Psychiatry Neuroscientists and Lab Links
Focus: Developing and applying translational neuroimaging tools (e.g., positron emission tomography) to investigate molecular and neural mechanisms underlying how animals respond to stress and trauma and how they contribute to emotion regulation and cognitive function in healthy development and neuropsychiatric illness
Key Publication: Asch RH, et al. In Vivo Positron Emission Tomography Imaging of Presynaptic Density Reveals Stress-Associated Synaptic Deficits Related to Behavioral and Molecular Alterations in Rats. Biol Psychiatry Cogn Neurosci Neuroimaging. 2025;30:S2451-9022(25)00299-X
Most Recent Publication: Asch RH, et al. Neural Signatures of Bipolar Disorder and Psychotropic Medication Effects: A Multimodal PET-MRI Study. Biol Psychiatry. 2025;29:S0006-3223(25)01664-6
Focus: Setting up gene methodologies (viral vectors) in animals as a neuroscience tool and potential gene therapy for rare childhood neurological disorders; interested in animal models of chronic pain
Key Publication: Zaric V, Kang HR, Rybalchenko V, Zigman JM, Gray SJ, Butler RK. RNAi Knockdown of EHMT2 in Maternal Expression of Prader-Willi Syndrome Genes. Genes (Basel). 2024;15(11):1366
Most Recent Publication: Kang HR, et al. RNAi-induced expression of paternal UBE3A. Genes. In Press.
Focus: Investigating the development, function, and dysfunction of ascending touch and pain pathways
Key Publication: Choi S, et al. Parallel ascending spinal pathways for affective touch and pain. Nature. 2020;587(7833):258-63
Most Recent Publication: Zhang D, Turecek J, Choi S, et al. C-LTMRs evoke wet dog shakes via the spinoparabrachial pathway. Science. 2024;386(6722):686-92
Focus: Combining tools from cognitive neuroscience, psychiatry & developmental psychology to elucidate the brain circuits and mechanisms supporting language & cognition in humans
Key Publication: Wang B, LeBel A, D'Mello AM. Ignoring the cerebellum is hindering progress in neuroscience. Trends Cogn Sci. 2025;29(4):318-30
Most Recent Publication: Casto C, Poliak M, Tuckute G, Small H, Sherlock P, Wolna A, Lipkin B, D'Mello AM, et al. The cerebellar components of the human language network. bioRxiv. doi: 10.1101/2025.04.14.645351
Focus: Researching blood-based biomarkers in individuals with Autism, Parkinson’s disease, and Alzheimer’s disease and experimenting with blood-based biomarkers for diagnostic tests in clinical care; also investigating the effects of exercise in lowering the risk of Alzheimer’s disease and the role of the exposome in causing Alzheimer’s disease
Key Publication: Hewitson L, Mathews JA, Devlin M, Schutte C, Lee J, German DC. Blood biomarker discovery for autism spectrum disorder: A proteomic analysis. PLoS One. 2024;19(12):e0302951
Most Recent Publication: Petersen ME, Flores-Aguilar L, Head E, Montoliu-Gaya L, Strydom A, Pape SE, Fortea J, Ashton NJ, Udeh-Momoh C, O'Bryant SE, German D, et al. Blood biomarkers in Down syndrome: Facilitating Alzheimer's disease detection and monitoring. Alzheimers Dement. 2025;21(1):e14364
Focus: Studying how epigenetic pathways and gene expression regulate brain plasticity in the context of social behavior and aging by working with a unique ant species
Key Publication: Gospocic J, et al. The Neuropeptide Corazonin Controls Social Behavior and Caste Identity in Ants. Cell. 2017;170(4):748-759.e12
Most Recent Publication: Ju L, Glastad KM, Sheng L, Gospocic J, et al. Hormonal gatekeeping via the blood-brain barrier governs caste-specific behavior in ants. Cell. 2023;186(20):4289-4309.e23
