Dr Graeme Fairchild

University position

Research Associate

Dr Graeme Fairchild is pleased to consider applications from prospective PhD students.

Departments

Department of Psychiatry

Institutes

Developmental Psychiatry

Home page

http://dev.psychiatry.cam.ac.uk/publica...

Research Themes

Cognitive and Behavioural Neuroscience

Clinical and Veterinary Neuroscience

The Cambridge Neuroscience Community

Interests

My research is concerned with the development of aggression and antisocial behaviour. I have investigated endocrine and psychophysiological functioning in adolescents with Conduct Disorder, a psychiatric diagnosis involving persistent aggression and violation of the rights of others. A key focus of this research has been to study the effects of stress on hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis and autonomic nervous system activity. In addition to studying stress response systems, we have assessed various aspects of emotional and neuropsychological functioning, such as fear conditioning, affective modulation of the startle reflex, emotional decision-making and facial expression recognition. We have also used neuroimaging methods to investigate whether adolescents with Conduct Disorder show abnormalities in brain structure or function. This work has provided converging evidence that deficits in emotion play a role in violent and antisocial behaviour.

Research Focus

Keywords

child psychiatry

affective neuroscience

endocrinology

stress

brain imaging

Clinical conditions

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder

Childhood disorders

Conduct Disorder

Personality disorders

Equipment

Behavioural analysis

Computational modelling

Cross-sectional and cohort studies

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)

Neuropsychological testing

Psychophysiology

Collaborators

Cambridge

United Kingdom

Edmund Sonuga-Barke Web: http://www.southampton.ac.uk/psychol...

Stephanie Van Goozen Web: http://www.cf.ac.uk/psych/c...

Key publications

Passamonti L, Fairchild G, Goodyer IM, Hurford G, Hagan CC, Rowe JB, Calder AJ (2010), “Neural abnormalities in early-onset and adolescence-onset conduct disorder.” Arch Gen Psychiatry 67(7):729-38 Details

Fairchild G, van Goozen SH, Stollery SJ, Brown J, Gardiner J, Herbert J, Goodyer IM (2008), “Cortisol diurnal rhythm and stress reactivity in male adolescents with early-onset or adolescence-onset conduct disorder.” Biol Psychiatry 64(7):599-606 Details

Fairchild G, Van Goozen SH, Stollery SJ, Goodyer IM (2008), “Fear conditioning and affective modulation of the startle reflex in male adolescents with early-onset or adolescence-onset conduct disorder and healthy control subjects.” Biol Psychiatry 63(3):279-85 Details

Van Goozen SH, Fairchild G, Snoek H, Harold G (2007), “The evidence for a neurobiological model of childhood antisocial behavior” Psychological Bulletin 133:149-182 Details

Publications

2011

Fairchild G (2011), “Commentary: I don't second that emotion: subjective experience of fear in adolescents with psychopathic traits - reflections on Marsh et al. (2011).” J Child Psychol Psychiatry Details

Fairchild G, Passamonti L, Hurford G, Hagan CC, von dem Hagen EA, van Goozen SH, Goodyer IM, Calder AJ (2011), “Brain structure abnormalities in early-onset and adolescent-onset conduct disorder.” Am J Psychiatry 168(6):624-33 Details

2010

Fairchild G, Stobbe Y, van Goozen SH, Calder AJ, Goodyer IM (2010), “Facial expression recognition, fear conditioning, and startle modulation in female subjects with conduct disorder.” Biol Psychiatry 68(3):272-9 Details

2009

Fairchild G, Van Goozen SH, Calder AJ, Stollery SJ, Goodyer IM (2009), “Deficits in facial expression recognition in male adolescents with early-onset or adolescence-onset conduct disorder.” J Child Psychol Psychiatry 50(5):627-36 Details

Fairchild G, van Goozen SH, Stollery SJ, Aitken MR, Savage J, Moore SC, Goodyer IM (2009), “Decision making and executive function in male adolescents with early-onset or adolescence-onset conduct disorder and control subjects.” Biol Psychiatry 66(2):162-8 Details

Minton GO, Young AH, McQuade R, Fairchild G, Ingram CD, Gartside SE (2009), “Profound changes in dopaminergic neurotransmission in the prefrontal cortex in response to flattening of the diurnal glucocorticoid rhythm: implications for bipolar disorder.” Neuropsychopharmacology 34(10):2265-74 Details

2008

van Goozen SH, Fairchild G (2008), “How can the study of biological processes help design new interventions for children with severe antisocial behavior?” Dev Psychopathol 20(3):941-73 Details

2007

McAllister-Williams RH, Massey AE, Fairchild G (2007), “Repeated cortisol administration attenuates the EEG response to buspirone in healthy volunteers: evidence for desensitization of the 5-HT1A autoreceptor.” J Psychopharmacol 21(8):826-32 Details

2006

van Goozen SH, Fairchild G (2006), “Neuroendocrine and neurotransmitter correlates in children with antisocial behavior.” Horm Behav 50(4):647-54 Details

2003

Fairchild G, Leitch MM, Ingram CD (2003), “Acute and chronic effects of corticosterone on 5-HT1A receptor-mediated autoinhibition in the rat dorsal raphe nucleus” Neuropharmacology 45:925-934

Fairchild G, Leitch MM, Ingram CD (2003), “Acute and chronic effects of corticosterone on 5-HT1A receptor-mediated autoinhibition in the rat dorsal raphe nucleus.” Neuropharmacology 45(7):925-34 Details

Home