2024
11C-UCB-J PET imaging is consistent with lower synaptic density in autistic adults
Matuskey D, Yang Y, Naganawa M, Koohsari S, Toyonaga T, Gravel P, Pittman B, Torres K, Pisani L, Finn C, Cramer-Benjamin S, Herman N, Rosenthal L, Franke C, Walicki B, Esterlis I, Skosnik P, Radhakrishnan R, Wolf J, Nabulsi N, Ropchan J, Huang Y, Carson R, Naples A, McPartland J. 11C-UCB-J PET imaging is consistent with lower synaptic density in autistic adults. Molecular Psychiatry 2024, 1-7. PMID: 39367053, DOI: 10.1038/s41380-024-02776-2.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchPositron emission tomographySynaptic densityAutistic adultsBrain regionsAutistic featuresClinical phenotype of autismNon-autistic participantsPhenotype of autismNon-autistic individualsRelationship to clinical characteristicsSynaptic vesicle glycoprotein 2AAssociated with clinical measuresPost-mortem studiesPositron emission tomography scanPrefrontal cortexClinician ratingsAutism groupNeural basisBrain areasNeural processesBetween-group differencesVolumetric differencesBinding potentialDensity of synapsesAutismMetabotropic glutamatergic receptor 5 as a potential biomarker of the intersection of trauma and cannabis use
Weiss E, Davis M, Asch R, D'Souza D, Cool R, Esterlis I. Metabotropic glutamatergic receptor 5 as a potential biomarker of the intersection of trauma and cannabis use. The International Journal Of Neuropsychopharmacology 2024, pyae044. PMID: 39320043, DOI: 10.1093/ijnp/pyae044.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchTrauma-related psychopathologyCannabis useDepressive symptomsPositron emission tomographyCross-diagnostic sampleMetabotropic glutamate receptor 5Treatment development effortsAssociated with depressive symptomsGlutamate receptor 5CU groupSample of individualsAvailability in vivoFrontolimbic regionsGlutamatergic systemGlutamatergic neurotransmissionMGlu5PsychopathologyReceptor 5Intersection of traumaExploratory analysisCannabisEmission tomographySymptomsParticipantsVmPFCMicroglia-mediated neuroimmune suppression in PTSD is associated with anhedonia
Bonomi R, Hillmer A, Woodcock E, Bhatt S, Rusowicz A, Angarita G, Carson R, Davis M, Esterlis I, Nabulsi N, Huang Y, Krystal J, Pietrzak R, Cosgrove K. Microglia-mediated neuroimmune suppression in PTSD is associated with anhedonia. Proceedings Of The National Academy Of Sciences Of The United States Of America 2024, 121: e2406005121. PMID: 39172786, PMCID: PMC11363315, DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2406005121.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsPTSD groupPrefrontal-limbic circuitsNeuroimmune responseAssociated with anhedoniaPosttraumatic stress disorderPositron emission tomography brain imagingTranslocator protein availabilityBrain immune functionAnhedonic symptomsStress disorderPeripheral immune dysfunctionPTSDGroup differencesSeverity of symptomsPsychiatric diseasesTranslocator proteinBrain imagingAdministration of lipopolysaccharideSymptomsMicroglial markersLPS-induced increaseCompared to controlsImmune functionSickness symptomsAnhedoniaChallenges and rewards of in vivo synaptic density imaging, and its application to the study of depression
Asch R, Abdallah C, Carson R, Esterlis I. Challenges and rewards of in vivo synaptic density imaging, and its application to the study of depression. Neuropsychopharmacology 2024, 1-11. PMID: 39039139, DOI: 10.1038/s41386-024-01913-3.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchStudies of depressionAnimal models of chronic stressPositron emission tomographyModel of chronic stressSV2A imagingSynaptic densitySignificant depressive symptomsDevelopment of novel radiotracersDepressive symptomsNeuropsychiatric disordersSymptom severityChronic stressDrug challengeSynaptic vesicle glycoprotein 2 ANeural markersAnimal modelsSynaptic alterationsSynaptogenesis in vivoPreliminary findingsIn vivo quantificationCentral nervous systemDepressionEmission tomographySV2ASV2A positron emission tomographyW35 Nicotine Use and Metabotropic Glutamate Receptor 5 (mGluR5) in Individuals With Major Depressive and Post Traumatic Stress Disorders
Baldassarri S, Asch R, Hillmer A, Pietrzak R, DellaGioia N, Esterlis I, Davis M. W35 Nicotine Use and Metabotropic Glutamate Receptor 5 (mGluR5) in Individuals With Major Depressive and Post Traumatic Stress Disorders. Drug And Alcohol Dependence 2024, 260: 110653. DOI: 10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2023.110653.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchDeficits in prefrontal metabotropic glutamate receptor 5 are associated with functional alterations during emotional processing in bipolar disorder
