John JB Allen

John JB Allen

Professor, Psychology
Distinguished Professor
Professor, BIO5 Institute
Member of the General Faculty
Professor, Neuroscience - GIDP
Member of the General Faculty
Member of the Graduate Faculty
Primary Department
Department Affiliations
Contact
(520) 621-7448

Work Summary

Depression is a major health problem that is often chronic or recurrent. Existing treatments have limited effectiveness, and are provided wihtout a clear indication that they will match a particular patient's needs. In this era of precision medicine, we strive to develop neurally-informed treatments for depression and related disorders.

Research Interest

Dr. Allen’s research spans several areas, but the main focus is the etiology and treatment of mood and anxiety disorders. His work focuses on identifying risk factors for depression using electroencephalographic and autonomic psychophysiological measures, especially EEG asymmetry, resting state fMRI connectivity, and cardiac vagal control. Based on these findings, he is developing novel and neurally-informed treatments for mood and anxiety disorders, including Transcranial Ultrasound, EEG biofeedback, and Transcranial Direct Current and Transcranial Alternating Current stimulation. Other work includes understanding how emotion and emotional disorders influence the way we make decisions and monitor our actions. Keywords: Depression, Neuromodulation, EEG, Resting-state fMRI

Publications

Manber, R., J., J., & Morris, M. M. (2002). Alternative treatments for depression: Empirical support and relevance to women. Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, 63(7), 628-640.

PMID: 12143922;Abstract:

Background: This article is a critical review of the efficacy of selected alternative treatments for unipolar depression including exercise, stress management techniques, acupuncture, St. John's wort, bright light, and sleep deprivation. Issues related to women across the life span, including pregnancy and lactation, are highlighted. Data Sources: Evidence of efficacy is based on randomized controlled trials. A distinction is made between studies that address depressive symptoms and studies that address depressive disorders. The review emphasizes issues related to effectiveness, such as treatment availability, acceptability, safety, and cost and issues relevant to women. Data Synthesis: Exercise, stress reduction methods, bright light exposure, and sleep deprivation hold greater promise as adjuncts to conventional treatment than as monotherapies for major depression. The evidence to date is not sufficiently compelling to suggest the use of St. John's wort in favor of or as an alternative to existing U.S. Food and Drug Administration-regulated compounds. Initial evidence suggests that acupuncture might be an effective alternative monotherapy for major depression, single episode. Conclusion: This review indicates that some unconventional treatments hold promise as alternative or complementary treatments for unipolar depression in women and have the potential to contribute to its long-term management. Additional research is needed before further recommendations can be made, and there is an urgent need to carefully document and report the frequency of minor and major side effects.

Stewart, J. L., Coan, J. A., Towers, D. N., & Allen, J. J. (2014). Resting and Task-Elicited Prefrontal Brain Asymmetry in Depression: Support for the Capability Model. Psychophysiology.
Sanguinetti, J. L., Allen, J. J., & Peterson, M. A. (2014). The ground side of an object: Perceived as shapeless yet processed for semantics. Psychological Science, 25, 256-264.

doi: 10.1177/0956797613502814

Coan, J. A., & J., J. (2003). Varieties of Emotional Experience during Voluntary Emotional Facial Expressions. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1000, 375-379.
Schnyer, R. N., Chambers, A. S., Hitt, S. K., Moreno, F. A., Manber, R., & J., J. (2007). Ms. Schnyer and colleagues reply [2]. Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, 68(10), 1617-1618.