Alex Kwan, PhD
Associate Professor Adjunct of PsychiatryDownloadHi-Res Photo
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Psychiatry
Primary
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About
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Associate Professor Adjunct of Psychiatry
Biography
Alex Kwan is an Associate Professor in the Meinig School of Biomedical Engineering at Cornell University. Before moving to Cornell in 2022, he was an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at Yale School of Medicine.
He received a B.A.Sc. in Engineering Physics from Simon Fraser University and a Ph.D. in Applied Physics from Cornell University. At Cornell, he developed nonlinear optical microscopes in the laboratory of Watt Webb. In 2009, he went to the University of California, Berkeley to work in the laboratory of Yang Dan, where he studied cortical microcircuits.
Research in the Kwan lab focuses on the mouse medial frontal cortex. We are interested in how dendritic plasticity may underlie the actions of psychiatric drugs and how cortical circuits enable flexible decision-making. Our expertise lies in developing and applying optical methods to record and control neural activity in behaving mice.
Appointments
Psychiatry
Associate Professor AdjunctPrimary
Other Departments & Organizations
- Abraham Ribicoff Research Facilities
- Division of Neurocognition, Neurocomputation & Neurogenetics
- Kwan Lab
- Psychiatry
- Yale Ventures
Education & Training
- Postdoctoral
- University of California, Berkeley (2009 - 2013) (2013)
- PhD
- Cornell University (2009)
- MS
- Cornell University (2007)
- BS
- Simon Fraser University (2003)
Research
Overview
Medical Research Interests
Antidepressive Agents; Decision Making; Dendrites; Depressive Disorder; Electrophysiology; Microscopy, Fluorescence; Optogenetics; Prefrontal Cortex
ORCID
0000-0003-2169-1667- View Lab Website
Kwan Lab
Research at a Glance
Yale Co-Authors
Frequent collaborators of Alex Kwan's published research.
Publications Timeline
A big-picture view of Alex Kwan's research output by year.
Research Interests
Research topics Alex Kwan is interested in exploring.
Pasha Davoudian
Clara Liao, BA
Alfred Kaye, MD, PhD
Christopher Pittenger, MD, PhD
John Krystal, MD
20Publications
972Citations
Dendrites
Prefrontal Cortex
Decision Making
Microscopy, Fluorescence
Antidepressive Agents
Publications
2025
Could psychedelics be fine-tuned to relieve anxiety but skip the ‘trip’?
Knox C, Kwan A. Could psychedelics be fine-tuned to relieve anxiety but skip the ‘trip’? Nature 2025, 639: 45-46. PMID: 39966585, DOI: 10.1038/d41586-025-00454-z.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchAltmetricClassification of psychedelics and psychoactive drugs based on brain-wide imaging of cellular c-Fos expression
Aboharb F, Davoudian P, Shao L, Liao C, Rzepka G, Wojtasiewicz C, Indajang J, Dibbs M, Rondeau J, Sherwood A, Kaye A, Kwan A. Classification of psychedelics and psychoactive drugs based on brain-wide imaging of cellular c-Fos expression. Nature Communications 2025, 16: 1590. PMID: 39939591, PMCID: PMC11822132, DOI: 10.1038/s41467-025-56850-6.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsAltmetricMeSH Keywords and ConceptsConceptsAcute fluoxetinePsychoactive drugsMarkers of neural plasticityImmediate early gene expressionC-fos expressionChronic fluoxetineNative brain tissueBehavioral effectsPsychedelic propertiesBrain regionsChance levelEarly gene expressionPsychoactive compoundsNeural plasticityFluoxetinePsilocybinMDMAMeasuring drug actionTested malesPsychedelicsPreclinical assaysDrug actionKetamineFemale miceDrug classification
2024
Publisher Correction: Structural neural plasticity evoked by rapid-acting antidepressant interventions
Liao C, Dua A, Wojtasiewicz C, Liston C, Kwan A. Publisher Correction: Structural neural plasticity evoked by rapid-acting antidepressant interventions. Nature Reviews Neuroscience 2024, 26: 135-135. PMID: 39668187, DOI: 10.1038/s41583-024-00894-y.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchStructural neural plasticity evoked by rapid-acting antidepressant interventions
Liao C, Dua A, Wojtasiewicz C, Liston C, Kwan A. Structural neural plasticity evoked by rapid-acting antidepressant interventions. Nature Reviews Neuroscience 2024, 26: 101-114. PMID: 39558048, PMCID: PMC11892022, DOI: 10.1038/s41583-024-00876-0.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsAltmetricConceptsAntidepressant interventionsStructural neural plasticityNeural plasticityPsychoactive drugsRapid-acting antidepressant drugsAction of psychoactive drugsRepetitive transcranial magnetic stimulationExcitatory synaptic functionAntidepressant effectsPrefrontal cortexDepressive disorderNon-invasive neurostimulationAntidepressant drugsMood disordersNeurobiological actionsTranscranial magnetic stimulationElectroconvulsive therapyPsychedelic drugsCortical pyramidal neuronsMechanisms of plasticityLongitudinal effectsGrowth of dendritic spinesPyramidal neuronsStructural plasticitySynaptic functionVentral hippocampal parvalbumin interneurons gate the acute anxiolytic action of the serotonergic psychedelic DOI
