Rajita Sinha, PhD
Foundations Fund Professor of Psychiatry and Professor in the Child Study Center and of Neuroscience; Deputy Chair of Psychiatry for Psychology, Psychiatry; Director, Yale Interdisciplinary Stress Center; Chief, Psychology Section in Psychiatry
Research & Publications
Biography
News
Research Summary
Clinical neuroscience of stress, emotion and reward and alcohol and substance use disorders. Stress and emotion dysregulation and dysfunctional motivation leading to addictive behaviors of alcohol use, smoking, high calorie food intake, drug abuse, sex, gambling and emerging technology. Mechanisms underlying sex differences in stress neurobiology, and interaction with motivational processes and effects on health outcomes is integral to this research area. The neurobiology of resilient coping and related therapeutics is also being studied. An additional interest is in developing treatments to target stress-related relapse in addictive behaviors. We’ve developed and validated a laboratory and neuroimaging model of stress-induced and hedonic cue-induced craving and engagement in addictive behaviors. The laboratory model characterizes the compulsive craving state and is being applied to test new pharmacological and psychological interventions to reduce craving and maladaptive behaviors. Prognostic indicators of disease severity and development of novel therapeutics to address chronic course of additive diseases are also being studied.
Specialized Terms:
Child Psychiatry; Chronic Disease; Neurobiology; Neuroscience; Psychiatry; Stress Response, Chronic Stress, Stress Regulation, Resilience, Psychological; Obesity, Substance-Related Disorders
Coauthors
Research Interests
Child Psychiatry; Chronic Disease; Neurobiology; Neurosciences; Psychiatry; Stress, Psychological; Substance-Related Disorders; Psychiatry and Psychology
Research Image
Chronic stress reduced brain volume
Higher the cumulative stress exposure, greater the reduction in brain volume in specific regions of the medial, anterior and lateral prefrontal cortex, and in the insula and striatum (shown in yellow blobs). These are regions involved in emotion, reward and motivation processing. Ansel et al., Biological Psychiatry 2011.
Selected Publications
- Central and Peripheral Biomarkers of Stress Response for Addiction Risk and Relapse Vulnerability.Milivojevic V, Sinha R. Central and Peripheral Biomarkers of Stress Response for Addiction Risk and Relapse Vulnerability. Trends In Molecular Medicine 2018, 24: 173-186. PMID: 29396148, PMCID: PMC6511993, DOI: 10.1016/j.molmed.2017.12.010.
- Neural stress reactivity relates to smoking outcomes and differentiates between mindfulness and cognitive-behavioral treatments.Kober H, Brewer JA, Height KL, Sinha R. Neural stress reactivity relates to smoking outcomes and differentiates between mindfulness and cognitive-behavioral treatments. NeuroImage 2017, 151: 4-13. PMID: 27693614, PMCID: PMC5373945, DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2016.09.042.
- Stress, cortisol, and other appetite-related hormones: Prospective prediction of 6-month changes in food cravings and weight.Chao AM, Jastreboff AM, White MA, Grilo CM, Sinha R. Stress, cortisol, and other appetite-related hormones: Prospective prediction of 6-month changes in food cravings and weight. Obesity (Silver Spring, Md.) 2017, 25: 713-720. PMID: 28349668, PMCID: PMC5373497, DOI: 10.1002/oby.21790.
- Dynamic neural activity during stress signals resilient coping.Sinha R, Lacadie CM, Constable RT, Seo D. Dynamic neural activity during stress signals resilient coping. Proceedings Of The National Academy Of Sciences Of The United States Of America 2016, 113: 8837-42. PMID: 27432990, PMCID: PMC4978278, DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1600965113.
- Cumulative adversity sensitizes neural response to acute stress: association with health symptoms.Seo D, Tsou KA, Ansell EB, Potenza MN, Sinha R. Cumulative adversity sensitizes neural response to acute stress: association with health symptoms. Neuropsychopharmacology : Official Publication Of The American College Of Neuropsychopharmacology 2014, 39: 670-80. PMID: 24051900, PMCID: PMC3895244, DOI: 10.1038/npp.2013.250.
- The effects of stress on physical activity and exercise.Stults-Kolehmainen MA, Sinha R. The effects of stress on physical activity and exercise. Sports Medicine (Auckland, N.Z.) 2014, 44: 81-121. PMID: 24030837, PMCID: PMC3894304, DOI: 10.1007/s40279-013-0090-5.
