A5014442426- Functional Brain Connectivity Studies
- Treatment of Major Depression
- Mental Health Research Topics
- Bipolar Disorder and Treatment
- Stress Responses and Cortisol
- Neural and Behavioral Psychology Studies
- HIV-related health complications and treatments
- Memory and Neural Mechanisms
- Tryptophan and brain disorders
- Neural dynamics and brain function
- HIV Research and Treatment
- Advanced Neuroimaging Techniques and Applications
- EEG and Brain-Computer Interfaces
- HIV/AIDS Research and Interventions
- Anxiety, Depression, Psychometrics, Treatment, Cognitive Processes
- Neurotransmitter Receptor Influence on Behavior
- Neuroscience and Music Perception
- Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
- Cancer, Stress, Anesthesia, and Immune Response
- Advanced MRI Techniques and Applications
- Chemical Synthesis and Analysis
- Thyroid Disorders and Treatments
- Chronic Myeloid Leukemia Treatments
- Lung Cancer Diagnosis and Treatment
- Cytomegalovirus and herpesvirus research
University of Oxford
2017-2025
Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust
2019-2025
Warneford Hospital
2019-2025
Wellcome Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging
2021-2024
UCB Pharma (Belgium)
2023
Zogenix (United Kingdom)
2023
University College London
2017-2023
National Health Service
2022
Academic Medical Center
2014-2019
Public Health Service of Amsterdam
2014-2017
Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected individuals may be at increased risk of age-associated noncommunicable comorbidities (AANCCs).Cross-sectional analyses AANCC prevalence (including cardiovascular, metabolic, pulmonary, renal, bone, and malignant disease) factors in a prospective cohort study HIV type 1-infected HIV-uninfected controls, who were aged ≥45 years comparable regarding most lifestyle demographic factors.HIV-infected participants (n = 540) had significantly higher mean...
<h3>Objective:</h3> To establish whether HIV disease is associated with abnormal levels of age-related brain atrophy, by estimating apparent age using neuroimaging and exploring these estimates related to status, age, cognitive performance, HIV-related clinical parameters. <h3>Methods:</h3> A large sample virologically suppressed HIV-positive adults (n = 162, 45–82 years) highly comparable HIV-negative controls 105) were recruited as part the Comorbidity in Relation AIDS (COBRA)...
Virtual reality (VR) is increasingly used to study and treat psychiatric disorders. Its fidelity depends in part on the extent which VR environment provides a convincing simulation, for example whether putatively stressful situation actually produces stress response.We studied response 28 healthy men exposed either stressor elevator (which simulated travelling up outside of tall building culminated participant being asked step off platform), or control elevator. We measured psychological...
Abstract Background Depression is common and costly. First-line antidepressants are ineffective for many have little impact against cognitive deficits. Stimulating 5-HT4 receptors (5-HT4R) rapidly improves learning has antidepressant-like effects in rodents 1,2. The highly-selective 5-HT4R agonist, prucalopride (licensed constipation), had a facilitatory effect on behavioural learning/memory healthy humans after single 3 6 days' treatment 4,5. Neurally, it also increased hippocampal activity...
Abstract Rational With no available response biomarkers, matching an appropriate antidepressant to individual can be a lengthy process. Improving understanding of processes underlying treatment responsivity in depression is crucial for facilitating work on biomarkers. Objectives To identify differences patterns pre-treatment resting-state functional connectivity (rsFC) that may underlie treatment. Methods After baseline MRI scan, thirty-four drug-free patients with were treated SSRI...
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Abstract Cognitive deficits commonly accompany psychiatric disorders but are often underrecognised, and difficult to treat. The 5-HT 4 receptor is a promising potential treatment target for cognitive impairment because in animal studies agonists enhance hippocampal-dependent memory processes. To date, there has been little work translating these effects humans. We tested whether short-term administration of the partial agonist, prucalopride, modified behavioural neural (fMRI) processing 44...
Abstract Background Increased monocyte activation and intestinal damage have been shown to be predictive for the increased morbidity mortality observed in treated people living with human immunodeficiency virus (PLHIV). Methods A cross-sectional analysis of cellular soluble markers activation, coagulation, damage, inflammation plasma cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) PLHIV suppressed viremia on combination antiretroviral therapy age demographically comparable HIV-negative individuals participating...
