Department of Psychiatry Faculty

C. Neill Epperson, MD Associate Professor of Psychiatry, and Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Sciences Director, Yale Program For Women’s Reproductive Behavioral Health (WRBH) 100 York St. New Haven, CT 06511 Tel: 203-764-9934 Email: Neill.Epperson@yale.edu

Education

1986, B.S., University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
1991, M.D., University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
Residency: Yale University School of Medicine, Psychiatry

Research Interest

Women experience major depression and panic disorder at twice the rate of men and are particularly vulnerable at times of hormonal fluctuations; e.g., during menses, the postpartum period, and while going through the menopause transition. Several lines of evidence suggest that psychiatric disorders occurring at these times may, in part, be hormonally driven. Current and past research projects at WRBH have included:

• The pharmacologic treatment of postpartum major depression.
• The effects of maternal treatment with serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) on the development of the breastfed infant.
• The effects of maternal depression and or an antidepressant medication during pregnancy and or breastfeeding on the developing infant as assessed at 6, 12, 18, and 24 months of age.
• The effectiveness of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) for pregnant women with a history of recurrent pregnancy loss and pregnancy complications.
• The role of neurosteroids and GABA in the pathophysiology of premenstrual dysphoric disorder, postpartum major depression, and menopausal depression.
• The role of hormones on mood and cognition in peri- and post-menopausal women.
• The investigation of the role of GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid) and glutamate in the pathophysiology of nicotine addiction and nicotine’s effects on negative affect by conducting 1H-MRS (i.e., brain neuroimaging) to measure to cortical GABA, glutamate and glutamine pre- and post-48 hours of smoking abstinence in both female and male smokers.

Publications of Note

Epperson CN , Ward-O’Brien D, Czarkowski KA, Weiss E, Jatlow P, Anderson GA: Maternal sertraline treatment and platelet serotonin transport in breast-feeding mother/infant pairs. American Journal of Psychiatry, 2001

Oren DA, Wisner KL, Spinelli M, Epperson CN, Peindl KS, Terman JS, Terman M: An open trial of morning light therapy for treatment of antepartum depression. American Journal of Psychiatry, 2002.

Epperson CN , Haga KK, Mason GF, Sellers E, Gueorguieva R, Zhang W, Weiss E, Rothman D, Krystal JH: Cortical gamma-aminobutyric acid levels across the menstrual cycle in healthy women and those with premenstrual dysphoric disorder: A 1H-MRS study. Archives of General Psychiatry, 2002.

Epperson CN, O’Malley S, Czarkowski KA, Gueorguieva R, Jatlow P, Sanacora G, Rothman D, Krystal JH, Mason GF: Sex, GABA, and Nicotine: The impact of smoking on cortical GABA levels across the menstrual cycle as measured with proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS). Biological Psychiatry, 2005.

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