Adjunct Faculty
Adjunct faculty typically have an academic or research appointment at another institution and contribute or collaborate with one or more School of Medicine faculty members or programs.
Adjunct rank detailsAnjali Sankar
Assistant Professor Adjunct of PsychiatryAbout
Research
Publications
2025
Amygdala reactivity to threat, negative facial perception, and risk of future psychiatric hospitalizations: a longitudinal study in major depressive and bipolar disorders
Miskowiak K, Ozenne B, Kjærstad H, Fisher P, Beaman E, Dam V, Ysbæk-Nielsen A, Knudsen G, Kessing L, Macoveanu J, Frøkjær V, Sankar A. Amygdala reactivity to threat, negative facial perception, and risk of future psychiatric hospitalizations: a longitudinal study in major depressive and bipolar disorders. Neuropsychopharmacology 2025, 1-8. PMID: 41398076, DOI: 10.1038/s41386-025-02291-0.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchMajor depressive disorderBipolar disorderPsychiatric hospitalBehavioral assessmentRisk of psychiatric hospitalizationFacial expressionsFunctional magnetic resonance imagingNegative emotional biasPositive facial expressionsRecognition of facial expressionsNegative biasAmygdala reactivityThreat biasAmygdala hyperactivityHappy facesDepressive disorderIllness chronicityPsychotherapeutic interventionsFacial perceptionEmotional biasEmotional informationBaseline symptomsPersistent disordersBehavioral responsesIntervention outcomesReduced ventromedial prefrontal cortex volume and impaired attention associated with past suicide attempts in patients with mood disorders
Andreu H, Miskowiak K, Macoveanu J, Kessing L, Vieta E, Knudsen G, Frokjaer V, Sankar A. Reduced ventromedial prefrontal cortex volume and impaired attention associated with past suicide attempts in patients with mood disorders. Journal Of Psychiatric Research 2025, 191: 501-506. PMID: 41056872, DOI: 10.1016/j.jpsychires.2025.09.040.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsMajor depressive disorderMood disordersSuicidal behaviorSuicide attemptsVmPFC volumeBipolar disorderAssociated with history of suicidal behaviorAssociated with past suicide attemptsHistory of suicidal behaviorRisk of suicidal behaviorVentromedial prefrontal cortexAssociated with historyPrefrontal cortex volumePast suicide attemptsHeightened riskBrain structural measuresMagnetic resonance imagingPotential intervention targetsPrefrontal cortexDepressive disorderAttention deficitImpaired attentionCognitive domainsCognitive subdomainsCortex volumeBrain white matter microstructure in middle and older aged adults with bipolar disorder: a two-site study
Sankar A, Colic L, Marks R, Rajashekar N, Pittman B, Constable R, Sajatovic M, Eyler L, Blumberg H. Brain white matter microstructure in middle and older aged adults with bipolar disorder: a two-site study. American Journal Of Geriatric Psychiatry 2025 PMID: 41107198, PMCID: PMC12553490, DOI: 10.1016/j.jagp.2025.09.013.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchBipolar disorderEmotion regulationFractional anisotropyUncinate fasciculusWM microstructureCorpus callosumWM fractional anisotropyBrain white matter microstructureWhite matter microstructureAnterior corpus callosumTwo-site studyPosterior corpus callosumOlder aged adultsMood symptomsConsistent with findingsWhite matterNeurodevelopmental alterationsOlder adulthoodStudy of adults ageWM tractsCognitive impairmentLow FAEffect sizeAge interactionOlder adultsAssociations Between Cognitive Functions and Subsequent Mood Disorder Prognosis in Low‐Risk, High‐Risk and Affected Monozygotic Twins: A Seven‐Year Follow‐Up Study
Miskowiak K, Kjærstad H, Lystlund S, Sankar A, Kessing L, Vinberg M. Associations Between Cognitive Functions and Subsequent Mood Disorder Prognosis in Low‐Risk, High‐Risk and Affected Monozygotic Twins: A Seven‐Year Follow‐Up Study. Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica 2025 PMID: 40832818, DOI: 10.1111/acps.70025.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchMood disordersVerbal fluencyIllness onsetNon-emotional cognitionPositive attentional biasLow-risk twinsVerbal fluency declineRisk of illness onsetLongitudinal cognitive changesMonozygotic co-twinsMonozygotic twinsAttentional biasFearful facesHappy facesAberrant cognitionAttentional vigilanceCognitive changesCognitive differencesCognitive functionCognitive featuresIllness progressionBaseline cognitionFamilial riskCo-TwinCognitive impairmentBrain structural correlates of prior alcohol use disorder and their relation to cognitive impairment in individuals with mood disorders
Miskowiak K, Bjerregaard S, Fink-Jensen A, Kessing L, Damgaard V, Schandorff J, Kjærstad H, Macoveanu J, Frokjaer V, Knudsen G, Sankar A. Brain structural correlates of prior alcohol use disorder and their relation to cognitive impairment in individuals with mood disorders. Journal Of Affective Disorders 2025, 390: 119841. PMID: 40639540, DOI: 10.1016/j.jad.2025.119841.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsAlcohol use disorderGray matter volumeAlcohol use disorder groupNucleus accumbensMood disordersOrbitofrontal cortexHippocampal volumeCognitive impairmentUse disorderCognitive functionComorbid alcohol use disorderLower gray matter volumeBrain structural correlatesStructural magnetic resonance imagingAlcohol-induced neurotoxicityMD groupAssociated with poorer global cognitionIntegrated treatment approachPoorer global cognitionHigher cognitive functionsVerbal learningNeurobiological alterationsNeuroimaging studiesNeuropsychological testsMatter volumeNeural Correlates of Cognitive Improvement After Virtual Reality‐Based Cognitive Remediation in Psychosis and Mood Disorders: A Randomized Controlled Trial