Focus: Functioning of the hippocampus in learning and memory, studying the role of the entorhinal cortex and its circuits in modifying hippocampal function and temporal memory
Key Publication: Kitamura T, Ogawa SK, et al. Engrams and circuits crucial for systems consolidation of a memory. Science. 2017;356(6333):73-8
Most Recent Publication: Terranova JI, Yokose J, Osanai H, Ogawa SK, Kitamura T. Systems consolidation induces multiple memory engrams for a flexible recall strategy in observational fear memory in male mice. Nat Commun. 2023;14(1):3976
Focus: Exploring cellular and synaptic memories encoded by experience-induced gene programs, under-standing their roles in behaviors and perturbations in neurodevelop-mental and psychiatric disorders
Key Publication: Sun X, Bernstein MJ, Meng M, Rao S, Sørensen AT, Yao L, Zhang X, Anikeeva PO, Lin Y. Functionally Distinct Neuronal Ensembles within the Memory Engram. Cell. 2020;181(2):410-423.e17
Most Recent Publication: Xue J, Brawner AT, Thompson JR, Yelhekar TD, Newmaster KT, Qiu Q, Cooper YA, Yu CR, Ahmed-Braima YH, Kim Y, Lin Y. Spatiotemporal Mapping and Molecular Basis of Whole-brain Circuit Maturation. bioRxiv. doi: 10.1101/2024.01.03.572456
Focus: Understanding the roles of chromatin dynamics and genome integrity in regulating the expression of genes involved in learning, memory formation, addiction, and development of neurodevelopmental disorders
Key Publication: Delint-Ramirez I, Konada L, Heady L, Rueda R, Jacome ASV, Marlin E, Marchioni C, Segev A, Kritskiy O, Yamakawa S, Reiter AH, Tsai LH, Madabhushi R. Calcineurin dephosphorylates topoisomerase IIβ and regulates the formation of neuronal-activity-induced DNA breaks. Mol Cell. 2022;82(20):3794-809.e8
Most Recent Publication: Segev A, Heady L, Crewe M, Madabhushi R. Mapping catalytically engaged TOP2B in neurons reveals the principles of topoisomerase action within the genome. Cell Rep. 2024;43(2):113809
Psychiatry Imaging Facility
Focus: Neuronal circuit connectivity and supporting investigators to perform imaging and tissue dissection
Key Publication: Ogawa SK, et al. Organization of monosynaptic inputs to the serotonin and dopamine neuromodulatory systems. Cell Rep. 2014;8(4):1105-18
Most Recent Publication: Arai M, Osanai H, Snell CC, Gawf KE, Kitamura T, Ogawa SK. Combinative Protein Expression of Immediate Early Genes c-Fos, Arc, and Npas4 Along Aversive and Appetitive Experience-Related Neural Networks. Hippocampus. 2025;35(5):e70030
Focus: Investigating the neural mechanisms of reward and punishment and their links to mental illnesses, such as depression and addiction
Key Publication: Shabel SJ, et al. GABA/glutamate co-release controls habenula output and is modified by antidepressant treatment. Science. 2014;345(6203):1494-8
Most Recent Publication: Shabel SJ, et al. Stress transforms lateral habenula reward responses into punishment signals. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2019;116(25):12488-93
Focus: Biomarkers of psychotic illness from individuals with psychosis and animal models and psychosis across the life-span and analyzing biomarker databases
Focus: Neural dynamics for successful memory access and retrieval during episodic working memory tasks to elucidate the neural circuit mechanism in the hippocampal-cortical network
Key Publication: Yamamoto J, et al. Successful execution of working memory linked to synchronized high-frequency gamma oscillations. Cell. 2014;157(4):845-57
Most Recent Publication: Scott DS, Subramanian M, Yamamoto J, Tamminga CA. Schizophrenia pathology reverse-translated into mouse shows hippocampal hyperactivity, psychosis behaviors and hyper-synchronous events. Mol Psychiatry. 2025;30(5):1746-57