The Vascular Depression Project

At the Lifespan Lab, our primary focus is on evaluating the validity (both internal and external) of vascular depression. To accomplish our goal, we are conducting an 8-week clinical trial examining antidepressant treatment response in patients with and without vascular depression in collaboration with Dr. Steven P. Roose in the Department of Psychiatry at Columbia University and the New York State Psychiatric Institute, and Dr. Deepika Singh in the Department of Psychiatry at Harlem Hospital. This study includes:

• Baseline and follow-up brain MRI to classify patients as being vascular depressed

• An extensive battery of neuropsychological tests administered at baseline, week 4, and week 8 to assess change in cognitive functioning over time

• Repeat MRI and neuropsychological testing at one year

Other Collaborations

In addition to our work on vascular depression, we are also collaborating with researchers on two longitudinal research studies in order to understand the development of personality and psychopathology across the life span:

• The Children in the Community Study is a population-based, longitudinal study that began in 1975 with over 800 children from the upstate New York (Albany) that has continued for twenty-nine years. Directed by Dr. Patricia Cohen, this study has focused on the development of emotional and behavioral problems as they begin in childhood all the way though to midlife (participants are now approximately 40 years of age). This study has paid particular attention to the development of personality disorders and factors contributing to their emergence as well as stability and change in across young adulthood. Problems with drugs and alcohol have also been a particular focus in recent years. This study has been continuously funded by the National Institute of Mental Health and the National Institute of Drug Abuse.

• The Rochester Adult Longitudinal Study (RALS) has been following students at the University of Rochester for over 34 years. Directed by Dr. Susan Krauss Whitbourne (Professor of Psychology at the University of Massachusetts Amherst), this study examines psychosocial development according Erik Erikson’s 8-stage theory of personality development using a cohort-sequential design. The study began in the mid 1960s and has tested the original cohort approximately every 11 years since its inception. Additionally, a new cohort of Rochester students has been recruited at each retesting allowing for the separation of time, cohort, and occasion effects.