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Irina Strigo, PhD

What I Do

Dr. Irina Strigo, our lead investigator, completed a joint post-doctoral fellowship with the UCSD Department of Psychiatry and the Barrow Neurological Institute Atkinson Pain Research Laboratory in Phoenix, Arizona. She received her Ph.D. and B.Sc. in Physiology from McGill University in Montreal, Canada. The Canadian Institute of Health Research funded her doctoral studies, which entailed psychophysical, pharmacological, and fMRI analysis of visceral and cutaneous pain in humans.
Research Focus
Dr. Strigo uses psychophysical and brain imaging approaches to study experimental pain perception in various psychiatric disorders, such as Major Depression, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, Eating Disorders and Traumatic Brain Injury. The long-term goal of this research is to understand the mechanisms leading to co-morbidities between chronic pain and psychiatricconditions

Biography

Irina Strigo, Ph.D. is Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at UCSF and Research Biologist at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. She received her research training from Columbia University (Radiology), Barrow Neurological Institute (Neurosurgery) and UC San Diego (Psychiatry). She received her Ph.D. and B.Sc. in Physiology from McGill University, Montreal, Canada.

Our group investigates brain networks that process pain and emotion in individuals with depressive, anxiety disorders, chronic pain and traumatic brain injury. In addition we seek to understand how individual differences in pain response relate to pain chronification. This research has been funded by the National Alliance for Research in Schizophrenia and Depression (NARSAD), National Institute of Health (NIMH),the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and Painless Research Foundation.

Publications

  1. Murphy JL, Palyo SA, Schmidt ZS, Hollrah LN, Banou E, Van Keuren CP, Strigo IA. The Resurrection of Interdisciplinary Pain Rehabilitation: Outcomes Across a Veterans Affairs Collaborative. Pain Med. 2021 Jan 26.
  2. Alter BJ, Aung MS, Strigo IA, Fields HL. Onset hyperalgesia and offset analgesia: Transient increases or decreases of noxious thermal stimulus intensity robustly modulate subsequent perceived pain intensity. PLoS One. 2020; 15(12):e0231124.
  3. Lerman I, Davis B, Huang M, Huang C, Sorkin L, Proudfoot J, Zhong E, Kimball D, Rao R, Simon B, Spadoni A, Strigo I, Baker DG, Simmons AN. Noninvasive vagus nerve stimulation alters neural response and physiological autonomic tone to noxious thermal challenge. PLoS One. 2019; 14(2):e0201212.
  4. Sue Gritzner, Valerie Jackson, Irina Strigo, David Spiegel. Treating the TMD/Chronic Pain Patient: Psychiatry and Psychology. Contemporary Management of Temporomandibular Disorders. 2019 Jan 1; 199-214.
  5. Murray SB, Strober M, Craske MG, Griffiths S, Levinson CA, Strigo IA. Fear as a translational mechanism in the psychopathology of anorexia nervosa. Neurosci Biobehav Rev. 2018 12; 95:383-395.
  6. Stout DM, Buchsbaum MS, Spadoni AD, Risbrough VB, Strigo IA, Matthews SC, Simmons AN. Multimodal canonical correlation reveals converging neural circuitry across trauma-related disorders of affect and cognition. Neurobiol Stress. 2018 Nov; 9:241-250.
  7. LeWinn KZ, Strigo IA, Connolly CG, Ho TC, Tymofiyeva O, Sacchet MD, Weng HY, Blom EH, Simmons AN, Yang TT. An exploratory examination of reappraisal success in depressed adolescents: Preliminary evidence of functional differences in cognitive control brain regions. J Affect Disord. 2018 11; 240:155-164.
  8. Murray SB, Strigo IA. Anorexia nervosa, neuroimaging research, and the contextual salience of food cues: The food approach-avoidance conundrum. Int J Eat Disord. 2018 08; 51(8):822-825.
  9. Anamkath NS, Palyo SA, Jacobs SC, Lartigue A, Schopmeyer K, Strigo IA. An Interdisciplinary Pain Rehabilitation Program for Veterans with Chronic Pain: Description and Initial Evaluation of Outcomes. Pain Res Manag. 2018; 2018:3941682.
