Biography
Dr. Eisenberg received his Sc.B. in Neuroscience magna cum laude from Brown University, earned his M.D. from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, and completed a residency in psychiatry at the Beth Israel Medical Center in New York, followed by a Clinical Research Fellowship in the Section of Integrated Neuroimaging in the National Institute of Mental Health’s Intramural Research Program. He is a board-certified psychiatrist with specialized experience conducting clinical research studies with participants diagnosed with schizophrenia spectrum disorders, including those involving medication-free conditions. He has expertise in multimodal neuroimaging, and his research focuses on the brain chemistry and functions underlying neuropsychiatric illness and its treatment with a focus on dopaminergic systems, genetics and schizophrenia.
Research Interests
Dr. Eisenberg’s research uses multiple brain imaging techniques—such as positron emission tomography (PET) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)—together with clinical, cognitive, and genetic assessments to better understand brain mechanisms important in neuropsychiatric illness and mental health treatment. His recent scientific work has concentrated on schizophrenia and dopamine-related neurobiology. This includes studies involving in-depth, inpatient assessments of individuals with schizophrenia under both antipsychotic treatment and medication-free conditions as well as investigations of genetic effects on dopamine systems functioning in the brain. These lines of research ultimately aim to help make sense of the diverse array of symptoms, genetic factors, and biological traits variably affecting individuals with schizophrenia and to inform models of pathogenesis and novel approaches to treatment.
Selected Publications
Clinical correlation but no elevation of striatal dopamine synthesis capacity in two independent cohorts of medication-free individuals with schizophrenia . Eisenberg DP, Kohn PD, Hegarty CE, Smith NR, Grogans SE, Czarapata JB, Gregory MD, Apud JA, Berman KF. (2022). Molecular Psychiatry. PMID: 34789848
Comparison of Transcranial Sonography and [18F]-Fluorodopa PET Imaging in GBA1 Mutation Carriers. Eisenberg DP*, Lopez G*, Gregory MD, Berman KF, Sidransky E. (2022). Movement Disorders. PMID: 34762337
Polymorphism in the ZNF804A Gene and Variation in D1 and D2/D3 Dopamine receptor availability in the healthy human brain: A dual positron emission tomography study. Hegarty CE, Ianni AM, Kohn PD, Kolachana B, Gregory M, Masdeu JC, Eisenberg DP*, Berman KF*. (2021). Biological Psychiatry: Cognitive Neuroscience and Neuroimaging. PMID: 33712377
Presynaptic dopamine synthesis capacity in schizophrenia and striatal blood flow change during antipsychotic treatment and medication-free conditions . Eisenberg D, Yankowitz L, Ianni A, Rubinstein D, Kohn P, Hegarty C, Gregory M, Apud J, Berman K. (2017). Neuropsychopharmacology. PMID: 28387222
Common variation in the DOPA decarboxylase gene (DDC) and human striatal DDC activity in vivo . Eisenberg DP, Kohn PD, Hegarty CE, Ianni AM, Kolachana B, Gregory MD, Masdeu JC, Berman KF. (2016). Neuropsychopharmacology. PMID: 26924680