Treatment of bipolar depression poses a significant clinical challenge. Lamotrigine is one few efficacious drugs, however, it needs to be titrated very slowly and response can only assessed after 10–12 weeks. With proportion patients responding, an exploration factors underlying treatment responsivity paramount importance, as may lead allocation the drug those most likely respond it. This study aimed at identifying differences in patterns pre-treatment resting state functional connectivity...
The optimum method of defining cognitive impairment in virally suppressed people living with HIV is unknown. We evaluated the relationships between impairment, including using a novel multivariate (NMM), patient- reported outcome measures (PROMs), and neuroimaging markers brain structure across 3 cohorts.
Abstract Lamotrigine is an effective mood stabiliser, largely used for the management and prevention of depression in bipolar disorder. The neuropsychological mechanisms by which lamotrigine acts to relieve symptoms as well its neural effects on emotional processing remain unclear. primary objective this current study was investigate impact acute dose response a well-characterised fMRI task probing implicit relevant negative bias. 31 healthy participants were administered either single (300...
Cognitive deficits are often comorbid with mood disorders and can cause significant functional impairment even after resolution of the primary symptoms. We do not currently have pharmacological treatments that adequately address these deficits. 5-HT4 receptor agonists show promise as potential procognitive agents in animal early human translational studies. Optimal cognitive performance humans is directly associated appropriate connectivity between specific resting-state neural networks....
Treatment with the dopamine D2/D3 receptor agonist pramipexole has demonstrated promising clinical effects in patients depression. However, mechanisms through which might alleviate depressive symptoms are currently not well understood. Conventional antidepressant drugs thought to work by biasing processing of emotional information favour positive relative negative appraisal. In this study, we used an established experimental medicine assay explore whether treatment have a similar effect....
Background: Growing evidence from clinical trials and epidemiological studies suggests that statins can have clinically significant antidepressant effects, potentially related to anti-inflammatory action on several neurobiological structures. However, the underlying neuropsychological mechanisms of these effects remain unexplored. Aims: In this experimental medicine trial, we investigated 7-day lipophilic statin, atorvastatin a battery tests inflammation in healthy volunteers. Methods: Fifty...
Depression is a common and often recurrent illness with significant negative impact on global scale. Current antidepressants are ineffective for up to one third of people depression, many whom experience persistent symptomatology. 5-HT 4 receptor agonists show promise in both animal models depression cognitive deficit. We therefore studied the effect partial agonist prucalopride (1 mg daily 6 days) neural processing emotional faces 43 healthy participants using randomised placebo-controlled...
Angiotensin II receptor blockers (ARBs) have been associated with preventing posttraumatic stress disorder symptom development and improving memory. However, the underlying neural mechanisms are poorly understood. This study investigated ARB effects on memory encoding hippocampal functioning that previously implicated in development.
Dopamine has direct and complex vasoactive effects on cerebral circulation. Catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) regulates cortical dopamine, its activity can be influenced both genetically pharmacologically. COMT influences the functional connectivity of PFC at rest, as well during task performance, determined using blood oxygen level-dependent (BOLD) fMRI. However, perfusion have been relatively unexplored. Here, 76 healthy males, homozygous for Val158Met polymorphism, were administered...
Abstract Background Dopamine D2-like receptor agonists show promise as treatments for depression. They are thought to act by altering how individuals learn from rewarding experiences. However, the nature of these reward learning alterations, and mechanisms which they produced is not clear. Reinforcement accounts describe three distinct processes that may produce similar changes in behaviour; increased sensitivity, inverse decision temperature decreased value decay. As equivalent effects on...
Background: Myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) is a chronic medical condition with no specific pharmacological treatment. Creatine, nutrient essential for maintaining energy homeostasis in the cells, candidate interventions ME/CFS. Methods: Fourteen participants ME/CFS received supplementation 16 g creatine monohydrate 6 weeks. Before starting and on last day of treatment, underwent brain magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) scanning pregenual anterior cingulate...
Abstract Rationale Emotion regulation (ER) difficulties have been previously described in bipolar disorder (BD). Whilst lithium has shown to be effective the treatment of BD, mechanisms underlying lithium’s effect on mood stabilisation remain unclear. Objectives Unravelling psychological processes impaired such as ER, could address this translational gap and inform development new treatments. Methods This study investigated neural effects (800mg) ER 33 healthy volunteers a double-blind...