Faculty

Amelia L Versace, MD

Amelia L Versace, MD

Associate Professor of Psychiatry

Contact Details

3811 O'Hara St.
Pittsburgh
 
PA
 
15213
Email

Education & Training

MD
University of Verona, School of Medicine
Psychiatry, University of Verona School of Medicine
Internal Medicine, University of Verona
Psychiatry, University of Verona, School of Medicine
Neuroimaging, University of Pittsburgh

Research Interests

Neural correlates of bipolar disorder course; Neuroimaging in adolescents with mTBI; Neural correlates of ADHD
Selected Research Publications & Products
  1. Versace A, Sharma V, Bertocci MA, Bebko G, Iyengar S, Dwojak A, Bonar L, Perlman SB, Schirda C, Travis M, Gill MK, Diwadkar VA, Sunshine JL, Holland SK, Kowatch RA, Birmaher B, Axelson D, Frazier TW, Arnold LE, Fristad MA, Youngstrom EA, Horwitz SM, Findling RL, Phillips ML. Using Machine Learning and Surface Reconstruction to Accurately Differentiate Different Trajectories of Mood and Energy Dysregulation in Youth. PLoS One. 2017 Jul 6;12(7).
  2. Versace A, Acuff H, Bertocci MA, Bebko G, Almeida JR, Perlman SB, Leemans A, Schirda C, Aslam H, Dwojak A, Bonar L, Travis M, Gill MK, Demeter C, Diwadkar VA, Sunshine JL, Holland SK, Kowatch RA, Birmaher B, Axelson D, Horwitz SM, Frazier TW, Arnold LE, Fristad MA, Youngstrom EA, Findling RL, Phillips ML. White matter structure in youth with behavioral and emotional dysregulation disorders: a probabilistic tractographic study. JAMA Psychiatry. 2015;72(4):367-76. Epub 2015/02/26. doi: 10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2014.2170. PubMed PMID: 25715064; PMCID: PMC4415624.
  3. Versace A, Andreazza AC, Young LT, Fournier JC, Almeida JR, Stiffler RS, Lockovich JC, Aslam HA, Pollock MH, Park H, Nimgaonkar VL, Kupfer DJ, Phillips ML. Elevated serum measures of lipid peroxidation and abnormal prefrontal white matter in euthymic bipolar adults: toward peripheral biomarkers of bipolar disorder. Mol Psychiatry. 2014;19(2):200-8. Epub 2013/01/30. doi: 10.1038/mp.2012.188. PubMed PMID: 23358158; PMCID: PMC3640681.
  4. Versace A, Thompson WK, Zhou D, Almeida JR, Hassel S, Klein CR, Kupfer DJ, Phillips ML. Abnormal left and right amygdala-orbitofrontal cortical functional connectivity to emotional faces: state versus trait vulnerability markers of depression in bipolar disorder. Biol Psychiatry. 2010;67(5):422-31. Epub 2010/02/18. doi: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2009.11.025. PubMed PMID: 20159144; PMCID: PMC2835157.
  5. Versace A, Ladouceur CD, Romero S, Birmaher B, Axelson DA, Kupfer DJ, Phillips ML. Altered development of white matter in youth at high familial risk for bipolar disorder: a diffusion tensor imaging study. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 2010;49(12):1249-59, 59.e1. Epub 2010/11/26. doi: 10.1016/j.jaac.2010.09.007. PubMed PMID: 21093774; PMCID: PMC2996850.

Clinical Interests

Bipolar disorder; Mild traumatic brain injury; ADHD

Education Interests

Research mentorship; Medical student education & mentorship

Pitt Psychiatry Establishes Center for Neural Circuit-Based Technology Interventions in Psychiatry

Faculty of the New CNCTI-P Center

The Department of Psychiatry has established a Center for Neural Circuit-Based Technology Interventions in Psychiatry (CNCTI-P), which will be led by Mary Phillips, MD, MD (CANTAB) (Distinguished Professor of Psychiatry, Clinical and Translational Science, and Bioengineering, and Pittsburgh Foundation-Emmerling Endowed Chair in Psychotic Disorders). Dr. Phillips is an international leader in affective neuroscience...

Biological Psychiatry: Cognitive Neuroscience Neuroimaging - Altered Lateral Prefrontal Cortex Functioning During Emotional Interference Resistance Is Associated with Affect Lability in Adults with Persisting Symptoms of ADHD from Childhood

Drs. Cecile Ladouceur and Brooke Molina

Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), characterized by inattention and/or impulsivity/hyperactivity, can include emotional dysregulation (such as affect lability), especially when symptoms persist into adulthood. Some individuals with ADHD have trouble with modulating attention in the context of goal-directed behavior. They may perform significantly worse on cognitive tasks, relative to those without...

Psychiatry Research: Neural Markers of Mania That Distinguish Inpatient Adolescents with Bipolar Disorder from Those with Other Psychopathology

Drs. Rasim Diler and Michele Bertocci

Adolescents with manic or hypomanic episodes—key features of bipolar disorder (BD)—may experience delayed correct diagnosis or inappropriate treatment because some symptoms of BD are also seen in other disorders (such as unipolar depressive disorders and attention deficit/hyperactive disorder). A team of scientists from the University of Pittsburgh including Michele Bertocci, PhD (Assistant Professor of Psychiatry)...

Molecular Psychiatry: White Matter Abnormalities Associated with ADHD Outcomes in Adulthood

Cecile Ladouceur, PhD; Amelia Versace, MD; Brooke Molina, PhD

Attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), the most common childhood neurodevelopmental disorder, is characterized by inattention and/or hyperactivity and impulsivity that are inappropriate to the developmental stage and interfere with daily life. Two of these symptoms, hyperactivity and impulsivity, tend to decline with age. However, inattention symptoms more often persist into adulthood, even among adults...

New Research on Parenting and Early Childhood Mental Health 

New Research on Parenting and Early Childhood Mental Health 

Biological Psychiatry: Patterns of Infant Amygdala Connectivity Mediate the Impact of High Caregiver Affect on Reducing Infant Smiling: Discovery and Replication Research has shown that during a baby’s first months of life, mood disorders and emotional instability in caregivers are associated with lower positive emotionality (smiling, laughter, high pleasure) and higher negative emotionality (frequent crying...