Robert W. Buchanan, MD

Buchanan RW, Francis A, Arango C, Miller K, Lefkowitz DM, McMahon RP, Barta PE, Pearlson GD. Morphometric assessment of the heteromodal association cortex in schizophrenia. American Journal of Psychiatry 161(2):322-331, 2004.

Buchanan RW, Ball MP, Weiner E, Kirkpatrick B, Gold JM, McMahon RP, Carpenter WT Jr. Olanzapine treatment of residual positive and negative symptoms. American Journal of Psychiatry 162(1):124-129, 2005.

Buchanan RW, Davis M, Goff D, Green MF, Keefe RS, Leon AC, Nuechterlein KH, Laughren T, Levin R, Stover E, Fenton W, Marder SR. A summary of the FDA-NIMH-MATRICS workshop on clinical trial design for neurocognitive drugs for schizophrenia. Schizophrenia Bulletin 31(1):5-19, 2005.

Buchanan RW. Persistent negative symptoms in schizophrenia: An overview. Schizophrenia Bulletin 33(4):1013-1022, 2007. PMCID: PMC2632326

Buchanan RW, Javitt DC, Marder SR, Schooler NR, Gold JM, McMahon RP, Heresco-Levy U, Carpenter WT. The Cognitive and Negative Symptoms in Schizophrenia Trial (CONSIST): The efficacy of glutatmatergic agents for negative symptoms and cognitive impairments. American Journal of Psychiatry 164(10):1593-1602, 2007.

Cohen AS, Saperstein AM, Gold JM, Kirkpatrick B, Carpenter WT Jr, Buchanan RW. Neuropsychology of the deficit syndrome: New data and meta-analysis of findings to date. Schizophrenia Bulletin 33(5):1201-1212, 2007. PMCID: PMC2632354

Buchanan RW, Conley RR, Dickinson D, Ball MP, Feldman S, Gold JM, McMahon RP. Galantamine for the treatment of cognitive impairments in people with schizophrenia. American Journal of Psychiatry 165(1):82-89, 2008.

Arango C, McMahon RP, Lefkowitz DM, Pearlson G, Kirkpatrick B, Buchanan RW. Patterns of cranial, brain and sulcal CSF volumes in male and female deficit and nondeficit patients with schizophrenia. Psychiatry Research 162(2):91-100, 2008.

Prentice KJ, Gold JM, Buchanan RW. The Wisconsin Card Sorting impairment in schizophrenia is evident in the first four trials. Schizophrenia Research 106(1):81-87, 2008. PMCID: PMC3747838

Freedman R, Olincy A, Buchanan RW, Harris JG, Gold JM, Johnson L, Allensworth D, Guzman-Bonilla A, Clement B, Ball MP, Kutnick J, Pender V, Martin LF, Stevens KE, Wagner BD, Zerbe GO, Soti F, Kem WR. Initial phase 2 trial of a nicotinic agonist in schizophrenia. American Journal of Psychiatry 165(8):1040-1047, 2008. PMCID: PMC3746983

Rowland LM, Spieker EA, Francis A, Barker PB, Carpenter WT, Buchanan RW. White matter alterations in deficit schizophrenia. Neuropsychopharmacology 34(6):1514-1522, 2009. PMCID: PMC2669692

Marx CE, Keefe RS, Buchanan RW, Hamer RM, Kilts JD, Bradford DW, Strauss JL, Naylor JC, Payne VM, Lieberman JA, Savitz AJ, Leimone LA, Dunn L, Porcu P, Morrow AL, Shampine LJ. Proof-of-concept trial with the neurosteroid pregnenolone targeting cognitive and negative symptoms in schizophrenia. Neuropsychopharmacology 34(8):1885-1903, 2009. PMCID: PMC347920

Buchanan RW, Kreyenbuhl J, Kelly DL, Noel JM, Boggs DL, Fischer BA, Himelhoch S, Fang B, Peterson E, Aquino PR, Keller W; Schizophrenia Patient Outcomes Research Team (PORT). The 2009 Schizophrenia PORT psychopharmacological treatment recommendations and summary statements. Schizophrenia Bulletin 36(1):71-93, 2010. PMCID: PMC2800144.