  10. Strigo IA, Spadoni AD, Inslicht SS, Simmons AN. Repeated Exposure to Experimental Pain Differentiates Combat Traumatic Brain Injury with and without Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. J Neurotrauma. 2018 01 15; 35(2):297-307.
  11. Strigo IA, Murray SB, Simmons AN, Bernard RS, Huang JS, Kaye WH. The clinical application of fMRI data in a single-patient diagnostic conundrum: Classifying brain response to experimental pain to distinguish between gastrointestinal, depressive and eating disorder symptoms. J Clin Neurosci. 2017 Nov; 45:149-153.
  12. Irina A Strigo, Arthur D Craig. A neurobiological view of pain as a homeostatic emotion. . 2017 Jul 14; 98-112.
  13. Bomyea J, Matthews SC, Buchsbaum MS, Spadoni AD, Strigo IA, Simmons AN. Neural differences underlying face processing in veterans with TBI and co-occurring TBI and PTSD. J Affect Disord. 2017 12 01; 223:130-138.
  14. Seal KH, Bertenthal D, Barnes DE, Byers AL, Strigo I, Yaffe K, . Association of Traumatic Brain Injury With Chronic Pain in Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans: Effect of Comorbid Mental Health Conditions. Arch Phys Med Rehabil. 2017 08; 98(8):1636-1645.
  15. B. Alter, I. Strigo, H. Fields. (286) Optimizing conditioned analgesia in healthy volunteers for translational applications. Journal of Pain. 2017 Apr 1; 18(4):s47.
  16. Liljencrantz J, Strigo I, Ellingsen DM, Krämer HH, Lundblad LC, Nagi SS, Leknes S, Olausson H. Slow brushing reduces heat pain in humans. Eur J Pain. 2017 08; 21(7):1173-1185.
  17. Huang JS, Terrones L, Simmons AN, Kaye W, Strigo I. Pilot Study of Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging Responses to Somatic Pain Stimuli in Youth With Functional and Inflammatory Gastrointestinal Disease. J Pediatr Gastroenterol Nutr. 2016 11; 63(5):500-507.
  18. Strigo IA, Craig AD. Interoception, homeostatic emotions and sympathovagal balance. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci. 2016 11 19; 371(1708).
  19. Kosheleva E, Spadoni AD, Strigo IA, Buchsbaum MS, Simmons AN. Faking bad: The neural correlates of feigning memory impairment. Neuropsychology. 2016 Mar; 30(3):377-84.
  20. Ho TC, Connolly CG, Henje Blom E, LeWinn KZ, Strigo IA, Paulus MP, Frank G, Max JE, Wu J, Chan M, Tapert SF, Simmons AN, Yang TT. Emotion-Dependent Functional Connectivity of the Default Mode Network in Adolescent Depression. Biol Psychiatry. 2015 Nov 01; 78(9):635-46.
  21. Moeller-Bertram T, Strigo IA, Simmons AN, Schilling JM, Patel P, Baker DG. Evidence for acute central sensitization to prolonged experimental pain in posttraumatic stress disorder. Pain Med. 2014 May; 15(5):762-71.
  22. Strigo IA, Spadoni AD, Lohr J, Simmons AN. Too hard to control: compromised pain anticipation and modulation in mild traumatic brain injury. Transl Psychiatry. 2014 Jan 07; 4:e340.
  23. Ushinsky A, Reinhardt LE, Simmons AN, Strigo IA. Further evidence of emotional allodynia in unmedicated young adults with major depressive disorder. PLoS One. 2013; 8(11):e80507.
  24. Simmons AN, Norman SB, Spadoni AD, Strigo IA. Neurosubstrates of remission following prolonged exposure therapy in veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder. Psychother Psychosom. 2013; 82(6):382-9.
  25. Oberndorfer T, Simmons A, McCurdy D, Strigo I, Matthews S, Yang T, Irvine Z, Kaye W. Greater anterior insula activation during anticipation of food images in women recovered from anorexia nervosa versus controls. Psychiatry Res. 2013 Nov 30; 214(2):132-41.
