Faculty

Gale A Richardson, PhD

Professor of Psychiatry and Epidemiology

Contact Details

3811 O'Hara St.
Pittsburgh
 
PA
 
15213
Email
Website
Developmental Alcohol Research Training Program
Assistant
Yolanda Duncan
yolandad@pitt.edu

Education & Training

PhD
Developmental Psychology, West Virginia University
Alcohol Research, University of Pittsburgh

Professional Affiliations

Member, Society for Research in Child Development
Member, Research Society on Alcoholism
Member, Developmental Neurotoxicology Society

Research Interests

Effects of prenatal drug exposure on offspring; Patterns of prenatal drug use in young women; Prenatal substance use research methodologies
Selected Research Publications & Products
  1. Goldschmidt, L., Richardson, G.A., Larkby, C., & Day, N.L. Early marijuana initiation: The link between prenatal marijuana exposure, early childhood behavior, and negative adult roles. Neurotoxicology and Teratology, 2016; 58: 40-45.
  2. Sonon, K.E., Richardson. G.A., Cornelius, J.R., Kim, K.H., & Day, N.L. Developmental pathways from prenatal marijuana exposure to Cannabis Use Disorder in young adulthood. Neurotoxicology and Teratology, 2016; 58: 46-52.
  3. Krans, E.E., Bogen, D., Richardson, G.A., Park, S.Y., Dunn, S.L., & Day, N.L. Factors associated with buprenorphine versus methadone use in pregnancy. Substance Abuse, 2016; 37: 550-57.
  4. Richardson, G.A., Goldschmidt, L., Larkby, C., & Day, N.L. Effects of prenatal cocaine exposure on adolescent development. Neurotoxicology and Teratology, 2015; 49: 41-48.
  5. Richardson, G.A., Larkby, C., Goldschmidt, L., & Day, N.L. Adolescent initiation of drug use: Effects of prenatal cocaine exposure. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 2013; 52: 37-46.

Education Interests

Psychiatric epidemiology; Pediatric epidemiology

Neurotoxicology and Teratology: A longitudinal study of the impact of marijuana on adult memory function: Prenatal, adolescent, and young adult exposures

Richardson & Colleagues Neurotoxicology and Teratology 2021

Marijuana use has increased nationwide over recent decades and health experts are concerned about its long-term impact on cognitive functioning, especially memory. Some recent studies on marijuana use and cognitive functioning have shown recovery of functioning upon abstinence from the drug, while others have demonstrated long-term, persistent effects, particularly among individuals who begin using marijuana at a...

Gale A. Richardson, PhD Promoted to Tenured Professor by Pitt School of Medicine

Gale Richardson, PhD

Gale A. Richardson, PhD focuses her research on the developmental effects of prenatal substance use, specifically focusing on prenatal cocaine exposure (PCE) and its long-term effects on offspring. She began this work more than 25 years ago with R29 and R01 funding from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) and has continued to follow the study’s diverse cohort of women, whose offspring are now in their mid...