NEUROIMAGING
Neuroimaging is the foundational basis for all of our studies as it offers a measurable view of our brains. Compared to healthy people, individuals with schizophrenia have been shown to have reduced gray and white matter in cortical and subcortical regions as well as enlargements of ventricles of the brain. Understanding the group differences and changes of brain structures is vital to find the etiology, prognosis, and treatments for psychosis disorders. Neuroimaging includes the use of various techniques to either directly or indirectly capture an image of the structure and/or function of the brain. Structural neuroimaging deals with the structure of the brain (e.g. showing contrast between grey matter, white matter, ventricles). Functional neuroimaging is used to indirectly measure brain functions (e.g. neural activity). Our lab primarily utilizes magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) due to their low invasiveness, lack of radiation exposure, and wide availability. Other techniques we utilize include diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), which allows us to study white matter tracts, and arterial spin labelling (ASL) to detect how water travels along the white matter tracts in the brain and to quantify cerebral blood perfusion by labeling blood water as it flows throughout the brain, respectively.
Current Projects Include:
Pittsburgh FEP
FEP (First-Episode Psychosis) study originated at the Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic in the University of Pittsburg from 1996 to 2004. This study aims to identify neurological biomarkers that predict conversion to schizophrenia after one episode of psychosis. This study is particularly important in understanding the pathophysiology of schizophrenia as they limit the potential confounds of illness chronicity and antipsychotic treatment effects.PARDIP
The PARDIP (Psychosis and Affective Research Domains and Intermediate Phenotypes) study is a multi-site NIMH-funded research collaboration that aims to observe and test the biomarkers for psychosis and affect dimensions across schizophrenia/bipolar disorders, and look further into genetics for these biomarkers.BSNIP1 and BSNIP2
B-SNIP (Bipolar and Schizophrenia Network on Intermediate Phenotypes) is a large-scale study, funded in 2007 by the National Institute of Mental Health. The purpose of the B-SNIP study is to discover how the risk for schizophrenia and bipolar disorder is transmitted in families, to identify the most important risk genes and environmental factors. Because the study is interested in measuring risk for the illnesses, we are as interested in assessing close family members as we are in examining people with the actual disorder.In order to do this, several thousand people will be recruited at fives sites throughout the United States, in Hartford/New Haven, CT, Athens, GA, Chicago, IL, Dallas, TX and Boston, MA. The study assesses people with schizophrenia, schizo-affective disorder, or bipolar (manic-depressive) illness on a variety of biological and genetic measures that seem to be associated with risk for the disorder.