Asch R, Worhunsky P, Davis M, Holmes S, Cool R, Boster S, Carson R, Blumberg H, Esterlis I. Deficits in prefrontal metabotropic glutamate receptor 5 are associated with functional alterations during emotional processing in bipolar disorder. Journal Of Affective Disorders 2024, 361: 415-424. PMID: 38876317, PMCID: PMC11250898, DOI: 10.1016/j.jad.2024.06.025.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchMetabotropic glutamate receptor 5Bipolar disorderGlutamate receptor 5Positron emission tomographyFear processingEmotional processingAssociated with greater activationEmotion processing taskAssociated with impulsivityFunctional brain differencesAssociated with functional alterationsParietal brain regionsPathology of BDIncreased cortical activityAssociated with difficultiesDepressive disorderHealthy comparisonReceptor availabilityBrain differencesPre/postcentral gyriAttention difficultiesGreater activationBrain regionsPsychomotor functionTreatment developmentHelping the Helpers: Mental Health Challenges of Psychosocial Support Workers During the Russian-Ukrainian War
Kang H, Fischer I, Esterlis I, Kolyshkina A, Ponomarenko L, Chobanian A, Vus V, Pietrzak R. Helping the Helpers: Mental Health Challenges of Psychosocial Support Workers During the Russian-Ukrainian War. Disaster Medicine And Public Health Preparedness 2024, 18: e95. PMID: 38829179, DOI: 10.1017/dmp.2024.68.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsPsychosocial support workersPosttraumatic stress disorderAssociated with greater oddsPresence of meaning in lifeMeaning in lifeSuicidal ideationMental health challengesGreater oddsMental healthLow optimismSupport workersHealth challengesMental health problemsCorrelates of burnoutPromote social connectednessStress disorderPsychosocial characteristicsGreater distressWar exposureGeneral populationHealth problemsSocial connectednessBurnoutOddsSocial relationshipsAuthor Correction: Synaptic loss and its association with symptom severity in Parkinson’s disease
Holmes S, Honhar P, Tinaz S, Naganawa M, Hilmer A, Gallezot J, Dias M, Yang Y, Toyonaga T, Esterlis I, Mecca A, Van Dyck C, Henry S, Ropchan J, Nabulsi N, Louis E, Comley R, Finnema S, Carson R, Matuskey D. Author Correction: Synaptic loss and its association with symptom severity in Parkinson’s disease. Npj Parkinson's Disease 2024, 10: 55. PMID: 38472206, PMCID: PMC10933370, DOI: 10.1038/s41531-024-00674-6.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchSynaptic loss and its association with symptom severity in Parkinson’s disease
Holmes S, Honhar P, Tinaz S, Naganawa M, Hilmer A, Gallezot J, Dias M, Yang Y, Toyonaga T, Esterlis I, Mecca A, Van Dyck C, Henry S, Ropchan J, Nabulsi N, Louis E, Comley R, Finnema S, Carson R, Matuskey D. Synaptic loss and its association with symptom severity in Parkinson’s disease. Npj Parkinson's Disease 2024, 10: 42. PMID: 38402233, PMCID: PMC10894197, DOI: 10.1038/s41531-024-00655-9.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchSynaptic density lossPositron emission tomographyBinds to synaptic vesicle glycoprotein 2AAssociated with symptom severityParkinson's diseaseHigh-resolution positron emission tomographySynaptic vesicle glycoprotein 2ADuration of illnessPositron emission tomography scanBrain perfusionIllness durationSymptom severitySeverity of symptomsHC groupSubstantia nigraSynaptic densityLiving brainPD individualsClinical insightsDensity lossPD patientsEmission tomographyBrainSynaptic lossSynapse lossPreliminary Study of White Matter Abnormalities and Associations With the Metabotropic Glutamate Receptor 5 to Distinguish Bipolar and Major Depressive Disorders
Fan S, Asch R, Davis M, DellaGioia N, Cool R, Blumberg H, Esterlis I. Preliminary Study of White Matter Abnormalities and Associations With the Metabotropic Glutamate Receptor 5 to Distinguish Bipolar and Major Depressive Disorders. Chronic Stress 2024, 8: 24705470231225320. PMID: 38250007, PMCID: PMC10798116, DOI: 10.1177/24705470231225320.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchMetabotropic glutamate receptor 5Bipolar disorderGlutamate receptor 5UF FAUncinate fasciculusFractional anisotropyWhole-brain analysisMultimodal neuroimaging approachDifferentiation of BDDiffusion-weighted MRI scansFrontotemporal dysconnectivityFrontotemporal systemFunctional dysconnectivityDepressive disorderNeurobiological mechanismsMGluR5 levelsWhite matterWhite matter abnormalitiesNeuroimaging approachesWM integrityNeural mechanismsMDDWhole-brainWM abnormalitiesReceptor 5Well-being of mental health workers during the Russian-Ukrainian War
