George M. Anderson, Ph.D.

Research Scientist

Research Interests

Dr Anderson's directs a research neurochemistry laboratory in the Child Study Center and is the Director of the Core Resource Laboratory of the Yale Inter-Disciplinary Research Consortium on Stress, Self-Control and Addiction. Dr. Anderson has a record of extensive collaboration with investigators at Yale University, a large number of national and international collaborations, and has authored or co-authored of over 250 publications in the fields of biological psychiatry, psychopharmacology and analytical chemistry. His research includes studies on the neurobiology of childhood neuropsychiatric disorders including autism, Tourette syndrome and ADHD, as well as adult depression, PTSD and addiction. He has special interests in stress response systems, serotonin neurochemistry and psychopharmacology, and early biomarkers. He has served on the scientific advisory boards of Cure Autism Now and Autism Speaks, and presently serves on the editorial boards of Autism Research and the Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders. Recent and ongoing research studies in these areas are summarized below.

In a large Dutch collaborative study, we have demonstrated bimodal distribution of platelet serotonin in autism. Follow-up studies are attempting to identify disorder- and subgroup-specific alterations of potential etiological significance. Possible neurochemical (catecholamines) and neuroendocrine predictors and surrogates of treatment response in autism are being examined in multi-center studies coordinated by Dr. Lawrence Scahill of the Yale Child Study Center. In collaboration with Dr. Sylvie Tordjman of the University of Rennes, we are examining pineal function and sleep problems in autism, as well as investigating the relationship of ß-endorphin, pain reactivity and self-injurious behavior in autism.

Collaborative studies with three primate facilities have examined the ontogeny of neurotransmitter systems in rhesus monkeys and chimpanzee, neurochemical-behavioral correlates, and the effects of the short- and long-term SSRI in adolescent and adult rhesus. A series of collaborative human studies examine hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis and sympathoadrenomedullary functioning in ADHD, Tourette syndrome, PTSD, smoking behavior, substance abuse, depression and trauma.

Recent Publications

• Anderson GM, Czarkowsk K, Ravski N, Epperson CN. Platelet serotonin in newborns and infants: ontogeny, heritability, and effect of in utero exposure to selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors. Pediatric Research. 56:418-22, 2004.
• Mulder EJ, Anderson GM, Kema IP, et al. Platelet serotonin levels in pervasive developmental disorders and mental retardation: diagnostic group differences, within-group distribution, and behavioral correlates. Journal American Acad Child & Adolescent Psychiatry. 43:491-9, 2004.
• Anderson GM, Barr CS, Lindell S, Durham AC, Shifrovich I, Higley JD. Time course of the effects of the serotonin-selective reuptake inhibitor sertraline on central and peripheral serotonin neurochemistry in the rhesus monkey. Psychopharmacology. 178:339-46, 2005.
• Tordjman S, Anderson GM, Pichard N, et al. Nocturnal excretion of 6-sulphatoxymelatonin in children and adolescents with autistic disorder. Biological Psychiatry. 57:134-8, 2005
• Anderson GM, Jacobs-Stannard A, Chawarska K, Volkmar FR, Kliman HJ. Placental Trophoblast Inclusions in Autism Spectrum Disorder. Biological Psychiatry, 61:487-91, 2007.
• Anderson GM, Scahill L, McCracken JT, et al. Effects of short- and long-term risperidone treatment on prolactin levels in children with autism.Biological Psychiatry, 61:545-50, 2007.
• Anderson GM. The potential role for emergence in autism. Autism Research, 1:18-30, 2008.

Contact

Campus Address
Child Study Center
230 South Frontage Road
P.O. Box 207900
New Haven, CT 06520-7900

E-mail
george.anderson@yale.edu

Office Phone
203-785-4793