Nirmala Akula

Genome-wide association study of major anxiety disorders in 122,341 European-ancestry cases identifies 58 loci and highlights GABAergic signaling

This paper identifies 58 genome-wide significant loci for major anxiety disorders using a large meta-analysis and highlights GABAergic signaling as a potential mechanism.

Brain transcriptomic signatures for mood disorders and suicide phenotypes: an anterior insula and subgenual ACC network postmortem study

The paper identifies molecular signatures in the anterior insula and subgenual ACC brain network associated with mood disorders and suicide outcomes using postmortem RNA-sequencing data.

Pathway-Specific Polygenic Scores for Predicting Clinical Lithium Treatment Response in Patients with Bipolar Disorder

The paper develops pathway-specific polygenic scores to predict lithium treatment response in bipolar disorder and finds associations with specific biological pathways.

A neuro-immune axis of transcriptomic dysregulation within the subgenual anterior cingulate cortex in schizophrenia

The paper identifies a schizophrenia-specific gene expression pattern in the subgenual anterior cingulate cortex using multivariate analysis, highlighting neuro-immune pathways and GWAS-implicated genes.

Transcriptomic signatures of nine high-risk neuropsychiatric copy number variants in human brain cells

The paper analyzes transcriptomic differences in human brain cells with nine high-risk neuropsychiatric CNVs compared to non-carriers, finding widespread gene expression disruptions and shared functional pathways.

A conserved cell-type gradient across the human mediodorsal and paraventricular thalamus

The paper identifies a conserved excitatory neuron gradient in human mediodorsal thalamus using single-nucleus and spatial transcriptomics, linking it to psychiatric disorder risk.

Deep transcriptome sequencing of subgenual anterior cingulate cortex reveals disorder-specific expression changes in major psychiatric disorders

The paper uses deep RNA sequencing to compare gene expression in the subgenual anterior cingulate cortex across major psychiatric disorders and controls, finding disorder-specific expression changes and genetic associations.

Polygenic scores for major depressive disorder and depressive symptoms predict response to lithium in patients with bipolar disorder

The paper shows that polygenic scores for depression traits predict lithium response in bipolar disorder patients, with lower genetic load linked to better treatment outcomes.

Sodium valproate rescues expression of TRANK1 in iPSC-derived neural cells that carry a genetic variant associated with serious mental illness

The paper shows that a genetic variant linked to mental illness reduces TRANK1 expression in neural cells, which is reversed by valproic acid treatment.

High genetic loading for schizophrenia predicts poor response to lithium in patients with bipolar disorder: A polygenic score and cross-trait genetic analysis

This study finds that a higher genetic risk for schizophrenia is linked to poorer lithium response in bipolar disorder patients, suggesting potential for personalized treatment strategies.

Genome-wide association study of 40,000 individuals identifies two novel loci associated with bipolar disorder