Kang H, Fischer I, Vus V, Kolyshkina A, Ponomarenko L, Chobanian A, Esterlis I, Pietrzak R. Well-being of mental health workers during the Russian-Ukrainian War. Mental Health Global Challenges Journal 2024, 7: 41-49. DOI: 10.56508/mhgcj.v7i1.189.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchMental health workersMental health difficultiesPsychosocial factorsHealth difficultiesWell-being domainsHealth workersWell-beingMental healthMental health support servicesFactors associated with well-beingLevels of mental health difficultiesHealth support servicesPromote well-beingAssociated with higher well-beingPosttraumatic stress symptomsConvenience samplePsychosocial characteristicsMultiple well-being domainsHigher well-beingSupport servicesPresence of mental health difficultiesHigher optimismStress symptomsInteraction of riskProtective factors
2023
Ketamine and the neurobiology of depression: Toward next-generation rapid-acting antidepressant treatments
Krystal J, Kaye A, Jefferson S, Girgenti M, Wilkinson S, Sanacora G, Esterlis I. Ketamine and the neurobiology of depression: Toward next-generation rapid-acting antidepressant treatments. Proceedings Of The National Academy Of Sciences Of The United States Of America 2023, 120: e2305772120. PMID: 38011560, PMCID: PMC10710048, DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2305772120.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchThe regional pattern of age-related synaptic loss in the human brain differs from gray matter volume loss: in vivo PET measurement with [11C]UCB-J
Toyonaga T, Khattar N, Wu Y, Lu Y, Naganawa M, Gallezot J, Matuskey D, Mecca A, Pittman B, Dias M, Nabulsi N, Finnema S, Chen M, Arnsten A, Radhakrishnan R, Skosnik P, D’Souza D, Esterlis I, Huang Y, van Dyck C, Carson R. The regional pattern of age-related synaptic loss in the human brain differs from gray matter volume loss: in vivo PET measurement with [11C]UCB-J. European Journal Of Nuclear Medicine And Molecular Imaging 2023, 51: 1012-1022. PMID: 37955791, DOI: 10.1007/s00259-023-06487-8.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchSynaptic densityAge-related decreaseMagnetic resonance imagingBlood flowAge-related synaptic lossGray matter volume lossSynaptic density lossPositron emission tomography (PET) ligandSynaptic vesicle glycoprotein 2AVivo PET measurementsMedial occipital cortexGray matter volumeAge-related neurodegenerationGray matter regionsCognitive normal subjectsAge-related changesSynaptic lossNerve terminalsWide age rangeOccipital cortexTomography ligandNormal subjectsGM volumeAge-related functional lossesMatter volumeEvaluating infusion methods and simplified quantification of synaptic density in vivo with [11C]UCB-J and [18F]SynVesT-1 PET
Asch R, Naganawa M, Nabulsi N, Huan Y, Esterlis I, Carson R. Evaluating infusion methods and simplified quantification of synaptic density in vivo with [11C]UCB-J and [18F]SynVesT-1 PET. Cerebrovascular And Brain Metabolism Reviews 2023, 43: 2120-2129. PMID: 37669455, PMCID: PMC10925870, DOI: 10.1177/0271678x231200423.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchPerceived mental health of psychosocial support professionals in Ukraine
Kang H, Esterlis I, Chobanian A, Boriak O, Pietrzak R, Vus V. Perceived mental health of psychosocial support professionals in Ukraine. Psychiatry Research 2023, 326: 115320. PMID: 37352745, DOI: 10.1016/j.psychres.2023.115320.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchSuicidal Thoughts and Behaviors in Older U.S. Military Veterans: Results From the National Health and Resilience in Veterans Study