Damgaard V, Jespersen A, Søndergaard I, Lumbye A, Vinberg M, Glenthøj L, Nordentoft M, Sankar A, Knudsen G, Macoveanu J, Miskowiak K. Neural Correlates of Cognitive Improvement After Virtual Reality‐Based Cognitive Remediation in Psychosis and Mood Disorders: A Randomized Controlled Trial. Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica 2025 DOI: 10.1111/acps.70004.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchFunctional magnetic resonance imagingSchizophrenia spectrum disordersNeuropsychological assessmentMood disordersCognitive benefitsCognitive improvementNeural correlatesSpectrum disorderFunctional magnetic resonance imaging taskLongitudinal functional magnetic resonance imagingEncoding-related neural activityLeft dorsal prefrontal cortexCorrelates of cognitive changesLeft inferior temporal gyrusFunctional magnetic resonance imaging dataPro-cognitive interventionsDorsal prefrontal cortexCognitive remediation therapyLeft frontal poleTreatment completionOccipital cortex activityBilateral occipital cortexInferior temporal gyrusHealthy controlsThree-month follow-upReduced prefrontal response to fearful faces in recent mothers with bipolar disorder and its association with mother-infant interaction and infant development
Bjertrup A, Andreu H, Macoveanu J, Sankar A, Moszkowicz M, Nielsen R, Pagsberg A, Vieta E, Kessing L, Miskowiak K. Reduced prefrontal response to fearful faces in recent mothers with bipolar disorder and its association with mother-infant interaction and infant development. Psychiatry Research 2025, 351: 116610. PMID: 40582275, DOI: 10.1016/j.psychres.2025.116610.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchFunctional magnetic resonance imagingMother-infant interactionBipolar disorderMother infant interactionsFearful facesNeural responsesInfant interactionsNeural activityInfant developmentEmotion processing regionsHappy facial expressionsWhole-brain analysisSevere mood disordersLeft frontal poleFacial expression recognition taskFacial expression recognition accuracyExpression recognition taskHappy facesPrefrontal responsesBD mothersMood disordersChildren of individualsFrontal poleDyadic reciprocityProcessing regionsNetwork-wide aberrancies in neuronal activity during working memory in a large cohort of patients with mood disorders: associations with cognitive impairment and functional disability
Damgaard V, Schandorff J, Macoveanu J, Sankar A, Zarp J, Fisher P, Jørgensen M, Kessing L, Knudsen G, Frokjaer V, Miskowiak K. Network-wide aberrancies in neuronal activity during working memory in a large cohort of patients with mood disorders: associations with cognitive impairment and functional disability. Molecular Psychiatry 2025, 30: 4836-4844. PMID: 40527901, PMCID: PMC12436155, DOI: 10.1038/s41380-025-03078-x.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCognitive control networkFunctional magnetic resonance imagingMood disordersCognitive performanceHypo-activityCross-sectional functional magnetic resonance imagingWorking memory n-back taskCognitive impairmentHyper-activityRight middle frontal gyrusLeft dorsolateral prefrontal cortexDaily functioningHealthy controlsDorsolateral prefrontal cortexFrontal medial cortexN-back taskMiddle frontal gyrusAssociated with cognitive impairmentAssociated with cognitionComprehensive neurocognitive testingAssessment of daily functionCognitive controlDMN abnormalitiesPrefrontal cortexFrontal gyrusMultivariate associations between structural brain changes and cognitive impairment in partially or fully remitted persons with bipolar disorder
Schandorff J, Madsen A, Damgaard V, Little B, Sankar A, Macoveanu J, Frokjaer V, Kessing L, Jørgensen M, Knudsen G, Gallagher P, Miskowiak K. Multivariate associations between structural brain changes and cognitive impairment in partially or fully remitted persons with bipolar disorder. Progress In Neuro-Psychopharmacology And Biological Psychiatry 2025, 140: 111425. PMID: 40505718, DOI: 10.1016/j.pnpbp.2025.111425.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchBipolar disorderGray matter volumeCognitive impairmentMatter volumeBrain structuresReduced gray matter volumeExtensive cognitive test batteryLower gray matter volumeStructural magnetic resonance imagingBrain structural alterationsCognitive test batteryPosterior cingulate regionsStructural brain changesLeft caudate nucleusCanonical correlation analysisRemitted personsVerbal learningWorking memoryExecutive functionPsychomotor speedCingulate regionsCognitive domainsRight hippocampusCognitively impaired personsBrain changesRelation Between Brain Morphological Features and Psychiatric Hospitalization Risk in Major Depressive and Bipolar Disorders
Miskowiak K, Macoveanu J, Ozenne B, Beaman E, Dam V, Fisher P, Knudsen G, Kessing L, Jørgensen M, Frokjaer V, Sankar A. Relation Between Brain Morphological Features and Psychiatric Hospitalization Risk in Major Depressive and Bipolar Disorders. Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica 2025, 151: 689-697. PMID: 39980329, PMCID: PMC12045658, DOI: 10.1111/acps.13790.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchBipolar disorderPsychiatric hospitalHippocampal asymmetryMood disordersMatter volumeCognitive functionRisk of relapseStructural magnetic resonance imaging scansHippocampal gray matter volumeWhole-brain white matter volumeRight hippocampus volumeBrain morphological featuresGray matter volumeBrain structural measuresMarker of cognitive functionExploratory analysisWhite matter volumePrefrontal volumesDepressive disorderMajor depressionPsychiatric rehospitalizationBrain reserveHippocampus volumeMagnetic resonance imaging scansRisk of hospitalization