Professor Pradeep Nathan University positionSenior Visiting Fellow Professor Pradeep Nathan is pleased to consider applications from prospective PhD students. DepartmentsInstitutesBehavioural and Clinical Neuroscience Institute and Brain Mapping Unit Research ThemesInterestsI am a clinical pharmacologist with research interests in the neuropharmacology and neural substrates of cognition and emotion and psychiatric and neurological endophenotypes. I use cognitive, functional and molecular neuroimaging techniques (i.e. fMRI, Electrophysiology, PET) to understand where and how neuropharmacological agents modulate cognitive and emotional processes and associated neural networks. I am also interested in the application of these approaches to CNS drug discovery through development of functional biomarkers which might aid in the development of more refined and targeted treatment approaches for cognitive and emotional dysfunction in psychiatric and neurological disorders. I work 80% of my time in Industry as Vice President, Translational and Clinical Development at Cybin Inc. I am also Adjunct Professor of Neuroscience at Monash University and an Honorary Professor at Kings College, London.  Figure (A) shows greater left amygdala activation to fearful faces in patients with Generalized Social Anxiety Disorder (GSAD) relative to the Healthy Control (HC) group during the placebo session, Figure (B) shows that Oxytocin suppresses and normalizes the left amygdala activation to fearful faces in patients with GSAD. Click image to view full-size Research Focus
EquipmentElectroencephalography (EEG) Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) Neuropsychological testing Positron Emission Tomography (PET) Randomised control trials Collaborators
Associated News ItemsKey publicationsGorka SM, Fitzgerald DA, Labuschagne I, Hosanagar A, Wood AG, Nathan PJ, Phan KL (2015), “Oxytocin modulation of amygdala functional connectivity to fearful faces in generalized social anxiety disorder.” Neuropsychopharmacology 40(2):278-86 Details Lu B, Nagappan G, Guan X, Nathan PJ, Wren P (2013), “BDNF-based synaptic repair as a disease-modifying strategy for neurodegenerative diseases.” Nat Rev Neurosci Details Hester R, Nandam LS, O'Connell RG, Wagner J, Strudwick M, Nathan PJ, Mattingley JB, Bellgrove MA (2012), “Neurochemical Enhancement of Conscious Error Awareness.” J Neurosci 32(8):2619-2627 Details Nandam LS, Hester R, Wagner J, Cummins TD, Garner K, Dean AJ, Kim BN, Nathan PJ, Mattingley JB, Bellgrove MA (2011), “Methylphenidate but not atomoxetine or citalopram modulates inhibitory control and response time variability.” Biol Psychiatry 69(9):902-4 Details Labuschagne I, Phan KL, Wood A, Angstadt M, Chua P, Heinrichs M, Stout JC, Nathan PJ (2010), “Oxytocin attenuates amygdala reactivity to fear in generalized social anxiety disorder.” Neuropsychopharmacology 35(12):2403-13 Details Cropley VL, Fujita M, Innis RB, Nathan PJ (2006), “(Invited Review) Molecular imaging of the dopaminergic system and its association with human cognition” Biol Psychiatry 59(10):898-907 Details Publications2015Kelly E, Mundell SJ, Sava A, Roth AL, Felici A, Maltby K, Nathan PJ, Bullmore ET, Henderson G (2015), “The opioid receptor pharmacology of GSK1521498 compared to other ligands with differential effects on compulsive reward-related behaviours.” Psychopharmacology (Berl) 232(1):305-14 Details Scoriels L, Salek RM, Goodby E, Grainger D, Dean AM, West JA, Griffin JL, Suckling J, Nathan PJ, Lennox BR, Murray GK, Bullmore ET, Jones PB (2015), “Behavioural and molecular endophenotypes in psychotic disorders reveal heritable abnormalities in glutamatergic neurotransmission.” Transl Psychiatry 5:e540 Details Shellshear L, MacDonald AD, Mahoney J, Finch E, McMahon K, Silburn P, Nathan PJ, Copland DA (2015), “Levodopa enhances explicit new-word learning in healthy adults: a preliminary study.” Hum Psychopharmacol Details 2014Clark-Elford R, Nathan PJ, Auyeung B, Mogg K, Bradley BP, Sule A, Müller U, Dudas RB, Sahakian BJ, Baron-Cohen S (2014), “Effects of Oxytocin on Attention to Emotional Faces in Healthy Volunteers and Highly Socially Anxious Males.” Int J Neuropsychopharmacol Details Clark-Elford R, Nathan PJ, Auyeung B, Voon V, Sule A, Müller U, Dudas R, Sahakian BJ, Phan KL, Baron-Cohen S (2014), “The effects of oxytocin on social reward learning in humans.” Int J Neuropsychopharmacol 17(2):199-209 Details Dodhia S, Hosanagar A, Fitzgerald DA, Labuschagne I, Wood AG, Nathan PJ, Phan KL (2014), “Modulation of Resting-State Amygdala-Frontal Functional Connectivity by Oxytocin in Generalized Social Anxiety Disorder.” Neuropsychopharmacology Details Ellison-Wright I, Nathan PJ, Bullmore ET, Zaman R, Dudas RB, Agius M, Fernandez-Egea E, Müller U, Dodds CM, Forde NJ, Scanlon C, Leemans A, McDonald C, Cannon DM (2014), “Distribution of tract deficits in schizophrenia.” BMC Psychiatry 14(1):99 Details Grove RA, Harrington CM, Mahler A, Beresford I, Maruff P, Lowy MT, Nicholls AP, Boardley RL, Berges AC, Nathan PJ, Horrigan JP (2014), “A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, 16-week study of the H3 receptor antagonist, GSK239512 as a monotherapy in subjects with mild-to-moderate Alzheimer's disease.” Curr Alzheimer Res 11(1):47-58 Details Nathan PJ, Phan KL, Harmer CJ, Mehta MA, Bullmore ET (2014), “Increasing pharmacological knowledge about human neurological and psychiatric disorders through functional neuroimaging and its application in drug discovery.” Curr Opin Pharmacol 14C:54-61 Details Outhred T, Das P, Dobson-Stone C, Felmingham KL, Bryant RA, Nathan PJ, Malhi GS, Kemp AH (2014), “The impact of 5-HTTLPR on acute serotonin transporter blockade by escitalopram on emotion processing: Preliminary findings from a randomised, crossover fMRI study.” Aust N Z J Psychiatry Details Outhred T, Das P, Felmingham KL, Bryant RA, Nathan PJ, Malhi GS, Kemp AH (2014), “Impact of acute administration of escitalopram on the processing of emotional and neutral images: a randomized crossover fMRI study of healthy women.” J Psychiatry Neurosci 39(2):130118 Details Patel AX, Miller SR, Nathan PJ, Kanakaraj P, Napolitano A, Lawrence P, Koch A, Bullmore ET (2014), “Neuroendocrine and sympathetic responses to an orexin receptor antagonist, SB-649868, and Alprazolam following insulin-induced hypoglycemia in humans.” Psychopharmacology (Berl) Details Schwab LC, Luo V, Clarke CL, Nathan PJ (2014), “Effects of the KIBRA Single Nucleotide Polymorphism on Synaptic Plasticity and Memory: A Review of the Literature.” Curr Neuropharmacol 12(3):281-8 Details Soltész F, Suckling J, Lawrence P, Tait R, Ooi C, Bentley G, Dodds CM, Miller SR, Wille DR, Byrne M, McHugh SM, Bellgrove MA, Croft RJ, Lu B, Bullmore ET, Nathan PJ (2014), “Identification of BDNF Sensitive Electrophysiological Markers of Synaptic Activity and Their Structural Correlates in Healthy Subjects Using a Genetic Approach Utilizing the Functional BDNF Val66Met Polymorphism.” PLoS One 9(4):e95558 Details Teo JT, Bentley G, Lawrence P, Soltesz F, Miller S, Willé D, McHugh S, Dodds C, Lu