Researchers focus on the causes, course, treatment and prevention of schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders; attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), conduct disorder, oppositional defiant disorder and Gilles de la Tourette syndrome; and autism (research and evaluation)
In Canada, one in a hundred people will be diagnosed with schizophrenia while 3 to 5% of children have an attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Effective treatment for individuals with neurodevelopmental disorders depends on finding ways to control the symptoms with the appropriate medication, psychotherapeutic and educational interventions, and a healthy lifestyle.
Following are the principal investigators active in this research:
Ridha Joober, MD, PhD (DIRECTOR)
Tel: 514 761-6131 ext.: 2404
E-mail: ridha.joober [at] douglas.mcgill.ca
Research: Genetics, schizophrenia, autism, ADHD, animal models, QTL mapping
Afflicting one percent of the adult population with devastating hallucinations, delusions and social impairment, schizophrenia has long been known to have a genetic component. As a major research focus, Ridha Joober has compared the genetic make-up and neuropsychological impairments of schizophrenics at opposite ends of the spectrum -- those that respond to neuroleptic treatments and those that fail to respond. In so doing, Ridha Joober has developed a more precise pharmaco-genetic profile of schizophrenia.
More info: http://www.douglas.qc.ca/researcher/ridha-joober
David Bloom, MD, FRCP(C)
Tel: 514 761-6131 ext.: 2585
E-mail: david.bloom [at] douglas.mcgill.ca
Research: Schizophrenia, psychosis, recovery
David Bloom, MD, FRCPC, began his career at the Douglas Institute in 1982. As a psychiatrist, he treats and ensures follow-up for patients who suffer from a variety of mental illnesses, including schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. He is also involved, in collaboration with Research Centre colleagues, in numerous research projects involving psychopharmacology and psychosocial research.
More info: http://www.douglas.qc.ca/researcher/david-bloom
Patricia Boksa, PhD
Tel: 514 761-6131 ext.: 5928
E-mail: patricia.boksa [at] mcgill.ca
Research: Pregnancy, birth complications, C-section, schizophrenia
Patricia Boksa, PhD, conducts research on pregnancy and birth complications as risk factors for the later development of schizophrenia. Patricia Boksa discovered that a seemingly innocuous birth procedure - birth by Caesarean section - is sufficient to produce long-term changes in the function of brain dopamine systems in rats and guinea pigs. These changes in dopamine function are similar to those observed in the brains of schizophrenic human subjects.
More info: http://www.douglas.qc.ca/researcher/patricia-boksa
Jacques Bruno Debruille, MD, PhD
Tel: 514 761-6131 ext.: 3405
E-mail: bruno.debruille [at] mcgill.ca
Research: Functional brain dynamics, consciousness, schizophrenia, delusions, knowledge, perceptions
Sensory awareness of one's environment and the ability to recall previously stored cognitive information is central to human consciousness. J. Bruno Debruille, MD, PhD, has been conducting human research aimed at further unraveling the mysteries of consciousness in normal and in abnormal circumstances (in the case of brain damage or delusion).
More info: http://www.douglas.qc.ca/researcher/bruno-debruille
Salah El Mestikawy, PhD
Tel: 514 761-6131 ext.: 3142
E-mail: salah.elmestikawy [at] mcgill.ca
Research: Neurobiology, molecular biology, neuroanatomy, glutamatergic neurotransmission, animal modeling, post-mortem examinations of human neuropathologies.
As part of their research work, Salah El Mestikawy and his team have combined different approaches to analyze how the brain works, ranging from the molecular and fundamental functions to the most integrated aspects, such as behaviour and pathology. The main objective of their work consists in the study of neurons using glutamate as a neurotransmitter in healthy and diseased central nervous systems
More info: http://www.douglas.qc.ca/researcher/salah-el-mestikawy
Cecilia Flores, PhD
Tel: 514 761-6131 ext.: 2814
E-mail: cecilia.flores [at] mcgill.ca
Research: Neuronal plasticity, drug abuse, schizophrenia, sensitization, glutamate, dopamine, development
Cecilia Flores, PhD, joined the Douglas Institute Research Centre in 2004 to study cellular and molecular mechanisms involved in the development of abnormalities in brain function, and in behavior associated with schizophrenia and drug abuse. Her work focuses on the dysfunction of the dopaminergic system, a brain system important in reward, motor, and cognitive functions.
More info: http://www.douglas.qc.ca/researcher/cecilia-flores
Bruno Giros, PhD
Tel: 514 761-6131 ext.: 3142
E-mail: bruno.giros [at] mcgill.ca
Research: Neurobiology, Molecular Biology, dopamine and glutamate neurotransmission, schizophrenia, Behavior, animal modeling
After having created the Neurobiology and Psychiatry Laboratory at France’s Institut national de la santé et de la recherche médicale (INSERM), Bruno Giros came to the Douglas Institute in 2007. He is interested in characterizing the neurobiology of schizophrenia and in developing improved genetic animal models of this illness. Although the causes have yet to be fully characterized, two neurotransmitter systems have been implicated. These systems, the dopamine and glutamate pathways, have been the focus of Bruno Giros’ research.
