Goals and Objectives

Research Programs

The University Department of Psychiatry sponsors a wide variety of research across the discipline. Following is a (partial) list of research programs affiliated with the department.

Bipolar Disorder Genetics Research Program

The staff of the Bipolar Disorder Genetics Research Program invites families with two or more siblings who have experienced bipolar disorder to join our study. Parents are also asked to participate.

Earlier studies suggest than an inborn tendency to develop bipolar disorder runs in some families. However, most relatives will never develop the illness. The families that participate generally share our hope that finding genetic markers and genes that increase risk for this disorder will help medical researchers understand more about its biological basis. As a result, we will be able to develop more effective medications.

Please call Donna Harakal, RN, at (773) 834-3493 (collect). She and our staff will be glad to answer any of your questions. Descriptions of the program infomatics of bipolar disorder are available here

Clinical Addictions Research Laboratory

The Clinical Addictions Research Laboratory (CARL) examines the consequences, predisposing factors and treatment for addictive disorders. The goals of the laboratory are twofold: a) to improve our understanding about the mechanisms of risk for substance use disorders, and b) to examine pharmacological and psychological interventions for the treatment of substance use disorders. The laboratory is currently conducting the Chicago Social Drinking Project (CSDP), the Chicago Stop Smoking Research Project (C-STOP), the Social Smoking Moods and Behaviors Study (SSMB) and the Social Smoker Brain Imaging Project (SSBI). For more information on these studies, please visit our web site, http://addiction.uchicago.edu. In the past several years, the researchers at CARL have also conducted pilot stop-smoking studies for community-based treatment in the south side Chicago neighborhoods and on the University of Chicago campus.

Director: Andrea King, Ph.D., Associate Professor
Tel: 773-702-6181, aking@yoda.bsd.uchicago.edu

Clinical Neuroscience and Psychopharmacology Research Unit

The CNPRU is a clinical research group here in the Department of Psychiatry headed by Emil F. Coccaro, M.D. We offer Clinical Trials for people who are experiencing difficulty in their lives in areas such as problems with anger, depression and anxiety. We also run a study of Pennsylvania Twins . New studies and new areas of interest are always opening up, so please visit our home page to learn more!

Eating Disorders Program

Treatment Study for Adolescent Anorexia Nervosa, Daniel le Grange, PhD
NOTE: Recruitment for this study is now closed.
The purpose of this study is to determine an effective psychosocial treatment for adolescents with anorexia nervosa. This study is comparing two types of outpatient treatments, a family-based therapy and an individualized therapy. For more information about this study, please go to http://psychiatry.uchicago.edu/research/volunteers/anorexia.html

Anorexia Nervosa PDA Study, Daniel le Grange, PhD
The purpose of this research study is to examine the relationship between various daily life experiences, personality, and eating disorder symptoms. This research is being done because currently little is known about how symptoms of anorexia nervosa are maintained by personality traits, momentary mood states, thought patterns, or life events. If you are interested and would like more information, please go to
http://psychiatry.uchicago.edu/research/volunteers/anpdastudy.html

Treatment Study for Women with Bulimia Nervosa and Depression, Eunice Chen, PhD
The purpose of this research study is to determine how helpful a psychological treatment or pharmacotherapy (drug therapy) is for women with bulimia nervosa and depression. This study compares two outpatient treatments, Dialectical Behavior Therapy and pharmacotherapy. For more information about this study, please go to
http://psychiatry.uchicago.edu/research/volunteers/DBT.html

Treatment Study for Women with Binge-Eating Disorder, Eunice Chen, PhD
The purpose of this research study is to determine how helpful different outpatient psychotherapy is for women with Binge-Eating Disorder. This study compares two outpatient treatments, Dialectical Behavior Therapy and Cognitive-Behavior Therapy. For more information about this study, please go to
http://psychiatry.uchicago.edu/research/volunteers/BED.html

ED Parent Support Project, Daniel le Grange, PhD & Roslyn Binford Hopf, PhD
The purpose of this study is to examine the emotional impact of administering family-based treatment and to determine whether a therapist-guided, internet-based chat support group for parents who are implementing family-based treatment would be helpful. For more information about this study, please go to
http://www.edparentsupport.net/website/projectinfo.php

Director: Daniel le Grange, PhD

Phone: (773) 702-9277
Fax: (773) 702-9929
Email: legrange@uchicago.edu

Human Behavioral Pharmacology Laboratory

The Human Behavioral Pharmacology Laboratory (HBPL) conducts research on the acute effects of psychoactive drugs, particularly drugs of abuse, in human volunteers. These studies are designed to investigate the determinants and consequences of drug use, and to improve our understanding of the neural basis of the mood altering and behavioral effects of drugs. Current projects include studies of individual differences in drug responses, and studies of the interactions between stress, and ovarian hormones and responses to psychoactive drugs. Other studies are designed to investigate the effects of drugs on impulsivity and impulsive decision-making. Research in the HBPL is funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse.

