Department of Psychiatry Faculty

Zubin Bhagwagar, M.D., MRCPsych, D.Phil (Oxon) Assistant Professor of Psychiatry Clinical Neuroscience Research Unit Abraham Ribicoff Research Facilities 34 Park St. New Haven, CT 06519-1187 Tel: 203-974-7524 Fax: 203-974-7662 Email: zubin.bhagwagar@yale.edu

Education
MBBS, 1990, Delhi University, India
MD, 1994, Delhi University, India
MRCPsych, 1998, Royal College of Psychiatrists, UK
D Phil (Oxon), 2004, University of Oxford, UK

Research Interest
My main area of interest is to understand vulnerability to mood disorders. A conceptual difficulty with studies of patients who are in an acute episode of mood disturbance is that any neurobiological changes seen may be epiphenomena of the acute illness and its treatment, rather than of true pathophysiological significance. I have therefore tried to develop a complementary strategy, namely to study fully recovered, medication-free euthymic subjects with a history of recurrent depression. The identification of biological dysfunction in these subjects could help identify biological markers which are responsible for trait vulnerability to recurrent illness. Identification in previously depressed patients of trait biological markers which exist independently of the illness state and medication will be an important step in understanding neurobiological vulnerability to the disorder. This could lead to better methods of identifying those at risk and thus to appropriate intervention strategies. With this in mind, I plan a series of studies to elucidate biological and neurocognitive markers which confer vulnerability to mood disorders. These studies will include sophisticated imaging techniques such as neuroreceptor based positron emission tomography (PET), magnetic resonance spectroscopy and other state of the art neuroimaging modalities. I would be very please to hear from interested students, post-doctoral fellows or colleagues interested in working in this area.

Academic/Clinical Interests:
The development of novel therapeutic modalities in the field of mood disorders is the thrust of my clinical work. I have started a Bipolar Research Clinic based at the Ribicoff Facilities and we are currently involved in clinical trials of existing and novel compounds in the treatment of bipolar disorder. The combination of clinical and research interests as above will provide residents/fellows with an all round experience in clinical and academic psychiatry.

Research Personnel:
Kathleen Maloney BA, Research Assistant
Jason Chen BA, Research Assistant
Jian Hu MD, Research Fellow
Aybala Saricicek, MD, Research Fellow
Rebecca Kerestes, Graduate Student

Publications of Note
Bhagwagar Z, Murthy N, Selvaraj S, Hinz R, Taylor M, Fancy S, Grasby P, Cowen P. 5-HTT binding in recovered depressed patients and healthy volunteers: a positron emission tomography study with [11C]DASB. Am J Psychiatry. 2007 Dec;164(12):1858-65.

Bhagwagar Z, Wylezinska M, Jezzard P, Evans J, Boorman E, M Matthews PJ Cowen P. Low GABA concentrations in occipital cortex and anterior cingulate cortex in medication-free, recovered depressed patients. Int J Neuropsychopharmacol. 2008 Mar;11(2):255-60.

Bhagwagar Z, Wylezinska M, Jezzard P, Evans J, Ashworth F, Sule A, Matthews PM, Cowen PJ. Reduction in occipital cortex gamma-aminobutyric acid concentrations in medication-free recovered unipolar depressed and bipolar subjects. Biol Psychiatry. 2007 Mar 15;61(6):806-12.

Taylor MJ, Freemantle N, Geddes JR, Bhagwagar Z. Early onset of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor antidepressant action: systematic review and meta-analysis. Arch Gen Psychiatry. 2006 Nov;63(11):1217-23.

Rogers RD, Wakeley J, Robson PJ, Bhagwagar Z, Makela P. The effects of low doses of delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol on reinforcement processing in the risky decision-making of young healthy adults. Neuropsychopharmacology. 2007 Feb;32(2):417-28.

Bhagwagar Z, Hinz R, Taylor M, Fancy S, Cowen P, Grasby P. Increased 5-HT(2A) receptor binding in euthymic, medication-free patients recovered from depression: a positron emission study with [(11)C]MDL 100,907. Am J Psychiatry. 2006 Sep;163(9):1580-7.

Bhagwagar Z, Wylezinska M, Taylor M, Jezzard P, Matthews PM, Cowen PJ. Increased brain GABA concentrations following acute administration of a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor. Am J Psychiatry. 2004 Feb;161(2):368-70. PMID: 14754790

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