Neuroinflammatory Hypotheses of Depression

Dr. Yvette Sheline is known for her pioneering studies of hippocampal volume loss in major depression and the moderating effects of antidepressant treatment, work widely cited in psychiatric literature. Her research has also integrated structural/functional neuroimaging with depression course, neuropsychological correlates, and treatment outcomes. She seeks to determine how depression affects the brain using neuroimaging techniques, and to understand how stress produces functional dysregulation. Dr. Sheline investigates treatment effects of antidepressants and cognitive behavioral therapy on emotion-induced fMRI activity in PTSD and depression; longitudinal effects of treatment on neuropsychological and brain structural variables in late-life depression; and modifiers of brain amyloid binding in normal aging and preclinical Alzheimer’s Disease.

Prior to joining the faculty at Penn, Dr. Sheline was Professor of Psychiatry and Director, Center for Depression Stress and Neuroimaging at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.