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Wayne Drevets, MD, Section Chief
OVERVIEW
The NIMH Mood and Anxiety Disorders Neuroimaging Section applies brain imaging technologies to
investigate the neurobiological bases of mood and anxiety disorders. Because different imaging technologies have
distinct capabilities, strengths and limitations, studies are designed so that the same subjects are iteratively
studied using multiple techniques to provide complementary information about pathophysiology. Positron emission
tomography (PET) and magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) are applied to measure brain receptor pharmacology,
chemistry and neurotransmitter function. PET and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) are employed to map brain
regions where physiology changes during normal and pathological emotional states. Anatomical MRI is employed to
characterize brain structure and localize pathology in mood and anxiety syndromes arising secondary to brain lesions.
Such assessments are integrated with state-of-the-art genetic, clinical and laboratory information within the NIMH
Mood and Anxiety Disorders Program.
The overarching goals of these studies are to elucidate the pathophysiology
of and improve treatment for serious and disabling mood and anxiety disorders such as major depressive
disorder, bipolar disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, panic disorder, and obsessive compulsive disorder. Studies
are conducted with the following aims: 1) To characterize mood and anxiety disorder phenotypes based upon
abnormalities of brain physiology, structure, receptor pharmacology, and chemistry (so that these psychiatric syndromes
can be diagnosed using biological markers rather than by nonspecific, subjective, clinical symptoms alone).
2) To determine how the brain normally modulates or inhibits emotional and stress responses, and examine
whether abnormalities of these processes underlie the development of depressive and anxiety disorders. 3)
To delineate the extended neural circuits where dysfunction produces the emotional, endocrine, autonomic and
psychological manifestations of depressive and anxiety disorders. 4) To identify abnormalities of brain
receptors and chemistry in mood and anxiety disorders. 5). To assess the effects of estrogen, progesterone
and testosterone on brain chemistry and function, in order to understand the greater risk of depressive and
anxiety disorders in women, the increased risk for depression onset in the post partum period, and the
exacerbation of depression in relation to the menstrual cycle. 6) To elucidate the mechanisms of
antidepressant, mood stabilizing, and antianxiety treatments to an extent that can guide development of more
effective therapies. Images obtained before and after treatment are compared to demonstrate the brain
correlates of treatment-response and distinguish abnormalities that depend
on emotional state from those which persist across illness episodes. 7) To establish where in the course
of chronic or recurrent illness the latter type of neuroimaging abnormalities become apparent. Early onset
markers identified in such studies (which may potentially underlie the vulnerability to illness) are further
characterized in samples at high familial risk for developing mood disorders.
Contact Information
Wayne C. Drevets, M.D. Neuroimaging Section Mood and
Anxiety Disorders Program, NIMH Building 15K, Room 203 15 North
Drive MSC 2070 Bethesda, MD 20892-2070
Telephone: (301) 594-1367
(office), (301) 594-9959 (fax) Email: drevetsw@intra.nimh.nih.gov
PEOPLE
Earle Bain |
M.D., Clinical Fellow, (301) 594-1425 baine@intra.nimh.nih.gov |
Dari-Lee Barnes |
Secretary, (301) 402-1471 barnesd@intra.nimh.nih.gov |
Dara Cannon |
Ph.D., Postdoctoral Fellow, (301) 496-4541 cannond@intra.nimh.nih.gov
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Wayne Drevets |
M.D., Section Chief, Senior Investigator, (301)594-1367drevetsw@intra.nimh.nih.gov |
Yu-Fei Duan |
M.D., Ph.D., Clinical Fellow, (301) 496-4542 duany@intra.nimh.nih.gov |
Kristine Erickson |
Ph.D., Investigator, (301) 594-9142 ericksok@intra.nimh.nih.gov |
Teresa Ferguson |
B.A. Predoctoral Fellow, (301) 594-1428 fergusot@intra.nimh.nih.gov |
Jessica Gordon |
B.A., Research Specialist, (301) 594-1373 kirklanj@intra.nimh.nih.gov |
Girma Hawariat |
Ph.D., Special Expert, (301) 402-8039 hawariag@intra.nimh.nih.gov |
Maura Furey Kurkjian |
Ph.D., Staff Scientist, (301) 594-7773 mfurey@mail.nih.gov |
Jane Lange |
B.A., Post-baccaulaureate IRTA, langej@intra.nimh.nih.gov |
Linda Mah |
M.D., Clinical Fellow, 301-594-1427 mahl@intra.nimh.nih.gov |
Kathryn Nelson |
M.A., Predoctoral Fellow, 301-594-3186 nelsonk@intra.nimh.nih.gov |
Allison Nugent |
Ph.D., Staff Scientist, (301) 594-1090 wymorea@intra.nimh.nih.gov |
Joana Taylor Tavarres |
Graduate Student |
Suzanne Wood |
B.A., Post-baccaulaureate IRTA, woods@intra.nimh.nih.gov |
ON GOING PROJECTS
The Mood and Anxiety Disorders Imaging Section consists of a
multidisciplinary team, which applies functional, and structural neuroimaging
measures to investigate the biological mechanisms of normal and pathological
emotional states. Multimodal imaging studies in which subject samples are
studied using various imaging techniques are conducted in order to provide
complementary information about pathophysiology. Positron emission tomography
(PET), functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), magnetic resonance
spectroscopy (MRS) and morphological MRI are iteratively applied to investigate
abnormalities of function or structure in mood and anxiety disorders. Areas of
concentration include:
1) investigating the anatomical, neurophysiological and
neurochemical substrates of normal emotional expression, evaluation, learning or
experience.
2) characterizing the anatomical and neurochemical systems involved
in modulating emotional responses, and assessing how these systems function in
mood and anxiety disorders.
3) examining the effects of psychotropic medications
on brain structure and function in adults with mood and anxiety disorders.
4)assessing the receptor pharmacology of mood and anxiety disorders using a
variety of newly developed PET radioligands.
5) distinguishing abnormalities
that are trait-like and stable across mood states from those that are mood-state
dependent, and
6) delineating phenotypic differences between major depressive
subtypes in order to refine the nosology of mood disorders.
PUBLICATIONS
Drevets WC, Gautier CH, Price JC, Kupfer DJ, Kinahan PE, Grace AA, Price JL, Mathis
CA (2001) Amphetamine-induced dopamine release in human ventral striatum
correlates with euphoria, Biol. Psychiatry 49, 81-96.
Drevets WC (2000) Neuroimaging Studies of Mood Disorders: Implications for a neural
model of major depression, Biol. Psychiatry 48, 813-829.
Drevets WC, Frank E, Price JC, Kupfer DJ, Holt D, Greer PJ, Huang H, Gautier C, Mathis
C (1999) PET imaging of serotonin 1A receptor binding in depression, Biol.
Psychiatry 46, 1375-1387.
Drevets WC, Price JL, Simpson JR, Todd RD, Reich T, Vannier M, Raichle
ME (1997) Subgenual prefrontal cortex abnormalities in mood disorders, Nature 386, 824-827.
Drevets WC, Burton H, Simpson JR, Videen TO, Snyder AZ, Raichle ME (1995) Blood flow changes in human somatosensory cortex during
anticipated stimulation, Nature 373, 249-252.
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