VISN 19 MIRECC

Erin C. McGlade, PhD

MIRECC Investigator

erin.mcglade@va.gov

Dr. Erin McGlade received her PhD in Clinical Psychology from Idaho State University and completed a pre-doctoral internship and a post-doctoral residency at the University of Utah Neuropsychiatric Institute. Her clinical training was with adolescents and adults diagnosed with serious psychiatric disorders and suicidal ideation, areas of clinical interest she has carried forward in her work at the VA.

Dr. McGlade is a licensed clinical psychologist and a MIRECC investigator. She is interested in studying neural mechanisms of symptoms in co-morbid disorders, particularly the relationship between depressive symptoms and co-morbid PTSD and TBI. Her current studies focus on veterans with suicide risk with and without a history of depression. Dr. McGlade is Co-Director of the Advanced Fellowship in Mental Illness Research and Treatment at the Salt Lake City MIRECC and has been instrumental in developing curriculum for the new fellowship program.

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Recent Publications (since 2009)

Lopez-Larson, M. P., Bogorodzki, P., Rogowska, J., McGlade, E., King, J. B., Terry, J., & Yurgelun-Todd, D. (2011). Altered prefrontal and insular cortical thickness in adolescent marijuana users. Behavioral Brain Research, 220(1), 164-172.

INTRODUCTION: There are limited data regarding the impact of marijuana (MJ) on cortical development during adolescence. Adolescence is a period of substantial brain maturation and cortical thickness abnormalities may be indicative of disruptions of normal cortical development. This investigation applied cortical-surface based techniques to compare cortical thickness measures in MJ using adolescents compared to non-using controls. METHODS: Eighteen adolescents with heavy MJ use and 18 non-using controls similar in age received MRI scans using a 3T Siemens scanner. Cortical reconstruction and volumetric segmentation was performed with FreeSurfer. Group differences in cortical thickness were assessed using statistical difference maps covarying for age and gender. RESULTS: Compared to non-users, MJ users had decreased cortical thickness in right caudal middle frontal, bilateral insula and bilateral superior frontal cortices. Marijuana users had increased cortical thickness in the bilateral lingual, right superior temporal, right inferior parietal and left paracentral regions. In the MJ users, negative correlations were found between frontal and lingual regions for urinary cannabinoid levels and between age of onset of use and the right superior frontal gyrus. CONCLUSION: This is one of the first studies to evaluate cortical thickness in a group of adolescents with heavy MJ use compared to non-users. Our findings are consistent with prior studies that documented abnormalities in prefrontal and insular regions. Our results suggest that age of regular use may be associated with altered prefrontal cortical gray matter development in adolescents. Furthermore, reduced insular cortical thickness may be a biological marker for increased risk of substance dependence.

Keywords: Brain & Biology, Substance Use Disorders (SUD)

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Yurgelun-Todd, D.A., Bueler, C. E., McGlade, E., Churchwell, J., Brenner, L.A., & Lopez-Larson, M. (2011). Neuroimaging correlates of traumatic brain injury and suicidal behavior. Journal of Head Trauma Rehabilitation, 26(4), 276-289.

INTRODUCTION: There is an urgent need to define the neurobiological and cognitive underpinnings of suicidal ideation and behavior in veterans with traumatic brain injury (TBI). Separate studies implicate frontal white matter systems in the pathophysiology of TBI, suicidality, and impulsivity. We examined the relationship between the integrity of major frontal white matter (WM) systems on measures of impulsivity and suicidality in veterans with TBI. METHODS: Fifteen male veterans with TBI and 17 matched healthy controls (HC) received clinical ratings, measures of impulsivity and MRI scans on a 3T magnet. Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) data for the genu and cingulum were analyzed using Freesurfer and FSL. Correlations were performed for fractional anisotropy (FA) (DTI) values and measures of suicidality and impulsivity for veterans with TBI. RESULTS: Significantly decreased in FA values in the left cingulum (P = 0.02), and left (P = 0.02) and total genu (P = 0.01) were observed in the TBI group relative to controls. Measures of impulsivity were significantly greater for the TBI group and total and right cingulum FA positively correlated with current suicidal ideation and measures of impulsivity (P <0.03). CONCLUSION: These data demonstrate a significant reduction in FA in frontal WM tracts in veterans with mild TBI that was associated with both impulsivity and suicidality. These findings may reflect a neurobiological vulnerability to suicidal risk related to white matter microstructure.

Keywords: Brain & Biology, Suicide, Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)

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