Fischer I, Nichter B, Aunon F, Feldman D, Levy B, Esterlis I, Pietrzak R. Suicidal Thoughts and Behaviors in Older U.S. Military Veterans: Results From the National Health and Resilience in Veterans Study. American Journal Of Geriatric Psychiatry 2023, 31: 844-852. PMID: 37211498, PMCID: PMC10731861, DOI: 10.1016/j.jagp.2023.04.013.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsPast-year suicidal ideationUS military veteransSuicidal ideationLifetime suicide plansSuicide planNational HealthMilitary veteransSuicide intentVeterans StudySuicide attemptsSuicidal thoughtsRepresentative prevalence estimatesMajor depressive disorderLifetime suicide attemptsU.S. military veteransOlder military veteransDepressive disorderPrevalence estimatesLifetime historyProtective factorsSuicide riskPhysical healthLifetime suicideVeteransSelf-report measuresLinking resting-state network fluctuations with systems of coherent synaptic density: A multimodal fMRI and 11C-UCB-J PET study
Fang X, Volpi T, Holmes S, Esterlis I, Carson R, Worhunsky P. Linking resting-state network fluctuations with systems of coherent synaptic density: A multimodal fMRI and 11C-UCB-J PET study. Frontiers In Human Neuroscience 2023, 17: 1124254. PMID: 36908710, PMCID: PMC9995441, DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2023.1124254.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchSynaptic densityRSN activityResting-state network connectivityRSN functional connectivityAnterior default mode networkJ PET studyResting-state fMRIBrain functional organizationDefault mode networkHealthy adult participantsExecutive control networkRSN connectivityFunctional organizationPsychiatric disordersMedial prefrontalSalience networkPET studiesFunctional connectivityHealthy agingFractional amplitudeLow-frequency fluctuationsNeurophysiological linkSynaptic architectureAdult participantsDefault-mode activitySubjective cognitive difficulties and posttraumatic stress disorder interact to increase suicide risk among middle-aged and older US military veterans.
Cations M, Cook J, Nichter B, Esterlis I, Pietrzak R. Subjective cognitive difficulties and posttraumatic stress disorder interact to increase suicide risk among middle-aged and older US military veterans. International Psychogeriatrics 2023, 1-9. PMID: 36756753, DOI: 10.1017/s1041610222001053.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchPosttraumatic stress disorderSubjective cognitive difficultiesCurrent suicidal intentSuicidal intentSuicidal ideationPatient Health Questionnaire-9Suicide riskStress disorderCurrent posttraumatic stress disorderMilitary veteransCross-sectional studyUnited States military veteransUS military veteransCognitive Functioning ScaleOlder U.S. veteransCognitive difficultiesSubjective cognitive impairmentQuestionnaire-9US veteransNational HealthSuicide Behaviors QuestionnaireOlder veteransCognitive impairmentConcentration difficultiesU.S. veteransInvestigating CNS distribution of PF‐05212377, a P‐glycoprotein substrate, by translation of 5‐HT6 receptor occupancy from non‐human primates to humans
Sawant‐Basak A, Chen L, Lockwood P, Boyden T, Doran A, Mancuso J, Zasadny K, McCarthy T, Morris E, Carson R, Esterlis I, Huang Y, Nabulsi N, Planeta B, Fullerton T. Investigating CNS distribution of PF‐05212377, a P‐glycoprotein substrate, by translation of 5‐HT6 receptor occupancy from non‐human primates to humans. Biopharmaceutics & Drug Disposition 2023, 44: 48-59. PMID: 36825693, DOI: 10.1002/bdd.2351.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsNon-human primatesBrain penetrationPositron emission tomographyReceptor occupancyUnbound concentrationsPre-clinical evidenceVivo brain penetrationConcentration-dependent increaseP-glycoprotein substratesPlasma ECsP-gpAlzheimer's diseaseEmission tomographyRat BBBTarget engagementCumulative evidenceDependent increaseTransporter substratesCNS distributionBBBRatsDiseasePrimatesSpecies differencesHumansExamining mGlu5 Receptor Availability as a Predictor of Vulnerability to PTSD: An [18F]FPEB and PET Study in Male and Female Rats
Asch R, Fowles K, Pietrzak R, Taylor J, Esterlis I. Examining mGlu5 Receptor Availability as a Predictor of Vulnerability to PTSD: An [18F]FPEB and PET Study in Male and Female Rats. Chronic Stress 2023, 7: 24705470231215001. PMID: 38024327, PMCID: PMC10666551, DOI: 10.1177/24705470231215001.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchPost-traumatic stress disorderReceptor availabilityFemale ratsPathophysiology of PTSDFootshock exposureMetabotropic glutamate receptor 5Recent preclinical findingsGlutamate receptor 5Positron emission tomographyPreclinical findingsClinical findingsFe ratsReceptor 5Lower baselineEmission tomographyGreater riskPET studiesRatsStress disorderDifferential involvementPassive copingSex differencesMalesPTSD susceptibilityBaseline