The development of the human brain occurs through a marvelously orchestrated interplay of precisely timed genetic and environmental factors. Each stage of development bears its own gifts, and also potential vulnerabilities. Most individuals with psychiatric disorders experience the onset of symptoms during childhood and adolescence, raising the importance of early identification to prevent or minimize long term adverse effects. However, neurodevelopmental syndromes such as Autism and Schizophrenia likely arise from a variety of different mechanisms, which may best respond to different treatments. Our goal is to understand how the processes of normal development such as the onset of puberty interact with other factors to increase the risk of developing psychiatric disorders, and to use this understanding for optimizing interventions.
Rhoshel received her medical degree and training in Adult, Child, and Adolescent Psychiatry at the University of New Mexico in the United States. She began her work in psychiatric research in New Mexico with a project using spectroscopy to study glutamate abnormalities in adolescents with early onset schizophrenia. She then moved to Bethesda, Maryland, to work on longitudinal studies of brain development with the Child Psychiatry Branch of the National Institutes of Mental Health. There her research focussed on understanding influences on brain development, including sex differences, the impact of having different numbers of sex chromosomes, and twin studies to parse out the relative of influences of genetic and environmental factor across development. In May of 2009 Rhoshel relocated to Sydney to begin her work at POWMRI and UNSW using neuroimaging techniques to study healthy and atypical brain development in children and adolescents.
A study of transcranial direct current stimulation to improve cognitive function in early stages of schizophreniaSchizophrenia typically occurs during the critical developmental period of adolescence and early adulthood. |
Neurodevelopmental changes in decision making in children and adolescentsOur impact upon the world is largely defined by the decisions that we make, from how to respond to a social provocation to what larger goals will shape our lives. |
