The Center for Brain Research in Mood Disorders is dedicated to pursuing the understanding of the nature of mood disorders across disorder severity and age spectrums. Multiple research groups are actively involved in research and are recruiting eligible participants for studies.
CARRMA
The Center for the Advancement of Research in Resistant Mood and Affective Disorders (CARRMA) is a research and treatment center specializing in advancing our understanding of the neurobiological and psychological basis of treatment-refractory mood disorders, as well as the development/refinement of novel treatments that target treatment-refractory mood disorders. The Center includes the Treatment-Resistant Depression Clinic, a referral clinic for individuals with TRD. CARRMA is currently studying multiple research and treatment studies and is actively recruiting participants.
Healthy Mind Lab
The Healthy Mind Lab uses meditation and physical exercise along with education can slow cognitive decline in older adults, including those suffering from depression and anxiety. Identifying patient goals can help motivate patients to undertake the intense therapy often needed to return to their favorite activities. More than half of older adults fail to respond to conventional antidepressant medications. We are testing new approaches to treatment.
Early Emotional Development Program
The EEDP is a clinical research program focused on the identification, characterization and treatment of depressive disorders arising in early childhood (ages 3-6). The principle of this program is that depressive disorders may be more treatable early in life when neuroplasticity and the effects of the environment of brain development are more pronounced. Important effects of early childhood depression, early experience and caregiver support on childhood brain development have been found. Building on these findings, studies of early psychotherapeutic interventions for depression that target the enhancement of emotional competence within the framework of the parent-child relationship are a current focus of the lab.
Washington Early Recognition Center
The Washington Early Recognition Center (WERC) was formed with the goal of preventing adolescents and young adults (aged 13-30 yrs) from developing bipolar disorder and schizophrenia, or from deteriorating in their existing disorder. Neuroimaging research at WERC investigate youth diagnosed with bipolar disorder, schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder, as well as those at-risk. We utilize state-of-the-art computational imaging methods to assess brain connectivity, structure and metabolism, in order to understand the brain better for future diagnosis and treatment development. Our epidemiologic studies in Africa aim to characterize the at-risk state, and to identify predictors of illness progression cross-culturally.
Taylor Family Institute for Innovative Psychiatric Research
The Taylor Family Institute was launched in 2012 with the generous support of a $20 million endowment from Andy and Barbara Taylor and the Crawford-Taylor Foundation. The institute is designed to bridge a chasm between basic science (preclinical) research and clinical implementation that is widening because of limited federal support of higher risk drug discovery ventures and the withering of industry-supported drug development in psychiatry.
The Institute builds upon long-standing, interdisciplinary collaborations among scientists from the Departments of Psychiatry, Anesthesiology, Radiology, and Developmental Biology, featuring programs in medicinal chemistry, cellular and molecular biophysics, proteomics, synaptic biology and animal models.