Weiner E, Conley RR, Ball MP, Feldman S, Gold JM, Kelly DL, Wonodi I, McMahon RP, Buchanan RW. Adjunctive risperidone for partially responsive people with schizophrenia treated with clozapine. Neuropsychopharmacology 35(11):2274-2283, 2010. PMCID: PMC2939921

Buchanan RW, Keefe RS, Lieberman JA, Barch DM, Csernansky JG, Goff DC, Gold JM, Green MF, Jarskog LF, Javitt DC, Kimhy D, Kraus MS, McEvoy JP, Mesholam-Gately RI, Seidman LJ, Ball MP, McMahon RP, Kern RS, Robinson J, Marder SR. A randomized clinical trial of MK-0777 for the treatment of cognitive impairments in people with schizophrenia. Biological Psychiatry 69(5):442-449, 2011. PMCID: PMC3058394.

Ball MP, Warren KR, Feldman S, McMahon RP, Kelly DL, Buchanan RW. Placebo-controlled trial of atomoxetine for weight reduction in people with schizophrenia treated with clozapine or olanzapine. Clinical Schizophrenia and Related Psychoses 5(1):17-25, 2011.

Strauss GP, Allen DN, Miski P, Kirkpatrick B, Buchanan RW, Carpenter WT. Differential patterns of premorbid academic and social deterioration in deficit and non-deficit schizophrenia. Schizophrenia Research, 135(1-3):134-8, 2012. PMCID: PMC3288761

Buchanan RW, Panagides J, Zhao J, Phiri P, den Hollander W, Ha X, Kouassi A, Alphs L, Schooler N, Szegedi A, Cazorla P. Asenapine versus olanzapine in people with persistent negative symptoms of schizophrenia. Journal of Clinical Psychopharmacology 32(1):36-45, 2012.

Boggs DL, Kelly DL, McMahon RP, Gold JM, Gorelick DA, Linthicum J, Conley RR, Liu F, Waltz J, Huestis MA, Buchanan RW. Rimonabant for neurocognition in schizophrenia: A 16-week double blind randomized placebo controlled trial. Schizophrenia Research 134(2-3):207-210, 2012. PMCID: PMC3268840

Javitt DC, Buchanan RW, Keefe RS, Kern R, McMahon RP, Green MF, Lieberman J, Goff DC, Csernansky JG, McEvoy JP, Jarskog F, Seidman LJ, Gold JM, Kimhy D, Nolan KS, Barch DS, Ball MP, Robinson J, Marder SR. Effect of neuroprotective peptide davunetide (AL-108) on cognition and functional capacity in schizophrenia. Schizophrenia Research 136(1-3):25-31, 2012.

188.Fischer BA, Keller WR, Arango C, Pearlson GD, McMahon RP, Meyer WA, Francis A, Kirkpatrick B, Carpenter WT, Buchanan RW. Cortical structural abnormalities in deficit versus nondeficit schizophrenia. Schizophrenia Research 136(1-3): 51-54, 2012. PMCID: PMC3298625

Weiner E, Ball MP, Buchholz AS, Gold JM, Evins AE, McMahon R, Buchanan RW. Bupropion sustained release added to group support for smoking cessation in schizophrenia: new randomized trial and a meta-analysis. Journal of Clinical Psychiatry 73(1):95-102, 2012.

Allen DN, Strauss GP, Barchard KA, Vertinski M, Carpenter WT, Buchanan RW. Differences in developmental changes in academic and social premorbid adjustment between males and females with schizophrenia. Schizophrenia Research 146(1-3):132-137, 2013. PMCID: PMC3752849

Sundeen SJ, Goldman HH, Nieberding DJ, Piez DA, Buchanan RW. Research and services partnerships: the practice research network: a successful collaboration in Maryland. Psychiatric Services 64(5): 407-9, 2013. PMCID: PMC4115578

Jarskog LF, Dong Z, Kangarlu A, Colibazzi T, Girgis RR, Kegeles LS, Barch DM, Buchanan RW, Csernansky JG, Goff DC, Harms MP, Javitt DC, Keefe RS, McEvoy JP, McMahon RP, Marder SR, Peterson BS, Lieberman JA. Effects of davunetide on n-acetylaspartate and choline in dorsolateral prefrontal cortex in patients with schizophrenia. Neuropsychopharmacology 38(7):1245-52, 2013. PMCID: PMC3656368

Keller WR, Fischer BA, McMahon R, Meyer M, Blake M, Buchanan RW. Community adherence to schizophrenia treatment and safety monitoring guidelines. Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease 202(1): 6-12, 2014. 