- Disrupted ventromedial prefrontal function, alcohol craving, and subsequent relapse risk.Seo D, Lacadie CM, Tuit K, Hong KI, Constable RT, Sinha R. Disrupted ventromedial prefrontal function, alcohol craving, and subsequent relapse risk. JAMA Psychiatry 2013, 70: 727-39. PMID: 23636842, PMCID: PMC3788824, DOI: 10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2013.762.
- Effects of fructose vs glucose on regional cerebral blood flow in brain regions involved with appetite and reward pathways.Page KA, Chan O, Arora J, Belfort-Deaguiar R, Dzuira J, Roehmholdt B, Cline GW, Naik S, Sinha R, Constable RT, Sherwin RS. Effects of fructose vs glucose on regional cerebral blood flow in brain regions involved with appetite and reward pathways. JAMA 2013, 309: 63-70. PMID: 23280226, PMCID: PMC4076145, DOI: 10.1001/jama.2012.116975.
- Stress as a common risk factor for obesity and addiction.Sinha R, Jastreboff AM. Stress as a common risk factor for obesity and addiction. Biological Psychiatry 2013, 73: 827-35. PMID: 23541000, PMCID: PMC3658316, DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2013.01.032.
- This is your brain in meltdown.Arnsten A, Mazure CM, Sinha R. This is your brain in meltdown. Scientific American 2012, 306: 48-53. PMID: 22486116, PMCID: PMC4774859, DOI: 10.1038/scientificamerican0412-48.
- Cumulative adversity and smaller gray matter volume in medial prefrontal, anterior cingulate, and insula regions.Ansell EB, Rando K, Tuit K, Guarnaccia J, Sinha R. Cumulative adversity and smaller gray matter volume in medial prefrontal, anterior cingulate, and insula regions. Biological Psychiatry 2012, 72: 57-64. PMID: 22218286, PMCID: PMC3391585, DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2011.11.022.
- Effects of adrenal sensitivity, stress- and cue-induced craving, and anxiety on subsequent alcohol relapse and treatment outcomes.Sinha R, Fox HC, Hong KI, Hansen J, Tuit K, Kreek MJ. Effects of adrenal sensitivity, stress- and cue-induced craving, and anxiety on subsequent alcohol relapse and treatment outcomes. Archives Of General Psychiatry 2011, 68: 942-52. PMID: 21536969, PMCID: PMC3668981, DOI: 10.1001/archgenpsychiatry.2011.49.
- Circulating glucose levels modulate neural control of desire for high-calorie foods in humans.Page KA, Seo D, Belfort-DeAguiar R, Lacadie C, Dzuira J, Naik S, Amarnath S, Constable RT, Sherwin RS, Sinha R. Circulating glucose levels modulate neural control of desire for high-calorie foods in humans. The Journal Of Clinical Investigation 2011, 121: 4161-9. PMID: 21926468, PMCID: PMC3195474, DOI: 10.1172/JCI57873.
- Inhibitory control and emotional stress regulation: neuroimaging evidence for frontal-limbic dysfunction in psycho-stimulant addiction.Li CS, Sinha R. Inhibitory control and emotional stress regulation: neuroimaging evidence for frontal-limbic dysfunction in psycho-stimulant addiction. Neuroscience And Biobehavioral Reviews 2008, 32: 581-97. PMID: 18164058, PMCID: PMC2263143, DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2007.10.003.
- Chronic stress, drug use, and vulnerability to addiction.Sinha R. Chronic stress, drug use, and vulnerability to addiction. Annals Of The New York Academy Of Sciences 2008, 1141: 105-30. PMID: 18991954, PMCID: PMC2732004, DOI: 10.1196/annals.1441.030.
- Imaging response inhibition in a stop-signal task: neural correlates independent of signal monitoring and post-response processing.Li CS, Huang C, Constable RT, Sinha R. Imaging response inhibition in a stop-signal task: neural correlates independent of signal monitoring and post-response processing. The Journal Of Neuroscience : The Official Journal Of The Society For Neuroscience 2006, 26: 186-92. PMID: 16399686, PMCID: PMC6674298, DOI: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.3741-05.2006.
- Stress-induced cocaine craving and hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal responses are predictive of cocaine relapse outcomes.Sinha R, Garcia M, Paliwal P, Kreek MJ, Rounsaville BJ. Stress-induced cocaine craving and hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal responses are predictive of cocaine relapse outcomes. Archives Of General Psychiatry 2006, 63: 324-31. PMID: 16520439, DOI: 10.1001/archpsyc.63.3.324.