B, Croft RJ, Bullmore ET, Nathan PJ (2014), “Late cortical plasticity in motor and auditory cortex: role of met-allele in BDNF Val66Met polymorphism.” Int J Neuropsychopharmacol :1-9 Details 2013Cambridge VC, Ziauddeen H, Nathan PJ, Subramaniam N, Dodds C, Chamberlain SR, Koch A, Maltby K, Skeggs AL, Napolitano A, Farooqi IS, Bullmore ET, Fletcher PC (2013), “Neural and behavioral effects of a novel mu opioid receptor antagonist in binge-eating obese people.” Biol Psychiatry 73(9):887-94 Details Dodds CM, Henson RN, Miller SR, Nathan PJ (2013), “Overestimation of the effects of the BDNF val66met polymorphism on episodic memory-related hippocampal function: A critique of a recent meta-analysis.” Neurosci Biobehav Rev Details Dodds CM, Henson RN, Suckling J, Miskowiak KW, Ooi C, Tait R, Soltesz F, Lawrence P, Bentley G, Maltby K, Skeggs A, Miller SR, McHugh S, Bullmore ET, Nathan PJ (2013), “Effects of the BDNF Val66Met Polymorphism and Met Allele Load on Declarative Memory Related Neural Networks.” PLoS One 8(11):e74133 Details Forde NJ, Ronan L, Suckling J, Scanlon C, Neary S, Holleran L, Leemans A, Tait R, Rua C, Fletcher PC, Jeurissen B, Dodds CM, Miller SR, Bullmore ET, McDonald C, Nathan PJ, Cannon DM (2013), “Structural neuroimaging correlates of allelic variation of the BDNF Val66met polymorphism.” Neuroimage Details Fornito A, Harrison BJ, Goodby E, Dean A, Ooi C, Nathan PJ, Lennox BR, Jones PB, Suckling J, Bullmore ET (2013), “Functional Dysconnectivity of Corticostriatal Circuitry as a Risk Phenotype for Psychosis.” JAMA Psychiatry Details Kaser M, Soltesz F, Lawrence P, Miller S, Dodds C, Croft R, Dudas RB, Zaman R, Fernandez-Egea E, Müller U, Dean A, Bullmore ET, Nathan PJ (2013), “Oscillatory underpinnings of mismatch negativity and their relationship with cognitive function in patients with schizophrenia.” PLoS One 8(12):e83255 Details Kemp AH, Outhred T, Saunders S, Brunoni AR, Nathan PJ, Malhi GS (2013), “Impact of escitalopram on vagally mediated cardiovascular function in healthy participants: implications for understanding differential age-related, treatment emergent effects.” Psychopharmacology (Berl) Details Lim YY, Villemagne VL, Laws SM, Ames D, Pietrzak RH, Ellis KA, Harrington KD, Bourgeat P, Salvado O, Darby D, Snyder PJ, Bush AI, Martins RN, Masters CL, Rowe CC, Nathan PJ, Maruff P, for the Australian Imaging, Biomarkers and Lifestyle (AIBL) Research Group (2013), “BDNF Val66Met, A? amyloid, and cognitive decline in preclinical Alzheimer's disease.” Neurobiol Aging Details Nandam LS, Hester R, Wagner J, Dean AJ, Messer C, Honeysett A, Nathan PJ, Bellgrove MA (2013), “Dopamine D? receptor modulation of human response inhibition and error awareness.” J Cogn Neurosci 25(4):649-56 Details Nathan PJ, Boardley R, Scott N, Berges A, Maruff P, Sivananthan T, Upton N, Lowy MT, Nestor PJ, Lai R (2013), “The Safety, Tolerability, Pharmacokinetics and Cognitive Effects of GSK239512, a Selective Histamine H3 Receptor Antagonist in Patients with Mild to Moderate Alzheimer's Disease: A Preliminary Investigation.” Curr Alzheimer Res Details Nathan PJ, Watson J, Lund J, Davies CH, Peters G, Dodds CM, Swirski B, Lawrence P, Bentley GD, O'Neill BV, Robertson J, Watson S, Jones GA, Maruff P, Croft RJ, Laruelle M, Bullmore ET (2013), “The potent M1 receptor allosteric agonist GSK1034702 improves episodic memory in humans in the nicotine abstinence model of cognitive dysfunction.” Int J Neuropsychopharmacol 16(4):721-31 Details Ziauddeen H, Nathan PJ, Dodds C, Maltby K, Miller SR, Waterworth