiology and Pathophysiology in the Nursing Department at Cariboo College (now Thompson Rivers University) in Kamloops, BC, from 1974 to 1976. Later, she joined North Island College on Vancouver Island in BC, Canada, where she was a Biology Instructor from 1990 to 2003. During her tenure, she played a crucial role in developing and teaching anatomy, physiology, and pathobiology courses for nursing students, including authoring textbooks.