  26. Strigo IA, Matthews SC, Simmons AN. Decreased frontal regulation during pain anticipation in unmedicated subjects with major depressive disorder. Transl Psychiatry. 2013 Mar 12; 3:e239.
  27. Matthews SC, Spadoni AD, Lohr JB, Strigo IA, Simmons AN. Diffusion tensor imaging evidence of white matter disruption associated with loss versus alteration of consciousness in warfighters exposed to combat in Operations Enduring and Iraqi Freedom. Psychiatry Res. 2012 Nov 30; 204(2-3):149-54.
  28. Tobias Moeller-Bertram, Irina Strigo, Alan Simmons, Piyush Patel, Dewleen G. Baker. Evidence for acute central sensitization to prolonged experimental pain in subjects with PTSD. European Journal of Psychotraumatology. 2012 Sep 10; 3(0).
  29. Simmons AN, Flagan TM, Wittmann M, Strigo IA, Matthews SC, Donovan H, Lohr JB, Paulus MP. The effects of temporal unpredictability in anticipation of negative events in combat veterans with PTSD. J Affect Disord. 2013 Apr 25; 146(3):426-32.
  30. Strigo IA, Matthews SC, Simmons AN, Oberndorfer T, Klabunde M, Reinhardt LE, Kaye WH. Altered insula activation during pain anticipation in individuals recovered from anorexia nervosa: evidence of interoceptive dysregulation. Int J Eat Disord. 2013 Jan; 46(1):23-33.
  31. Matthews S, Spadoni A, Knox K, Strigo I, Simmons A. Combat-exposed war veterans at risk for suicide show hyperactivation of prefrontal cortex and anterior cingulate during error processing. Psychosom Med. 2012 Jun; 74(5):471-5.
  32. Mutschler I, Ball T, Wankerl J, Strigo IA. Pain and emotion in the insular cortex: evidence for functional reorganization in major depression. Neurosci Lett. 2012 Jun 29; 520(2):204-9.
  33. T. Moeller-Bertram, L. Ky, C. Coe, I. Strigo, M. Kincaid, J. Keltner, J. Schilling, N. Sehgal, A. Wasan, M. Backonja. Correlation of pain ratings and systemic interleukin-6 release in response to intramuscular capsaicin in healthy humans. Journal of Pain. 2012 Apr 1; 13(4):s52.
  34. Simmons AN, Fitzpatrick S, Strigo IA, Potterat EG, Johnson DC, Matthews SC, Orden KF, Swain JL, Paulus MP. Altered insula activation in anticipation of changing emotional states: neural mechanisms underlying cognitive flexibility in Special Operations Forces personnel. Neuroreport. 2012 Mar 07; 23(4):234-9.
  35. Simmons AN, Thayer RE, Spadoni AD, Matthews SC, Strigo IA, Tapert SF. The parametric, psychological, neuropsychological, and neuroanatomical properties of self and world evaluation. PLoS One. 2012; 7(2):e31509.
  36. Simmons AN, Matthews SC, Strigo IA, Baker DG, Donovan HK, Motezadi A, Stein MB, Paulus MP. Altered amygdala activation during face processing in Iraqi and Afghanistani war veterans. Biol Mood Anxiety Disord. 2011 Oct 12; 1(1):6.
  37. Brown GG, Lee JS, Strigo IA, Caligiuri MP, Meloy MJ, Lohr J. Voxel-based morphometry of patients with schizophrenia or bipolar I disorder: a matched control study. Psychiatry Res. 2011 Nov 30; 194(2):149-56.
  38. Moeller-Bertram T, Keltner J, Strigo IA. Pain and post traumatic stress disorder - review of clinical and experimental evidence. Neuropharmacology. 2012 Feb; 62(2):586-97.
  39. Scott Matthews, Alan Simmons, Irina Strigo. Corrigendum to “The effects of loss versus alteration of consciousness on inhibition-related brain activity among individuals with a history of blast-related concussion” [Psychiatry Research: Neuroimaging 191 (1) (2011) 76–79]. Psychiatry Research Neuroimaging. 2011 May 1; 192(2):131.
