Page 58 - CIBERSAM-2015-eng

Research Groups
Group 15
Programme: Schizophrenia / Bipolar Disorder Lead Researcher: Mckenna, Peter J.
Group Members
STAFF MEMBERS: Alonso Lana, Silvia | Canales Rodríguez, Erick Jorge | Moreno Alcázar, Ana | Salgado Pineda, Pilar.
ASSOCIATED MEMBERS: Amann, Benedikt | Gomar Soñes, Jesús Joaquín | Martín Subero, Marta | Monte Rubio, Gemma Cristina | Pomarol Clotet, Edith | Radua Castaño, Joaquín | Romaguera Piñol, Anna | Salvador Civil, Raymond | Sarro Maluquer, Salvador | Valiente Gómez, Alicia | Vicens Soler, Víctor
COLLABORATORS: Ortiz Gil, Jordi.
Main lines of research
The main research areas involve: a) the develop- ment and clinical application of multimodal neuro- imaging techniques in major psychiatric illnesses such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder (these neuroimaging techniques are combined with clinical and neuropsychological data in order to study their neuro-anatomical correlates) and b) the execution of clinical trials on new drugs and other treatment strategies.
• Neuroimaging of severe mental illnesses:
- Multimodal imaging: Usage of new methods of image analysis on different pathologies. Design of new studies involving the development and implementation, in MRI, of new cognitive para- digms in patients and healthy subjects. This has led to several significant findings including the ab-
normality in the Default Mode Network ovserved in several mental disorders.
- Clinical applicability: New methods are applied and results checked in different clinical popu- lations. The research team mainly works with populations of schizophrenic patients, bipolar pa- tients, schizoaffective patients and first episodes. We currently have several ongoing projects on learning machine algorithms for diagnostic pre- diction in psychosis (mainly schizophrenia and bi- polar disorder) which we hope to eventually lead to more personalized treatments.
• Development of new clinical methods and MRI methods from different modalities (brain connec- tivity, diffusion MRI (DTI and tractography) and structural MRI), including new meta-analytical
58 I Annual report 2015 I CIBERSAM