Marx CE, Lee J, Subramaniam M, Rapisarda A, Bautista DC, Chan E, Kilts JD, Buchanan RW, Wai EP, Verma S, Sim K, Hariram J, Jacob R, Keefe RS, Chong SA. Proof-of-concept randomized controlled trial of pregnenolone in schizophrenia. Psychopharmacology (Berl) 231(17):3647-3662, 2014.

Buchanan RW, Weiner E, Kelly DL, Gold JM, Keller WR, Waltz JA, McMahon RP, Gorelick DA. Rasagline in the treatment of the persistent negative symptoms of schizophrenia. Schizophrenia Bulletin 41(4):900-908, 2015. PMCID: PMC4466175

Strauss GP, Keller WR, Koenig JI, Gold JM, Frost KH, Buchanan RW. Plasma oxytocin levels predict social cue recognition in individuals with schizophrenia. Schizophrenia Research 162(1-3):47-51, 2015. PMCID: PMC4339097

Strauss GP, Keller WR, Koenig JI, Sullivan SK, Gold JM, Buchanan RW. Endogenuous oxytocin levels are associated with the perception of emotion in dynamic body expressions in schizophrenia. Schizophrenia Research 162(1-3):52-56, 2015. PMCID: PMC4339450

Strauss GP, Keller WR, Koenig JI, Gold JM, Ossenfort KL, Buchanan RW. Plasma oxytocin levels predict olfactory identification and negative symptoms in individuals with schizophrenia. Schizophrenia Research 162(1-3):57-61, 2015. PMCID: PMC4339311

Jarskog LF, Lowy MT, Grove RA, Keefe RS, Horrigan JP, Ball MP, Breier A, Buchanan RW, Carter CS, Csernansky JG, Goff DC, Green MF, Kantrowitz JT, Keshavan MS, Laurelle M, Lieberman JA, Marder SR, Maruff P, McMahon RP, Seidman LJ, Peykamian MA. A Phase II study of a histamine H3 receptor antagonist GSK239512 for cognitive impairment in stable schizophrenia subjects on antipsychotic therapy. Schizophrenia Research 164(1-3):136-142, 2015.

Reddy LF, Horan WP, Barch DM, Buchanan RW, Dunayevich E, Gold JM, Lyons N, Marder SR, Treadway MT, Wynn JK, Young JW, Green MF. Effort-based decision-making paradigms for clinical trials in schizophrenia: Part 1-Psychometric characteristics of 5 paradigms. Schizophrenia Bulletin 41(5):1045-1054, 2015. PMCID: PMC4535649

Horan WP, Reddy LF, Barch DM, Buchanan RW, Dunayevich E, Gold JM, Marder SR, Wynn JK, Young JW, Green MF. Effort-based decision-making paradigms for clinical trials in schizophrenia: Part 2-External validity and correlates. Schizophrenia Bulletin 41(5):1055-1065, 2015. PMCID: PMC4535650

Kelly DL, Sullivan KM, McEvoy JP, McMahon RP, Wehring HJ, Gold JM, Liu F, Warfel D, Vyas G, Richardson CM, Fischer BA, Keller WR, Koola MM, Feldman SM, Russ JC, Keefe RS, Osing J, Hubzin L, August S, Walker TM, Buchanan RW. Adjunctive minocycline in clozapine-treated schizophrenia patients with persistent symptoms. Journal of Clinical Psychopharmacology 35(4):374-381, 2015. PMCID: PMC4485552

Barch DM, Marder SR, Harms MP, Jarskog LF, Buchanan RW, Cronenwett W, Chen LS, Weiss M, Maguire RP, Pezous N, Feuerbach D, Lopez-Lopez C, Behrje RB, Gomez-Mancilla B. Task-related fMRI responses to a nicotinic acetylcholine receptor partial agonist in schizophrenia: A randomized trial. Progress in Neuropsychopharmacology and Biological Psychiatry 71:66-75, 2016.

Dunayevich E, Buchanan RW, Chen CY, Yang J, Nilsen J, Dietrich JM, Sun H, Marder S. Efficacy and safety of the glycine transporter type-1 inhibitor AMG 747 for the treatment of negative symptoms associated with schizophrenia. Schizophrenia Research 182: 90-97, 2017.