  40. T. Moeller-Bertram, A. Valencerina, A. Motazedi, U. Haji, D. Garcia, D. Baker, P. Patel, I. Strigo. Prolonged pain perception in subjects with PTSD in response to an intramuscular capsaicin injection. Journal of Pain. 2011 Apr 1; 12(4):p40.
  41. Oberndorfer TA, Kaye WH, Simmons AN, Strigo IA, Matthews SC. Demand-specific alteration of medial prefrontal cortex response during an inhibition task in recovered anorexic women. Int J Eat Disord. 2011 Jan; 44(1):1-8.
  42. Simmons AN, Stein MB, Strigo IA, Arce E, Hitchcock C, Paulus MP. Anxiety positive subjects show altered processing in the anterior insula during anticipation of negative stimuli. Hum Brain Mapp. 2011 Nov; 32(11):1836-46.
  43. Matthews S, Simmons A, Strigo I. The effects of loss versus alteration of consciousness on inhibition-related brain activity among individuals with a history of blast-related concussion. Psychiatry Res. 2011 Jan 30; 191(1):76-9.
  44. Strigo IA, Simmons AN, Matthews SC, Craig AD. The relationship between amygdala activation and passive exposure time to an aversive cue during a continuous performance task. PLoS One. 2010 Nov 29; 5(11):e15093.
  45. Rabinovich MI, Muezzinoglu MK, Strigo I, Bystritsky A. Dynamical principles of emotion-cognition interaction: mathematical images of mental disorders. PLoS One. 2010 Sep 21; 5(9):e12547.
  46. Strigo IA, Simmons AN, Matthews SC, Grimes EM, Allard CB, Reinhardt LE, Paulus MP, Stein MB. Neural correlates of altered pain response in women with posttraumatic stress disorder from intimate partner violence. Biol Psychiatry. 2010 Sep 01; 68(5):442-50.
  47. Matthews SC, Strigo IA, Simmons AN, O'Connell RM, Reinhardt LE, Moseley SA. A multimodal imaging study in U.S. veterans of Operations Iraqi and Enduring Freedom with and without major depression after blast-related concussion. Neuroimage. 2011 Jan; 54 Suppl 1:S69-75.
  48. Matthews SC, Simmons AN, Strigo IA, Arce E, Stein MB, Paulus MP. Escitalopram attenuates posterior cingulate activity during self-evaluation in healthy volunteers. Psychiatry Res. 2010 May 30; 182(2):81-7.
  49. Strigo IA, Matthews SC, Simmons AN. Right anterior insula hypoactivity during anticipation of homeostatic shifts in major depressive disorder. Psychosom Med. 2010 Apr; 72(3):316-23.
  50. Tony T. Yang, Alan N. Simmons, Scott C. Matthews, Susan F. Tapert, Guido K. Frank, Jeffrey E. Max, Amanda BischoffGrethe, Amy E. Lansing, Gregory Brown, Irina A. Strigo, Jing Wu, Martin P. Paulus. Adolescents With Major Depression Demonstrate Increased Amygdala Activation. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry. 2010 Jan 1; 49(1):42-51.
  51. Yang TT, Simmons AN, Matthews SC, Tapert SF, Frank GK, Max JE, Bischoff-Grethe A, Lansing AE, Brown G, Strigo IA, Wu J, Paulus MP. Adolescents with major depression demonstrate increased amygdala activation. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 2010 Jan; 49(1):42-51.
  52. AN Simmons, SC Matthews, IA Strigo, H Donovan, DG Baker, MP Paulus. Anticipatory processing in combat related PTSD. NeuroImage. 2009 Jul 1; 47:s191.
  53. IA Strigo, AN Simmons, SC Matthews, AD Craig. Time-Dependent Amygdala Activation During Anticipation of Pain. NeuroImage. 2009 Jul 1; 47:s192.
  54. Simmons A, Strigo IA, Matthews SC, Paulus MP, Stein MB. Initial evidence of a failure to activate right anterior insula during affective set shifting in posttraumatic stress disorder. Psychosom Med. 2009 May; 71(4):373-7.