Pre- and post-doctoral training opportunities are available in the HBPL. Contact Harriet de Wit (773) 702-1537 or hdew@midway.uchicago.edu

Neuroimaging of Alzheimer's Disease

The Neuroimaging program focuses on the neuropsychiatric aspects of Alzheimer's Disease( AD) and other dementias. Dr Maria Caserta (Associate Professor) is the director has been using NMR (nuclear magnetic resonance) spectrospcopy to study the metabolic consequences of early Alzheimer's Disease, based on her earlier work with animal models of this disease. NMR spectroscopy is a non-invasive technique that measures certain aspects of brain metabolism with a conventional MR scanner. The goal of these studies is to develop a non-invasive diagnostic test for early detection of AD in people who are at risk for this disease. The research has been supported by a Career Development Award from the NIMH and other granting agencies.
Call 773-834-3905 for more information.

Behavioral Neuroscience Research Laboratory

My research is generally concerned with understanding how the neurotransmitters of the basal ganglia contribute to the generation of appetitive behaviors. I am particularly interested in the impact of the ascending mesencephalic dopamine systems. These groups of neurons, while relatively small, project to a large number of forebrain sites and are known to profoundly influence motor and affective behaviors. We are interested in determining how these systems interact with others to produce such effects and how these neurotransmitter interactions may be changed when an organism is exposed repeatedly to pharmacological and environmental stimuli. We and others have shown that exposing rats repeatedly to psychotropic drugs or environmental stressors leads to the induction and eventual expression of sensitization (reverse tolerance) in mesolimbic dopamine neurotransmission.

Currently, our research is aimed, first, at determining how this sensitization is produced and, second, at understanding how such changes may influence the expression of various behaviors in the rat. In the first case, we are using a variety of behavioral, intracranial drug delivery, biochemical and neuropharmacological techniques to determine which aspects of dopamine neurotransmission become enhanced (transmitter release, receptor regulation and function) and to assess the contribution of other neurotransmitter projections and receptor fields (excitatory amino acids, ACh, GABA). In the second, we are investigating the relation between the expression of sensitization in the mesolimbic dopamine systems and an organism's predisposition to substance abuse. We are assessing the extent to which various manipulations, known to sensitize dopamine neuron reactivity, promote psychotropic drug seeking and self-administration in rats.

Director: Dr. Paul Vezina

Phone (office): (773) 702-2890
Phone (lab): (773) 702-2891
Fax: (773) 702-0857
Email: pvezina@yoda.bsd.uchicago.edu
Recent Publications

Research in the Brain Imaging and Emotions Laboratory (BIEL)

Research in the Brain Imaging and Emotions Laboratory (BIEL) focuses on identifying the neural mechanisms that contribute to complex cognitive, social, and emotional behaviors and psychiatric disorders. Themes of interest include cognitive-emotion interactions and affective regulation, individual differences in emotional processing, social cognition, and effects of therapeutic intervention/pharmacologic manipulation. These themes are explored using functional neuroimaging (fMRI) which aims to assess emotion functioning in discreet brain circuits within individuals. We aim to develop an integrative model for brain function and mental illness, and with that goal, we are also engaged in collaborative efforts that combine fMRI with other human neuroscience methodologies, including psychophysiologic, behavioral, and genetic assays, and other imaging modalities that examine brain electrophysiology (ERP, SSPT) and neurochemistry (MRS). While research in the Laboratory focuses on the functional neuroanatomy of anxiety disorders, we are also engaged in joint efforts with other faculty in the Department in neuroimaging studies of emotion in patients with impulsive aggression, personality disorders, substance abuse, and depression.

Director: K. Luan Phan, MD

Phone: (773 )834-4083
Fax: (773) 834-4536
Email: luan@uchicago.edu

Schizophrenia Research Program

Our research is focused on the pathophysiology of schizophrenia. It has been guided by the principle that abnormalities in the regulation of basic neural functions can be modeled in animals and provide insights into the nature of severe mental illness. Thus even though the core features of severe mental illness reflect dysfunction of higher cortical systems about which we know very little and which cannot be reliably modeled in other mammals, the origins of these features may arise from, or resemble, changes in much simpler neurosystems that are preserved across species. A brief summary of our previous and planned work is available. Information about clinical services can be found here.

Our current studies are focused on trying to clarify the role of the hippocampus in severe mental illness. We have demonstrated that the subset of schizophrenic patients who are hyponatremic and are at risk of life-threatening water intoxication have relatively marked reductions in the size of, and impairments in the functioning of, the part of the hippocampus that normally controls neuroendocrine responses to psychological stressors. This segment is also extensively interconnected with other brain regions implicated in psychosis. We are currently pursuing the idea that these patients represent a distinct clinical subset characterized by increased vulnerability to psychological stress as a consequence of disconnection of this hippocampal segment with surrounding brain structures.

In a second series of studies we have been studying the neural correlates of prepulse inhibition using functional magnetic resonance imaging. Prepulse inhibition is a very simple measure of senory processing which is disrupted in schizophrenia perhaps because of hippocampal pathology. We have developed methods to isolate the brain activity associated with the protective mechanism underlying prepulse inhibition. We are currently working to try to identify the neural circuitry associated with this protective mechanism, and how it is altered in schizophrenia.

Director: Morris Goldman, M.D.
Phone: (773) 702-1542
Email: m-goldman@uchicago.edu

Research Programs

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