More info: http://www.douglas.qc.ca/researcher/bruno-giros
Natalie Grizenko, MD, FRCPC
Tel: 514 761-ext.: 2053
E-mail: natalie.grizenko [at] douglas.mcgill.ca
Research: Child psychiatry, disruptive behaviour disorders, attention deficit hyperactivity disorders (ADHD), day treatment and transcultural child psychiatry.
Natalie Grizenko, MD, FRCPC is active as a clinician researcher, teacher and administrator. She has been medical chief of the Severe Disruptive Behavior Disorders Program since 1988. From 1996 to 2001, she was the director of professional and hospital services at the Douglas Institute and was involved in the restructuring of ultraspecialized programs and the development of a community-based model of psychiatric services. Since October 2001, Natalie Grizenko has assumed the position of medical director of the Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Program.
More info: http://www.douglas.qc.ca/researcher/natalie-grizenko
Reut Gruber, PhD
Tel: 514 762-3303 ext.: 2110 et 3476
E-mail: reut.gruber [at] douglas.mcgill.ca
Research: Attention deficit / hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), sleep intervention, genetics of sleep
Sleep deprivation has consequences for our health and daytime functioning. Reut Gruber, PhD, is examining the association between sleep and attention in infants, toddlers, children and adolescents, the role of sleep in attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and the genetics of sleep.
More info: http://www.douglas.qc.ca/researcher/reut-gruber
Suzanne King, PhD
Tel: 514 761-6131 ext.: 2353
E-mail: suzanne.king [at] douglas.mcgill.ca
Research: Schizophrenia, Expressed Emotion, Prenatal maternal stress
Schizophrenic patients with families high in Expressed Emotion (EE) - a psychological construct that combines critical comments and emotional overinvolvement- have higher rates of relapse. The common interpretation of this finding has been that high EE parents stress the patients, thus exacerbating the schizophrenic symptoms to the point of disease relapse. Suzanne King, PhD, has published evidence supporting the role of EE as a reflection of the severity of the patient's illness, rather than a reflection of a noxious family attitude.
More info: http://www.douglas.qc.ca/researcher/suzanne-king
Aurélie Labbe, PhD
Tel: 514 761-6131 ext.: 6160
E-mail: aurelie.labbe [at] mcgill.ca
Research: Biostatistics, statistical genetics, Bayesian statistics, genetic epidemiology
Aurélie Labbe is a biostatistician who specializes in statistical genetics and genetic epidemiology. More specifically, she devotes her efforts to developing a methodology for genetic data analysis using association, genetic linkage and microarray studies. She seeks to identify the susceptibility genes for major psychiatric diseases such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, depression or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
More info: http://www.douglas.qc.ca/researcher/aurelie-labbe
Ashok Malla, MD, FRCPC
Tel: 514-761-6131 ext.: 3418
E-mail: ashok.malla [at] douglas.mcgill.ca
Research: Schizophrenia, early intervention, first episode psychosis, outcome, integrated treatment
Ashok Malla focuses his studies on the early phases of psychotic disorders, such as schizophrenia, and on prevention and early intervention of these severe illnesses. He is an international leader in the development of comprehensive programs for, and research in, early intervention in psychosis.
More info: http://www.douglas.qc.ca/researcher/ashok-malla
Michael Meaney, PhD, C.Q., FRSC
Tel: 514 761-6131 ext.: 3938
E-mail: michael.meaney [at] mcgill.ca
Research: Maternal care; stress; gene expression
Individual differences in maternal care can modify an offspring's cognitive development, as well as its ability to cope with stress later in life. Michael Meaney, PhD, was one of the first researchers to identify the importance of maternal care in modifying the expression of genes that regulate behavioral and neuroendocrine responses to stress, as well as hippocampal synaptic development.
More info: http://www.douglas.qc.ca/researcher/michael-meaney
Gillian O'Driscoll, PhD
Tel: 514 398-4916
E-mail: gillian [at] hebb.psych.mcgill.ca
Research: Schizophrenia, abnormal eye movements, Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder
Gillian O’Driscoll, PhD, is working to improve our understanding of schizophrenia by studying populations at high risk for the disorder, such as relatives of schizophrenic patients. People at high risk for schizophrenia often have subtle cognitive and behavioral deficits that indicate that their brain function is different long before the appearance of any clinical symptoms.
More info: http://www.douglas.qc.ca/researcher/gillian-o-driscoll
Lalit Srivastava, PhD
Tel: 514 761-6131 ext.: 2936
E-mail: srilal [at] douglas.mcgill.ca
Research: Schizophrenia, animal model, dopamine, gene expression
Lalit Srivastava and his team are using animal models to test the neurodevelopmental hypothesis of schizophrenia. In particular, they have found that damage or activity blockade in certain regions of a rat pup's brain, such as the frontal cortex or the hippocampus, leads to profound behavioral and neurochemical changes in the adult animals, somewhat akin to those observed in human schizophrenia.
More info: http://www.douglas.qc.ca/researcher/lalit-srivastava