Reddy LF, Horan WP, Barch DM, Buchanan RW, Gold JM, Marder SR, Wynn JK, Young J, Green MF.  Understanding the association between negative symptoms and performance on effort-based decision-making tasks:  The importance of defeatist performance beliefs.  Schizohrenia Bulletin 44(6):1217-1226, 2018.  PMID:29140501; PMCID:PMC6192468; DOI:10.1093/schbul/sbx156

Galderisi S, Mucci A, Buchanan RW, Arango C.  Negative symptoms of schizophrenia: New developments and unanswered research questions.  Lancet Psychiatry 5(8):664-677, 2018.  PMID:29602739; DOI:10.1016/S2215-0366(18) 30050-6. 

Strauss GP, Granholm E, Holden JL, Ruiz I, Gold JM, Kelly DL, Buchanan RW.  The effects of combined oxytocin and cognitive behavioral social skills training on social cognition in schizophrenia.  Psychological Medicine 49(10):1731-1739, 2018.  PMID:30180918, DOI:10.1017/S0033291718002465. 

Breier A, Buchanan RW, D’Souza D, Nuechterlein K, Marder S, Dunn W, Preskorn S, Macaluso M, Wurfel B, Maguire G, Kakar R, Highum D, Hoffmeyer D, Coskinas E, Litman R, Vohs JL, Radnovich A, Francis MM, Metzler E, Visco A, Mehdiyoun N, Yang Z, Zhang Y, Yolken RH, Dickerson FB.  Herpes simplex virus 1 infection and valacyclovir treatment in schizophrenia: Results from the VISTA study.  Schizophrenia Research 206:291-299, 2019.  PMID:30478008; DOI:10.1016/j.schres.2018.11.002Breier A, Buchanan RW, D’Souza D, Nuechterlein K, Marder S, Dunn W, Preskorn S, Macaluso M, Wurfel B, Maguire G, Kakar R, Highum D, Hoffmeyer D, Coskinas E, Litman R, Vohs JL, Radnovich A, Francis MM, Metzler E, Visco A, Mehdiyoun N, Yang Z, Zhang Y, Yolken RH, Dickerson FB.  Herpes simplex virus 1 infection and valacyclovir treatment in schizophrenia: Results from the VISTA study.  Schizophrenia Research 206:291-299, 2019.  PMID:30478008; DOI:10.1016/j.schres.2018.11.002

Festante F, Ferrari PF, Thorpe SG, Buchanan RW, Fox NA.  Intranasal oxytocin enhances EEG mu rhythm desynchronization during execution and observation of social action: An exploratory study.  Psychoneuroendocrinology 111:104467, 2020.  PMID:31630052; PMCID:PMC6897365; DOI:10.1016/j.psyneuen.2019.104467

Robert W. Buchanan, M.D. is a Professor of Psychiatry in the Department of Psychiatry, University of Maryland School of Medicine; and Director of the Maryland Early Intervention Program. Major research interests include schizophrenia phenomenology; the neuroanatomical and behavioral investigation of the pathophysiology of schizophrenia; and the development of novel pharmacological approaches for the treatment of negative symptoms, cognitive impairments, treatment-resistant positive symptoms, and the metabolic disturbances and other side effects associated with the use of antipsychotic medications.

He has previously conducted a series of structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) studies to look at structural differences of cortical and subcortical regions between people with schizophrenia and normal controls and, within schizophrenia, between people with and without the deficit syndrome. He has used diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) and MRS spectroscopy to measure the morphological and chemical characteristics of white matter fiber tracts in order to further delineate the pathophysiology of the deficit form of schizophrenia. He is currently funded to use structural and functional MRI approached to examine the integrity of neural circuits hypothesized to underlie social function.

He has conducted a series of proof of concept and clinical trials examining antipsychotic-reduction strategies in the acute and maintenance treatment of schizophrenia; the use of adjunctive pharmacological agents for the treatment of negative symptoms and cognitive impairments; and the comparative efficacy of clozapine and olanzapine for positive and negative symptoms and cognitive impairment in partially responsive outpatients with schizophrenia. He was involved in multiple aspects of the Measurement and Treatment Research to Improve Cognition in Schizophrenia (MATRICS) project, including the identification of potential pharmacological targets for the treatment cognitive impairments and the development of guidelines for the conduct of clinical trials of cognitive-enhancing drugs.

