Principal Investigator
Human/Clinical
Professor
Department of Neuropsychiatry, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo
Neuroimaging and Clinical Neurophysiology in Psychiatric Disorders
Research
My research focuses on the biological mechanisms underlying psychosis onset and the development of effective early intervention strategies. Our group’s expertise includes a wide range of neuroimaging techniques, such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), MR spectroscopy, and EEG. We extended our studies to adolescent brain neuroscience via the launch of the Tokyo TEEN Cohort in 2012, which is the first large-scale population-based cohort study of adolescents in Asia. I am also one of the principal investigators of Japan’s national brain project called Brain/MINDS 2.0, organizing an all-Japan multi-site MRI research framework in psychiatric disorders.
Publications
Nagaoka D et al: Identify adolescents’ help-seeking intention on suicide through self- and caregiver's assessments of psychobehavioral problems: deep clustering of the Tokyo TEEN Cohort study. Lancet Regional Health Western Pacific. Volume 43, February 2024.
ENIGMA Clinical High Risk for Psychosis Working Group: Using brain structural neuroimaging measures to predict psychosis onset for individuals at clinical high-risk. Mol Psychiatry. 2024 Feb 9.
Okada N et al: Longitudinal trajectories of anterior cingulate glutamate and subclinical psychotic experiences in early adolescence: The impact of bullying victimization. Mol Psychiatry. 05 January 2024.
Okada N et al: Subcortical volumetric alterations in four major psychiatric disorders: a mega-analysis study of 5604 subjects and a volumetric data-driven approach for classification. Mol Psychiatry. 2023 Aug 4.
Kasai K, et al: Strengthening community mental health services in Japan. Lancet Psychiatry 4: 268-270, 2017. (Viewpoint)
Okano H, et al: Brain/MINDS: A Japanese national brain project for marmoset neuroscience. Neuron 92: 582-590, 2016. (Viewpoint)
Okada N, et al: Abnormal asymmetries in subcortical brain volume in schizophrenia. Mol Psychiatry 21: 1460-1466, 2016.
Kasai K, Shenton ME, Salisbury DF, et al: Progressive decrease of left Heschl gyrus & planum temporale gray matter volume in first-episode schizophrenia: a longitudinal magnetic resonance imaging study. Arch Gen Psychiatry 60(8):766-775, 2003.
Biography
I earned an M.D. in 1995 and Ph.D. in Psychiatry in 2004, both from the University of Tokyo. I gained clinical experience at the University of Tokyo Hospital and National Center of Neurology and Psychiatry, before an appointment as visiting instructor at Harvard Medical School, USA, from 2000 to 2002. I returned to the University of Tokyo Hospital, Department of Neuropsychiatry in 2002 as Instructor, and was appointed Lecturer in 2003 and Professor and Chair of the Department of Neuropsychiatry in 2008. I was a recipient of the Distinguished Investigator Award from the Japanese Society of Biological Psychiatry in 2003, and the Young Investigator Award from the Japan Neuroscience Society in 2008.
