Clifford Cassidy

Blunted fear-evoked striatal dopamine release in individuals with a family history of psychosis

The paper investigates dopamine release during fear conditioning in individuals with and without a family history of psychosis, finding reduced dopamine release in relatives despite normal learning, supporting the chaotic dopamine hypothesis.

Pleasure in groove is associated with neuromelanin levels in the substantia nigra of younger healthy individuals

This study investigates the relationship between groove experience and neuromelanin levels in the substantia nigra, finding that higher neuromelanin levels and male sex are associated with higher pleasure ratings in younger individuals.

Converging effects of cannabis and psychosis on the dopamine system: A longitudinal neuromelanin-sensitive MRI study in cannabis use disorder and first episode schizophrenia.

This study uses neuromelanin-MRI to show that cannabis use disorder is associated with elevated dopamine signaling in specific midbrain regions, suggesting shared mechanisms with psychosis.

Normative values of neuromelanin-sensitive MRI signal in older adults obtained using a standard protocol for acquisition and analysis

The paper reports normative values for neuromelanin-sensitive MRI (NM-MRI) signal and volume in older adults and identifies a significant annual decrease in left substantia nigra volume.