UCLA Neuroscience Program Ph.D. Admissions Neuroscience Faculty UCLA and Beyond  



Lori Altshuler
Mood Disorders

Home Page: http://www.uclamood.org

Office Address:
300 Medical Plaza, Suite 1544
Phone Numbers:
310-794-9915 Fax number
Phone Numbers:
310-794-9911 Work phone number

Selected Publications:

Altshuler LL, Ventura J, Van Gorp W, Green M, Theberge D: Neurocognitive function in clinically stable men with bipolar I disorder or schizophrenia and normal controls. Biol Psychiatry 2004; 56(8): 560-569.
Altshuler LL, Bookheimer S, Proenza MA, Townsend J, Sabb F, Firestine A, Bartzokis G, Mintz J, Mazziotta J, Cohen MS: Increased amygdala activation during mania: A functional magnetic resonance imaging study. Am J Psychiatry 2005; 162: 1211-1213.
Altshuler LL, Bookheimer S, Townsend J, Proenza MA, Sabb F, Cohen MS: Blunted activation in orbitofrontal cortex during mania: A functional magnetic resonance imaging study. Biol Psychiatry 2005; 58(10): 763-769.
Altshuler LL, Post R, Black DO, Keck PE, Nolen WA, Frye MA, Suppes T, Grunze H, Kupka R, Leverich G, McElroy SL, Walden J, Mintz J: Subsyndromal depressive symptoms are associated with functional impairment in patients with bipolar disorder. J Clin Psychiatry 2006; 67: 1551-1560.
Altshuler LL, Post R, Black DO, Nolen WA, Leverich G, Keck PE, Frye MA, Kupka R, McElroy SL, Grunze H, Kitchen C, Suppes T: Lower switch rate in bipolar II than in bipolar I depressed patients treated adjunctively with second-generation antidepressants. A brief report. Am J Psychiatry 2006; 163(2): 313-315.
Post RM, Altshuler LL, Leverich GS, Frye MA, Nolen WA, Kupka RW, Suppes T, McElroy S, Keck PE, Denicoff KD, Grunze H, Walden J, Kitchen CMR, Mintz J: Mood switch in bipolar depression: Comparison of adjunctive venlafaxine, bupropion and sertraline. Brit J Psychiatry 2006; 189: 124-131.
Cohen LS, Altshuler LL, Harlow BL, Nonacs R, Newport J, Viguera A, Suri R, Burt V, Hendrick V, Reminick A, Loughead A, Vitonis AF, Stowe ZN: Relapse of major depression during pregnancy in women who maintain or discontinue antidepressant treatment: A prospective study. JAMA 2006; 295(5): 499-507.
Research Interest:

The Mood Disorders Research Program focuses primarily on the etiology and treatment of bipolar disorder and major depression. The Program has two major components to achieve these goals: a neuroimaging component and a clinical trials component. To better understand the etiology of mood disorders, we use neuroimaging techniques to obtain structural and functional magnetic resonance images of the brain during mania, depression and euthymia. To optimize treatments for individuals with mood disorders, the Program conducts studies to 1) identify safer and more effective treatments for the manic and depressed phases of bipolar illness, 2) explore strategies to speed the antidepressant response in bipolar and unipolar depression, and 3) explore demographic, neurocognitive and symptom-based predictors of treatment response. Examples of current projects include 1) novel analysis of fMRI and structural brain images using computational anatomy techniques; 2) a double-blind, randomized trial of lithium vs. sertraline vs. the combination for the treatment of bipolar II depression. The Women's Research Program is an adjunct to the Mood Disorders Research Program that has attracted national attention with its focus on depression during phases of life specific to women. This research program is devoted to understanding the optimal ways to treat women who suffer from depression during pregnancy, the postpartum, perimenopause and menopause. Current projects include 1) a longitudinal study of pregnant women with a history of major depressive disorder to assess predictors of postpartum depression; 2) behavioral outcome of infants exposed to antidepressants in utero. Dr. Altshuler is a Professor-in-Residence in the UCLA Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences and holds the Julia S. Gouw Endowed Chair for Mood Disorders. She received her bachelor and M.D. degrees from Cornell and completed a two-year fellowship at the Biological Psychiatry Branch of the NIMH. In 1989 she was appointed assistant clinical professor at the UCLA Neuropsychiatric Institute and in her first year on faculty received the UCLA Neuropsychiatric Hospital Junior Faculty Distinguished Teaching Award. She has been an active teacher and mentor, and has been the recipient of numerous awards including, in 1994 and again in 2004, the UCLA Department of Psychiatry Outstanding Research Mentor Award. In 2006 she received the Gerald L. Klerman Distinguished Investigator Award from the Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance, and the National Nola Maddox Falcone Prize from NARSAD for Outstanding Achievement in Affective Disorders Research.