In the midst of the gun regulation debate, mental illness, fairly or unfairly, has become a focal point. So "Call Me Crazy: A Five Film" (8 tonight, Lifetime) arrives at a fortuitous time. As much about mental illness as it is about mental health, the five short films seek to offer understanding of the issue from different vantage points.

There's plenty of star power, in front and behind the cameras, to help make the points. (Jennifer Aniston is one of the executive producers) The first short, directed by Bryce Dallas Howard, introduces "Lucy" (Brittany Snow), a law student battling schizophrenia and losing, mostly because she can't accept that she has it. She ends up in an institution, where she makes a new friend (Jason Ritter) and gets encouragement from a psychotherapist (Octavia Spencer).

Next is the story of "Grace" (Sarah Hyland), a college-bound teen dealing with a mother (Melissa Leo) who has bipolar disorder. If you've read "The Glass Castle" by Jeannette Walls, it will seem quite familiar.

"Allison" (Sofia Vassilieva) is the free-spirited younger sister of Lucy; in this chapter, Allison is bringing home her new boyfriend to meet her parents (Jean Smart and Richard Gilliland) on the same weekend Lucy returns home from inpatient treatment. Laura Dern directs.

In "Eddie," directed Bonnie Hunt, stars Mitch Rouse, a comedian with severe depression in a story told through the eyes of his wife (Lea Thompson). Dave Foley, Chelsea Handler and James Avery appear.

The Ashley Judd directed final chapter belongs to "Maggie" (Jennifer Hudson), a vet returning from war to her young son and her father (Ernie Hudson) who suffers from PTSD.

The emphasis here is on simply making clear that mental illness is treatable and that the people who live with it shouldn't be dismissed as less than human because of our fears or lack of understanding. Compassion is warranted. "Allison" explores the toll of living with someone with a mental illness; Lucy's character shows us that mental illness can be something you live with, not just suffer from.

It's not a contest but I'd say "Allison" is the most successful short. It's a nice mix of humor and drama; Vassilieva and the always good Smart add layers to their characters that make them feel real. Melissa Leo is also a standout as a mother who is delightful, funny, sad and frightening. You have to love Leo's lack of vanity; I mean, besides sometimes going without makeup, she wears animal print leggings.

"Call Me Crazy" is a mental illness primer; if you've encountered any of these conditions or even read about them, you won't be getting new information. But there's still a lot of confusion about what constitutes a mental condition and there's still fear mongering. Maybe some star power will help spark a more tempered response.

After watching the commercial promoting "Perception" (10 tonight, TNT), my husband quickly dismissed it with "That's just another Monk."

He was right. "Perception" is a bit of "Monk," a smidge of "Numbers," a sprinkling of "A Gifted Man." But don't dismiss it because it's derivative. While not ground breaking, "Perception" has its own pleasures.

At the center of the show is Eric McCormack as Dr. Daniel Pierce, a beloved and brilliant neuroscience professor who comes as across as eccentric with his scruffy beard, Keds, social awkwardness and propensity for listening to classical music on hard-to-find cassette tapes.

A neurosteriod called pregnenolone shows early promise in easing many of the cognative impairments that accompany schizophrenia, researchers at Duke University and the Durham Veteran Affairs Medical Center report today.

The findings, reported today in the journal Neuropsychopharmacology, need more research, but indicate significant mental improvements among schizophrenia sufferers who took a common antipsychotic drug plus the neurosteriod, which is sold over the counter as a dietary supplement.

Compared to participants who took a placebo, the pregnenolone patients performed better on memory tests, and had fewer other common symptoms of schizophrenia such as apathy, poor social functioning and low concentration.

“If replicated through further research, pregnenolone could provide a novel treatment for the cognitive and negative symptoms in schizophrenia, which severely impact the daily lives of patients,” Dr. Christine Marx, lead author of the study and associate professor of psychiatry at Duke, said in a prepared statement. “While pregnenolone is available as a dietary supplement, there have been extremely few studies of this compound in the last 50 years."

The researchers said pregnenolone used in the study was carefully monitored and met FDA standards for purity, unlike supplements available over the counter.

People who want to learn more about schizophrenia can attend a symposium April 4 at the Friday Center sponsored by the Department of Psychiatry at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

The symposium will explore community programs that are effective in managing the mental illness, which is more common than Alzheimer's disease and widely misunderstood.

This year's topic is “Making It in the Community: What Works?”

Featured include Dr. John Gilmore, UNC-CH Professor and Vice Chairman for Research and Scientific Affairs in the Department of Psychiatry and director of the Center of Excellence in Community Mental Health; Dr. Harold Carmel, with Executive Psychiatry and former president of the North Carolina Psychiatric Association; and Dr. Brian Sheitman, UNC-CH Professor and Medical Director for the UNC Psychotic Disorders – Inpatient Unit and Center of Excellence.

The program will run from 8 a.m.-1 p.m. on Saturday, April 4, at the William and Ida Friday Center for Continuing Education in Chapel Hill. It is cosponsored by Central Regional Hospital in Butner. There is a $25 registration fee, but scholarships are available.

For more information or to register, contact Janice Linn at (919) 966-8990 or jlinn@med.unc.edu.