| | Principal Investigators
| Wayne C. Drevets, M.D. |
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Wayne
C. Drevets, M.D. is the Chief of the Section
on Neuroimaging in Mood and Anxiety Disorders at
the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH). Dr. Drevets received a B.S. (Biology) degree from Wheaton
College and an M.D. degree from the University of Kansas, and completed residency training in
psychiatry at Washington University Medical School. He then joined the Washington University
Department of Psychiatry faculty, ultimately attaining the rank of tenured Associate Professor. During
these years he conducted positron emission tomography (PET) imaging studies of mood and anxiety
disorders under the mentorship of Dr. Marcus Raichle. He subsequently moved to the University of
Pittsburgh, where he continued to conduct psychiatric neuroimaging research and acquired additional
training in the application of PET to neuroreceptor imaging. In 2001, Dr. Drevets joined the Mood and
Anxiety Disorders Program of the NIMH IRP. Dr. Drevets was a recipient of the Rennselaer Award in
Mathematics and Science, the Sandoz Pharmaceutical Award for Excellence in Psychiatry,
the Young Investigator and Independent Investigator Awards from the National Alliance for Research
on Schizophrenia and Depression, and is listed in the Best Doctors in America. |
| Research Interests |
| Dr.
Drevets is currently involved in research applying PET
and MRI technologies to characterization of the neurophysiological,
receptor pharmacological, and neuroanatomical correlates
of mood and anxiety disorders. Major themes of Dr. Drevets’
studies involve: 1) distinguishing neurophysiological
and neuropharmacological abnormalities which persist
across mood states from those that are mood-state dependent;
2) comparing the functional anatomical correlates of
the major depressive syndrome with those of normal emotional
responses elicited in healthy subjects, and of other
pathological emotional states associated with anxiety
disorders; 3) using neuroimaging data to identify phenotypic
differences between mood disorder subtypes; 4) delineating
neural circuits in which dysfunction at various points
may lead to the development of abnormal mood episodes;
5) investigating the neural mechanisms of antidepressant
and mood stabilizing treatments; 6) exploring the relationship
between functional and structural abnormalities of the
brain in mood disorders; 7) employing the results of
brain imaging studies to guide neuropathological studies
of clinically-similar, subjects studied post mortem;
8) characterizing neuroimaging abnormalities in samples
at high familial risk for developing mood disorders
to discover biomarkers of vulnerability for the development
of these conditions, and to guide research aimed at
early intervention strategies for minimizing the morbidity
ultimately associated with recurrent mood disorders;
9) exploring relationships between genotype and neuroimaging
measures to elucidate both the contribution of interindividual
genetic differences to the variability of neural function,
and the role of these differences in the etiology and
pathogenesis of familial mood and anxiety disorders.
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| Representative Selected Recent Publications: |
- Roiser JP, Levy J, Fromm SJ, Wang H, Nugent AC, Hasler G, Sahakian BJ, Drevets WC:
The effect of acute tryptophan depletion on the neural correlates of emotional processing in healthy humans. Neuropsychopharmacology, in press, 2007.
- Hasler G, van der Veen JW, Tumonis T, Meyers N, Shen J, Drevets WC:
Reduced Prefrontal Glutamate/Glutamine and Gamma-Aminobutyric Acid Levels in Major Depression Determined by Proton Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy. Archives of General Psychiatry, 64 (2):1-8, 2007.
- Cannon DM, Ichise M, Fromm S, Nugent AC, Rollis D Gandhi SK, Klaver J, Charney DS, Manji1 H, Drevets WC:
Serotonin Transporter Binding in Bipolar Disorder Assessed using [11C]DASB and Positron Emission Tomography. Biological Psychiatry, 60(3):207-17, 2006.
- Furey ML, Drevets WC:
The Antimuscarinic Drug Scopolamine Offers Promise as a Potent Antidepressant Agent: A Randomized, Placebo-Controlled Clinical Trial. Archives of General Psychiatry, 63(10):1121-9, 2006.
- Cannon DM, Nugent AC, Carson RE, Eckelman WC, Kiesewetter DO, Williams J, Sciullo D, Drevets M, Gandhi S, Solorio G, Wood S, Leftheriota K, Drevets WC*:
Reduced Muscarinic Type II Receptor Binding in Depressed Subjects with Bipolar Disorder. Archives of General Psychiatry, 63: 741-747, 2006.
- Neumeister, A, Hu XZ, Luckenbaugh DA, Schwarz M, Nugent AC, Bonne O, Herscovitch P, Goldman D, Drevets WC*, Charney DS* (*co-senior authors):
Differential Effects of 5HTTLPR Genotypes on the Behavioral and Neural Responses to Tryptophan Depletion in Patients with Major Depression and Healthy Controls. Archives of General Psychiatry, 63(9): 978-986, 2006.
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