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
Brain 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 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 hospitalizationChronotherapeutic intervention targeting emotion regulation brain circuitry, symptoms, and suicide risk in adolescents and young adults with bipolar disorder: a pilot randomised trial
Kim J, Sankar A, Marks R, Carrubba E, Lecza B, Quatrano S, Spencer L, Constable R, Pittman B, Lebowitz E, Silverman W, Swartz H, Blumberg H. Chronotherapeutic intervention targeting emotion regulation brain circuitry, symptoms, and suicide risk in adolescents and young adults with bipolar disorder: a pilot randomised trial. BMJ Mental Health 2025, 28: e301338. PMID: 39971594, PMCID: PMC11840897, DOI: 10.1136/bmjment-2024-301338.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsBipolar disorderEmotion regulationSuicide riskBrain circuitryChronotherapeutic interventionsEmotional face stimuliLeft amygdala responseRisk of bipolar disorderTargeting emotion regulationReduce suicide riskHigher suicide riskYoung adultsFunctional MRI dataPost-treatment improvementAmygdala responsePotential intervention targetsEmotion dysregulationMania symptomsMood episodesFace stimuliCircuitry dysfunctionRegulation therapyDaily rhythmsWeekly sessionsSelf-MonitoringPREDICTING DEPRESSED AND ELEVATED MOOD SYMPTOMATOLOGY IN BIPOLAR DISORDER USING BRAIN FUNCTIONAL CONNECTOMES
Sankar *, Shen X, Colic L, Goldman D, Villa L, Kim J, Pittman B, Scheinost D, Constable R, Blumberg H. PREDICTING DEPRESSED AND ELEVATED MOOD SYMPTOMATOLOGY IN BIPOLAR DISORDER USING BRAIN FUNCTIONAL CONNECTOMES. The International Journal Of Neuropsychopharmacology 2025, 28: i15-i15. PMCID: PMC11814904, DOI: 10.1093/ijnp/pyae059.027.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConnectome-based predictive modelingBipolar disorderMood symptomatologyMood symptomsFunctional connectomeYoung Mania Rating ScaleFunctional magnetic resonance imaging dataPredictors of functional impairmentEmotion processing taskMania Rating ScaleMood symptom severityMood symptom scoresBrain functional connectomeMagnetic resonance imaging dataBrain function disturbancesHamilton DepressionPredicting DepressionSymptom severityRating ScaleFunctional impairmentDisordersMoodSymptomatologyProcessing tasksDepression