He was Co-P.I. on the Treatment Units for Research on Neurocognition and Schizophrenia (TURNS), the MPRC site P.I., and responsible for the design and conduct of TURNS clinical studies. He served a similar role in the Treatment and Evaluation Network for Experimental Targets in Schizophrenia (TENETS), in which he and colleagues conducted proof of concept studies with an alpha-7 partial agonist, a histamine H3 antagonist, and a partial agonist of the 5-HT1A and 5-HT1B receptors to evaluate their effects on functional imaging biomarkers and/or cognitive impairments. He has had an ongoing role in the development and update of the Schizophrenia Patient Outcomes Research Team (PORT) psychopharmacological treatment recommendations. These are a set of evidence-based recommendations that have influenced the development of various sets of treatment algorithms and guidelines for schizophrenia. He is currently conducting a series of studies examining novel therapeutic approaches for the treatment of cognitive and social function impairments and persistent positive symptoms, including the use of add-on oxytocin and anti-inflammatory and anti-viral agents.

He was a site P.I. on the Social Processes Initiative in Neurobiology of the Schizophrenia(s) (SPINS) project, which was designed to examine the neural circuitry of lower and higher level social cognitive processes. He is currently a site P.I. on the follow-up study to examine whether transcranial magnetic stimulation can normalize the activation and connectivity of the neural circuits that support social cognitive processes.

• Laughlin Fellow, American College of Psychiatrists, 1984
• Young Investigator Award, International Congress on Schizophrenia Research, 1989
• Distinguished Fellow, American Psychiatric Association, 1992
• Editorial Board, Schizophrenia Bulletin, 2005-2007, 2013-present
• ISI Highly Cited Researcher, 2006, 2014, 2015, 2016
• Fellow, American College of Neuropsychopharmacology, 2007
• The Gerard E. Hogarty Excellence in Schizophrenia Research Memorial Award, 2010
• APA/Kempf Fund Award Research Development in Psychobiological Psychiatry, 2012
• Stanley Dean Research Award, American College of Psychiatrists, 2013
• APA Award for Research, 2013
• Editorial Board, Schizophrenia Bulletin, 2005-2007; 2013-2020
• Editorial Board, Clinical Schizophrenia & Related Psychoses, 2008-2019
• Editorial Board, Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 2016-present
• Editorial Board, Pharmacopsychiatry, 2016-present
• Distinguished Life Fellow, American Psychiatric Association, 2017
• Visiting Professor, University of Massachusetts School of Medicine, Worcester, Massachusetts, 2019

Current:

Kynurenic Acid and Cognitive Abnormalities in Schizophrenia (NIH P50 MH103222-05); 05/09/14-06/30/24; $411,765; (P.I.: Robert Schwarcz); 15% time (role: P.I. for Project 4: “The Effects of Kynurenine Aminotransferase Inhibition in People with Schizophrenia”.

Confirmatory Double-Blind Placebo-Controlled Efficacy Trial of a Gluten-Free Diet in a Subgroup of Persons with Schizophrenia Who Have High Levels of IgA Ant-Gliadin Antibodies.  (NIMH 1R01 MH113617-01); 08/01/17-05/31/22; $955,279 current year direct costs; (PI: Deanna Kelly); 2% time (role: Co-Investigator).

Prebiotic Treatment in People with Schizophrenia (NCCIH 1R61 AT09990-01); 09/15/18-08/31/23; $308,878 current year direct costs; (PI: Robert W. Buchanan); 15% time.  

A Randomized Controlled Trial of a Telemonitoring Program, Project ECHO, to increase Clozapine Prescribing (NIMH 1R37 MH121564); 02/01/20-11/30/23; $773,580 current year direct costs; (PI: Deana Kelly): 3%

Neuromodulation of Social Cognitive Circuitry in People with Schizophrenia Spectrum Disorders (NIH 1R61MH120188-01A1); Subaward 20-240 from Centre for Addiction and Mental Health; 05/01/20-04/30/22; $367,339 current year direct costs; (PI: Aristotle Voineskos and Zafirs Daskalakis); 15% time

Center for Excellence on Early Intervention for Serious Mental Illness (MDH Agreement); 07/01/20-06/30/25; $8,632,885 total; (PI: Robert W. Buchanan); 20% time

• Staff Psychiatrist, Eastern Shore Hospital Center, National Health Services Corps, 1984-1986