  55. Matthews S, Simmons A, Strigo I, Gianaros P, Yang T, Paulus M. Inhibition-related activity in subgenual cingulate is associated with symptom severity in major depression. Psychiatry Res. 2009 Apr 30; 172(1):1-6.
  56. Strigo IA, Simmons AN, Matthews SC, Craig AD, Paulus MP. Association of major depressive disorder with altered functional brain response during anticipation and processing of heat pain. Arch Gen Psychiatry. 2008 Nov; 65(11):1275-84.
  57. Matthews SC, Strigo IA, Simmons AN, Yang TT, Paulus MP. Decreased functional coupling of the amygdala and supragenual cingulate is related to increased depression in unmedicated individuals with current major depressive disorder. J Affect Disord. 2008 Nov; 111(1):13-20.
  58. Strigo IA, Simmons AN, Matthews SC, Craig AD, Paulus MP. Increased affective bias revealed using experimental graded heat stimuli in young depressed adults: evidence of "emotional allodynia". Psychosom Med. 2008 Apr; 70(3):338-44.
  59. Matthews SC, Simmons AN, Strigo I, Jang K, Stein MB, Paulus MP. Heritability of anterior cingulate response to conflict: an fMRI study in female twins. Neuroimage. 2007 Oct 15; 38(1):223-7.
  60. Simmons A, Strigo I, Matthews SC, Paulus MP, Stein MB. Anticipation of aversive visual stimuli is associated with increased insula activation in anxiety-prone subjects. Biol Psychiatry. 2006 Aug 15; 60(4):402-9.
  61. Olausson H, Charron J, Marchand S, Villemure C, Strigo IA, Bushnell MC. Feelings of warmth correlate with neural activity in right anterior insular cortex. Neurosci Lett. 2005 Nov 25; 389(1):1-5.
  62. Strigo IA, Albanese MC, Bushnell MC, Duncan GH. Visceral and cutaneous pain representation in parasylvian cortex. Neurosci Lett. 2005 Aug 12-19; 384(1-2):54-9.
  63. Pukall CF, Strigo IA, Binik YM, Amsel R, Khalifé S, Bushnell MC. Neural correlates of painful genital touch in women with vulvar vestibulitis syndrome. Pain. 2005 May; 115(1-2):118-27.
  64. Hua le H, Strigo IA, Baxter LC, Johnson SC, Craig AD. Anteroposterior somatotopy of innocuous cooling activation focus in human dorsal posterior insular cortex. . 2005 Aug; 289(2):R319-R325.
  65. Strigo IA, Duncan GH, Bushnell CM, Boivin M, Wainer I, Rodriguez Rosas EM, Persson J. The effects of racemic ketamine on painful stimulation of skin and viscera in human subjects. Pain. 2005 Feb; 113(3):255-264.
  66. C. Pukall, I. Strigo, Y. Binik, S. Khalifé, M. Bushnell. Pain in women Neural processing of genital pain in women with vulvar vestibulitis syndrome: A functional magnetic resonance imaging study. Journal of Pain. 2004 Apr 1; 5(3):s3.
  67. Strigo IA, Duncan GH, Boivin M, Bushnell MC. Differentiation of visceral and cutaneous pain in the human brain. J Neurophysiol. 2003 Jun; 89(6):3294-303.
  68. Olausson H, Lamarre Y, Backlund H, Morin C, Wallin BG, Starck G, Ekholm S, Strigo I, Worsley K, Vallbo AB, Bushnell MC. Unmyelinated tactile afferents signal touch and project to insular cortex. Nat Neurosci. 2002 Sep; 5(9):900-4.
  69. Strigo IA, Bushnell CM, Boivin M, Duncan GH. Psychophysical analysis of visceral and cutaneous pain in human subjects. Pain. 2002 Jun; 97(3):235-246.
  70. M. Catherine Bushnell, Chantal Villemure, Irina Strigo, Gary H. Duncan. Imaging Pain in the Brain: The Role of the Cerebral Cortex in Pain Perception and Modulation. MYOPAIN. 2002 Jan 1; 10(1-2):59-72.
  71. Strigo IA, Carli F, Bushnell MC. Effect of ambient temperature on human pain and temperature perception. Anesthesiology. 2000 Mar; 92(3):699-707.