Tiwari P, Davoudian P, Kapri D, Vuruputuri R, Karaba L, Sharma M, Zanni G, Balakrishnan A, Chaudhari P, Pradhan A, Suryavanshi S, Bath K, Ansorge M, Fernandez-Ruiz A, Kwan A, Vaidya V. Ventral hippocampal parvalbumin interneurons gate the acute anxiolytic action of the serotonergic psychedelic DOI. Neuron 2024, 112: 3697-3714.e6. PMID: 39321791, PMCID: PMC11581910, DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2024.08.016.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsAltmetricConceptsAnxiolytic actionVentral hippocampusParvalbumin (PV)-positive interneuronsAnxiety-like behaviorAction of DOIPV-positive interneuronsPsychedelic DOIAnxiolytic responseAnxiolytic effectsSerotonergic psychedelicsFast-spiking cellsParvalbumin interneuronsGABAergic interneuronsVHPCFiring rateDOIHippocampusInterneuronsTherapeutic potentialReceptorsPsychedelicsCellular triggersGenetic approachesElectrophysiologyPsilocybin Facilitates Fear Extinction: Importance of Dose, Context, and Serotonin Receptors
Woodburn S, Levitt C, Koester A, Kwan A. Psilocybin Facilitates Fear Extinction: Importance of Dose, Context, and Serotonin Receptors. ACS Chemical Neuroscience 2024, 15: 3034-3043. PMID: 39087917, DOI: 10.1021/acschemneuro.4c00279.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsAltmetricConceptsPost-traumatic stress disorderFear extinctionFear renewalExtinction retentionSerotonin receptorsPsilocybin effectsEffects of psilocybinExtinction-based therapiesProlonged exposure therapyFear conditioning paradigmAnalysis of sex differencesEnhanced fear extinctionFear learning paradigmAdministration of psilocybinConditioning paradigmExposure therapyFear learningStress disorderClassic psychedelicsPsilocybinSex differencesExtinction experimentsReceptor antagonismDrug effectsSerotoninSpatiotemporal Organization of Prefrontal Norepinephrine Influences Neuronal Activity
Glaeser-Khan S, Savalia N, Cressy J, Feng J, Li Y, Kwan A, Kaye A. Spatiotemporal Organization of Prefrontal Norepinephrine Influences Neuronal Activity. ENeuro 2024, 11: eneuro.0252-23.2024. PMID: 38702188, PMCID: PMC11134306, DOI: 10.1523/eneuro.0252-23.2024.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsConceptsTwo-photon imagingLocus coeruleusPrefrontal cortexOptical flow analysisIn vivo two-photon imagingInfluence neuronal activityVesicle exocytosisControl of cortical activityNE releaseGPCR-based sensorsNE dynamicsLocal fieldNeuronal calciumNeuronal firingCell firingNE roleNorepinephrineHomogeneous fieldNeuronal activitySpatiotemporal activity patternsNeurotransmitter functionSensorLight-sheet imagingAxonal dynamicsSpatial scales
2023
Dynamic Foraging Behavior Performance Is Not Affected by Scn2a Haploinsufficiency
Schamiloglu S, Wu H, Zhou M, Kwan A, Bender K. Dynamic Foraging Behavior Performance Is Not Affected by Scn2a Haploinsufficiency. ENeuro 2023, 10: eneuro.0367-23.2023. PMID: 38151324, PMCID: PMC10755640, DOI: 10.1523/eneuro.0367-23.2023.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsAltmetricTiming is key for behavioural benefits of psychedelics
Woodburn S, Kwan A. Timing is key for behavioural benefits of psychedelics. Nature 2023, 618: 677-678. PMID: 37316593, DOI: 10.1038/d41586-023-01869-2.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsAltmetricMeSH Keywords and ConceptsHyperconnectivity of Two Separate Long-Range Cholinergic Systems Contributes to the Reorganization of the Brain Functional Connectivity during Nicotine Withdrawal in Male Mice
Carrette L, Kimbrough A, Davoudian P, Kwan A, Collazo A, George O. Hyperconnectivity of Two Separate Long-Range Cholinergic Systems Contributes to the Reorganization of the Brain Functional Connectivity during Nicotine Withdrawal in Male Mice. ENeuro 2023, 10: eneuro.0019-23.2023. PMID: 37295945, PMCID: PMC10306126, DOI: 10.1523/eneuro.0019-23.2023.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsAltmetricMeSH Keywords and ConceptsConceptsWhole-brain functional connectivityCholinergic regionsCholinergic systemFunctional connectivityNicotine withdrawalMale miceFos expressionNicotinic receptorsBrain cholinergic systemWithdrawal-induced changesImmediate early gene FosDiscontinuation of useNicotinic acetylcholine receptorsBrain functional connectivityCholinergic neuronsBasal forebrainNicotine resultsWithdrawal symptomsCholinergic neurotransmissionMRNA expression databaseReceptor mRNANicotine dependenceAcetylcholine receptorsBaseline expressionBrain regions
News
News
- September 17, 2021Source: WTNH-News 8
Yale Researchers Using Psychedelics to Find New Treatments for Depression
- August 02, 2021Source: New Haven Register
Psilocybin in “Magic Mushrooms” May Help Treat Depression, Yale Research Shows
- July 06, 2021Source: Yale News
Psychedelic Spurs Growth of Neural Connections Lost in Depression
- January 06, 2020
Yale Study: Ketamine Disinhibits Dendrites and Enhances Calcium Signals in Prefrontal Dendritic Spines