Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy (Division of General Psychiatry)
Position: Doctor-in-training
ORCID: 0000-0003-1210-7617
T +43 1 40400 38370
ana.weidenauer@meduniwien.ac.at
Amphetamine; Dopamine; Fatty Acids, Omega-3; Ketamine; Positron-Emission Tomography; Schizophrenia
Our group focuses on investigating dopaminergic changes underlying schizophrenia and psychotic disorders. It is known that patients with schizophrenia have an overly active dopamine system and show behavioral supersensitivity to amphetamine. Furthermore, we are interested in how cortical structures influence the regulation of the dopamine system and how dopamine synthesis and release are related. In our next project we will investigate the impact of Poly-unsatturated Fatty Acids on amphetamine-induced dopamine release in patients with schizophrenia, in individuals with an increased risk for schizophrenia and in healthy controls next to their cognitive abilities and brain activation during cognitive tasks. Our next project will focus on treating negative and depressive symptoms in patients with schizophrenia with the NDMA-receptor antagonist ketamine, which is known for its rapid antidepressant effects but has been mainly used in patients with depression excluding patients with a history of psychosis.
By using Positron Emission Tomography and the dopamine receptor D2/3 radioligand [11C]-(+)-PHNO we calculate amphetamine-induced dopamine release in healthy subjects and in patients with schizophrenia. Furthermore by structural and functional magnetic resonance imaging we will measure structural properties of cortical regions and brain activation during different tasks.