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Volunteers wanted for research into depression, bipolar disorder, anxiety, and stress

The Impact of Maternal Anxiety on Infant Neurobehavioural and Neuroendocrine Outcomes

Principal Investigator: Austin
A pilot study undertaken earlier at the BDI examined 100 high and low anxiety mothers in pregnancy and demonstrated that the infants of the high anxiety mothers had a suppressed cortisol response to a stressor at 6 months. These infants are now being followed up to age 3. Based on the findings of the pilot study, the research team was granted an NHMRC Project Grant to expand and continue the study for an additional 3 years (2010-2012). This research – a collaboration with Macquarie University - will contribute to our understanding of factors associated with the origins and maintenance of bio-behavioural difficulties in infants.

Incident Depression after Stroke and its Determinants

Principal Investigator: Brodaty/Sachdev
The Sydney Stroke Study is a longitudinal study of 200 stroke patients and 100 control subjects that have been followed up since 1997.    Psychiatric assessments were performed at 3 months, 1 year and 3 years after stroke, and the subjects have been assessed with MRI scans and detailed neuropsychological evaluation.  Incident depression after stroke is being examined in relation to posited risk factors.  The MRI and MRS correlates and predictors are also being examined.  Other emotional states being examined are apathy and agitation.  This study has been continuously funded by NHMRC for 6 years.

Imaging genetics in schizophrenia and bipolar disorder: Adjudicating neurocognitive endophenotypes

Principal Investigator: Green
This project examines the genetic basis of neurocognitive deficits in bipolar disorder, schizoaffective disorder, and schizophrenia, on the basis of convergent evidence for common susceptibility genes and neuropsychological deficits in these conditions.

Emotion Regulation in Depression and Psychosis

Principal Investigator: Green
This project examines how neuropsychological and social cognitive deficits differentially impact the capacity to utilise common strategies to regulate emotions, and the neural mechanisms of impaired emotion regulation in bipolar and major depressive disorders.

Early Warning Signs of Bipolar Disorder in Young People

Principal Investigator: Manicavasagar
Most people suffering from bipolar disorder experience the first signs of their condition in their early to late teens but the majority will only be diagnosed in their 30s. Much research is needed to identify early markers of the disorder in order to establish potential clinical targets for early intervention. The aim of this study is to determine the early markers of bipolar disorder in young people by exploring the prodromal phase of the illness using qualitative research.

A Longitudinal High-Risk Study of Bipolar Disorder

Principal Investigator: Mitchell
This longitudinal prospective study aims to identify factors determining which individuals genetically at high risk for bipolar disorder will go on to develop this condition. We will be recruiting off-spring and siblings of individuals with bipolar I disorder aged 12-30 years, and following them up for up to 10 years. We will be examining for genetic, brain imaging, neuropsychological, clinical and environmental predictors of which of these factors (alone or interacting) will determine who goes on to develop this severe and disabling condition.

Molecular Genetics of Bipolar Disorder

Principal Investigator: Mitchell
Bipolar disorder has high heritability (70-80%), being transmitted as a complex trait (i.e. the interaction of a limited number of genes of small effect and the environment).  Recent advances in human genetics (e.g. those arising from the Human Genome project), combined with the availability of family samples, provide the opportunity to use a positional cloning approach to identify susceptibility genes for bipolar disorder.

We have recruited an internationally competitive bipolar disorder pedigree resource that includes a large number of multigenerational pedigrees which underpin our genetic linkage studies.  Thus our goals are: to enlarge our pedigree cohort in both mainland Australia and Tasmania;  completing 10cM genome screens on our entire pedigree cohort; positionally cloning the susceptibility gene from the high-candidate chromosome 4q35 locus and other loci as these are identified; and examining the use of binocular rivalry - a hereditable, potential trait marker for bipolar disorder - as a possible endophenotype in the linkage analyses.

Phenomenology of Bipolar Depression

Principal Investigator: Mitchell
We have previously demonstrated that the phenomenology and biology of bipolar and unipolar depression differ.   We will analyse two large drug trial databases of bipolar and unipolar depressed patients, as well as investigating depression phenomenology in unipolar relatives of bipolar probands - in samples obtained from both our clinics and a clinical panel study.