D, Song K, Warren L, Hosking L, Zucchetto M, Bush M, Johnson LV, Sarai B, Mogg K, Bradley BP, Richards DB, Fletcher PC, Bullmore ET (2013), “The effects of alcohol on the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of the selective mu-opioid receptor antagonist GSK1521498 in healthy subjects.” J Clin Pharmacol 53(10):1078-90 Details 2012Chamberlain SR, Mogg K, Bradley BP, Koch A, Dodds CM, Tao WX, Maltby K, Sarai B, Napolitano A, Richards DB, Bullmore ET, Nathan PJ (2012), “Effects of mu opioid receptor antagonism on cognition in obese binge-eating individuals.” Psychopharmacology (Berl) Details Dean AM, Goodby E, Ooi C, Nathan PJ, Lennox BR, Scoriels L, Shabbir S, Suckling J, Jones PB, Bullmore ET, Barnes A (2012), “Speed of facial affect intensity recognition as an endophenotype of first-episode psychosis and associated limbic-cortical grey matter systems.” Psychol Med :1-12 Details Dodds CM, O'Neill B, Beaver J, Makwana A, Bani M, Merlo-Pich E, Fletcher PC, Koch A, Bullmore ET, Nathan PJ (2012), “Effect of the dopamine D(3) receptor antagonist GSK598809 on brain responses to rewarding food images in overweight and obese binge eaters.” Appetite 59(1):27-33 Details Giuliano C, Robbins TW, Nathan PJ, Bullmore ET, Everitt BJ (2012), “Inhibition of Opioid Transmission at the ?-Opioid Receptor Prevents Both Food Seeking and Binge-Like Eating.” Neuropsychopharmacology Details Kerestes R, Bhagwagar Z, Nathan PJ, Meda SA, Ladouceur CD, Maloney K, Matuskey D, Ruf B, Saricicek A, Wang F, Pearlson GD, Phillips ML, Blumberg HP (2012), “Prefrontal cortical response to emotional faces in individuals with major depressive disorder in remission.” Psychiatry Res Details Kerestes R, Ladouceur CD, Meda S, Nathan PJ, Blumberg HP, Maloney K, Ruf B, Saricicek A, Pearlson GD, Bhagwagar Z, Phillips ML (2012), “Abnormal prefrontal activity subserving attentional control of emotion in remitted depressed patients during a working memory task with emotional distracters.” Psychol Med 42(1):29-40 Details Mogg K, Bradley BP, O'Neill B, Bani M, Merlo-Pich E, Koch A, Bullmore ET, Nathan PJ (2012), “Effect of dopamine D3 receptor antagonism on approach responses to food cues in overweight and obese individuals.” Behav Pharmacol Details Nathan PJ, O'Neill BV, Bush MA, Koch A, Tao WX, Maltby K, Napolitano A, Brooke AC, Skeggs AL, Herman CS, Larkin AL, Ignar DM, Richards DB, Williams PM, Bullmore ET (2012), “Opioid receptor modulation of hedonic taste preference and food intake: a single-dose safety, pharmacokinetic, and pharmacodynamic investigation with GSK1521498, a novel ?-opioid receptor inverse agonist.” J Clin Pharmacol 52(4):464-74 Details Newman D, O'Connell RG, Nathan PJ, Bellgrove MA (2012), “Dopamine transporter genotype predicts attentional asymmetry in healthy adults.” Neuropsychologia Details Nicol RM, Chapman SC, Vértes PE, Nathan PJ, Smith ML, Shtyrov Y, Bullmore ET (2012), “Fast reconfiguration of high-frequency brain networks in response to surprising changes in auditory input.” J Neurophysiol 107(5):1421-30 Details O'Neill BV, Bullmore ET, Miller S, McHugh S, Simons D, Dodds CM, Koch A, Napolitano A, Nathan PJ (2012), “The relationship between fat mass, eating behaviour and obesity-related psychological traits in overweight and obese individuals.” Appetite Details Shtyrov Y, Smith M, Horner AJ, Henson R, Nathan PJ, Bullmore ET, Pulvermüller F (2012), “Attention to language: Novel MEG paradigm for registering involuntary language processing in the brain.” Neuropsychologia Details Sripada CS, Phan KL, Labuschagne I, Welsh R, Nathan PJ, Wood AG (2012), “Oxytocin enhances resting-state connectivity between amygdala and medial frontal cortex.” Int J Neuropsychopharmacol :1-6 Details Ziauddeen H, Chamberlain SR, Nathan PJ, Koch A, Maltby K, Bush M, Tao WX, Napolitano A, Skeggs AL, Brooke AC, Cheke L, Clayton NS, Sadaf Farooqi I, O'Rahilly S, Waterworth D, Song K, Hosking L, Richards DB, Fletcher PC, Bullmore ET (2012), “Effects of the mu-opioid receptor antagonist GSK1521498 on hedonic and consummatory eating behaviour: a proof of mechanism study in binge-eating obese subjects.” Mol Psychiatry Details 2011Chamberlain SR, Blackwell AD, Nathan PJ, Hammond G, Robbins TW, Hodges JR, Michael A, Semple JM, Bullmore ET, Sahakian BJ (2011), “Differential Cognitive Deterioration in Dementia: A Two Year Longitudinal Study.” J Alzheimers Dis Details Dodds CM, Bullmore ET, Henson RN, Christensen S, Miller S, Smith M, Dewit O, Lawrence P, Nathan PJ (2011), “Effects of donepezil on cognitive performance after sleep deprivation.” Hum Psychopharmacol 26(8):578-87 Details Kitzbichler MG, Henson RN, Smith ML, Nathan PJ, Bullmore ET (2011), “Cognitive effort drives workspace configuration of human brain functional networks.” J Neurosci 31(22):8259-70 Details Labuschagne I, Phan KL, Wood A, Angstadt M, Chua P, Heinrichs M, Stout JC, Nathan PJ (2011), “Medial frontal hyperactivity to sad faces in generalized social anxiety disorder and modulation by oxytocin.” Int J Neuropsychopharmacol :1-14 Details Nathan PJ, Cobb SR, Lu B, Bullmore ET, Davies CH (2011), “Studying synaptic plasticity in the human brain and opportunities for drug discovery.” Curr Opin Pharmacol Details Nathan PJ, O'Neill BV, Mogg K, Bradley BP, Beaver J, Bani M, Merlo-Pich E, Fletcher PC, Swirski B, Koch A, Dodds CM, Bullmore ET (2011), “The effects of the dopamine D3 receptor antagonist GSK598809 on attentional bias to palatable food cues in overweight and obese subjects.” Int J Neuropsychopharmacol :1-13 Details Nathan PJ, O'Neill BV, Napolitano A, Bullmore ET (2011), “Neuropsychiatric adverse effects of centrally acting antiobesity drugs.” CNS Neurosci Ther 17(5):490-505 Details Oliva JL, Leung S, Croft RJ, O'Neill BV, Stout JC, Nathan PJ (2011), “Evidence for sex differences in the loudness dependence of the auditory evoked potential in humans.” Hum Psychopharmacol Details Rabiner EA, Beaver J, Makwana A, Searle G, Long C, Nathan PJ, Newbould RD, Howard J, Miller SR, Bush MA, Hill S, Reiley R, Passchier J, Gunn RN, Matthews PM, Bullmore ET (2011), “Pharmacological differentiation of opioid receptor antagonists by molecular and functional imaging of target occupancy and food reward-related brain activation in humans.” Mol Psychiatry Details Silberstein RB, Pipingas A, Song J, Camfield DA, Nathan PJ, Stough C (2011), “Examining brain-cognition effects of ginkgo biloba extract: brain activation in the left temporal and left prefrontal cortex in an object working memory task.” Evid Based Complement Alternat Med 2011:164139 Details Simmons JG, Nathan PJ, Berger G, Allen NB (2011), “Chronic modulation of serotonergic neurotransmission with sertraline attenuates the loudness dependence of the auditory evoked potential in healthy participants.” Psychopharmacology (Berl) Details 2010Fletcher PC, Napolitano A, Skeggs A, Miller SR, Delafont B, Cambridge VC, de Wit S, Nathan PJ, Brooke A, O'Rahilly S, Farooqi IS, Bullmore ET (2010), “Distinct modulatory effects of satiety and sibutramine on brain responses to food images in humans: a double dissociation across hypothalamus, amygdala, and ventral striatum.” J Neurosci 30(43):14346-55 Details Guille V, Gogos A, Nathan PJ, Croft RJ, van den Buuse M (2010), “Interaction of estrogen with central serotonergic mechanisms in human sensory processing: loudness dependence of the auditory evoked potential and mismatch negativity.” J Psychopharmacol Details Klumpp H, Angstadt M, Nathan PJ, Phan KL (2010), “Amygdala reactivity to faces at varying intensities of threat in generalized social phobia: An event-related functional MRI study.” Psychiatry Res Details Labuschagne I, Croft RJ, Phan KL, Nathan PJ (2010), “Augmenting serotonin neurotransmission with citalopram modulates emotional expression decoding but not structural encoding of moderate intensity sad facial emotional stimuli: an event-related potential (ERP) investigation.” J Psychopharmacol 24(8):1153-64 Details Leung S, Croft RJ, Guille V, Scholes K, O'Neill BV, Phan KL, Nathan PJ (2010), “Acute dopamine and/or serotonin depletion does not modulate mismatch negativity (MMN) in healthy human participants.” Psychopharmacology (Berl) 208(2):233-44 Details Nathan PJ, O'Neill BV, Napolitano A, Bullmore ET (2010), “Neuropsychiatric Adverse Effects of Centrally Acting Antiobesity Drugs.” CNS Neurosci Ther O'Neill BV, Croft RJ, Mann C, Dang O, Leung S, Galloway MP, Phan KL, Nathan PJ (2010), “High-dose glycine impairs the prepulse inhibition measure of sensorimotor gating in humans.” J Psychopharmacol Details Oliva J, Leung S, Croft RJ, O'Neill BV, O'Kane J, Stout J, Phan KL, Nathan PJ (2010), “The loudness dependence auditory evoked potential is insensitive to acute changes in serotonergic and noradrenergic neurotransmission.” Hum Psychopharmacol 25(5):423-7 Details 2009Deuker L, Bullmore ET, Smith M, Christensen S, Nathan PJ, Rockstroh B, Bassett DS (2009), “Reproducibility of graph metrics of human brain functional networks.” Neuroimage 47(4):1460-8 Details Ellis JR, Nathan PJ, Villemagne VL, Mulligan RS, Ellis KA, Tochon-Danguy HJ, Chan JG, O'keefe GJ, Bradley J, Savage G, Rowe CC (2009), “The relationship between nicotinic receptors and cognitive functioning in healthy aging: An in vivo positron emission tomography (PET) study with 2-[(18)F]fluoro-A-85380.” Synapse 63(9):752-63 Details Ellis JR, Nathan PJ, Villemagne VL, Mulligan RS, Saunder T, Young K, Smith CL, Welch J, Woodward M, Wesnes KA, Savage G, Rowe CC (2009), “Galantamine-induced improvements in cognitive function are not related to alterations in alpha(4)beta (2) nicotinic receptors in early Alzheimer's disease as measured in vivo by 2-[18F]fluoro-A-85380 PET.” Psychopharmacology (Berl) 202(1-3):79-91 Details Kerestes R, Labuschagne I, Croft RJ, O'Neill BV, Bhagwagar Z, Phan KL, Nathan PJ (2009), “Evidence for modulation of facial emotional processing bias during emotional expression decoding by serotonergic and noradrenergic antidepressants: an event-related potential (ERP) study.” Psychopharmacology (Berl) 202(4):621-34 Details Nathan PJ, Bullmore ET (2009), “From taste hedonics to motivational drive: central mu-opioid receptors and binge-eating behaviour.” Int J Neuropsychopharmacol :1-14 Details Shah SG, Klumpp H, Angstadt M, Nathan PJ, Phan KL (2009), “Amygdala and insula response to emotional images in patients with generalized social anxiety disorder.” J Psychiatry Neurosci 34(4):296-302 Details Sripada CS, Angstadt M, Banks S, Nathan PJ, Liberzon I, Phan KL (2009), “Functional neuroimaging of mentalizing during the trust game in social anxiety disorder.” Neuroreport 20(11):984-9 Details |