Israel Liberzon

Israel Liberzon, MD

Adjunct Professor of Psychiatry in Neurosurgery, Academic Institute
Full Affiliate Member, Research Institute
Houston Methodist


Biography

Israel Liberzon, MD, is the department head of Texas A&M College of Medicine’s Department of Psychiatry. Dr. Liberzon leads the clinical psychiatry component as part of Texas A&M Health Science Center’s new Interprofessional Faculty Practice Plan.

A clinician and researcher, Liberzon has a wealth of experience in post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), comorbidity of depression and anxiety, neurobiology of trauma and stress related disorders, and neuroanatomy and neuroimaging of emotions. Since the 1980s, Liberzon has served in multiple roles at the University of Michigan and Veterans Administration Ann Arbor Medical Center, where he founded a PTSD and neuroimaging research program.

An initial focus of the Department of Psychiatry is telehealth—which is an immediate avenue to bring mental health care to rural patients. With 185 of the state’s 254 counties lacking a psychiatrist, and a large portion of rural Texas being comprised of military members and their families, Texas is in dire need of psychiatric care.

Description of Research

Dr. Liberzon’s research examines regions of the brain that are involved with PTSD, working on neurocircuitry and molecular abnormalities in signaling pathways.

Publications

Potential causal association between gut microbiome and posttraumatic stress disorder
He, Q, Wang, W, Xu, D, Xiong, Y, Tao, C, You, C, Ma, L, Ma, J, Nievergelt, CM, Maihofer, AX, Klengel, T, Atkinson, EG, Chen, CY, Choi, KW, Coleman, JRI, Dalvie, S, Duncan, LE, Logue, MW, Provost, AC, Ratanatharathorn, A, Stein, MB, Torres, K, Aiello, AE, Almli, LM, Amstadter, AB, Andersen, SB, Andreassen, OA, Arbisi, PA, Ashley-Koch, AE, Austin, SB, Avdibegovic, E, Babic, D, Bækvad-Hansen, M, Baker, DG, Beckham, JC, Bierut, LJ, Bisson, JI, Boks, MP, Bolger, EA, Børglum, AD, Bradley, B, Brashear, M, Breen, G, Bryant, RA, Bustamante, AC, Bybjerg-Grauholm, J, Calabrese, JR, Caldas-de-Almeida, JM, Dale, AM, Daly, MJ, Daskalakis, NP, Deckert, J, Delahanty, DL, Dennis, MF, Disner, SG, Domschke, K, Dzubur-Kulenovic, A, Erbes, CR, Evans, A, Farrer, LA, Feeny, NC, Flory, JD, Forbes, D, Franz, CE, Galea, S, Garrett, ME, Gelaye, B, Gelernter, J, Geuze, E, Gillespie, C, Uka, AG, Gordon, SD, Guffanti, G, Hammamieh, R, Harnal, S, Hauser, MA, Heath, AC, Hemmings, SMJ, Hougaard, DM, Jakovljevic, M, Jett, M, Johnson, EO, Jones, I, Jovanovic, T, Qin, XJ, Junglen, AG, Karstoft, KI, Kaufman, ML, Kessler, RC, Khan, A, Kimbrel, NA, King, AP, Koen, N, Kranzler, HR, Kremen, WS, Lawford, BR, Lebois, LAM, Lewis, CE, Linnstaedt, SD, Lori, A, Lugonja, B, Luykx, JJ, Lyons, MJ, Maples-Keller, J, Marmar, C, Martin, AR, Martin, NG, Maurer, D, Mavissakalian, MR, McFarlane, A, McGlinchey, RE, McLaughlin, KA, McLean, SA, McLeay, S, Mehta, D, Milberg, WP, Miller, MW, Morey, RA, Morris, CP, Mors, O, Mortensen, PB, Neale, BM, Nelson, EC, Nordentoft, M, Norman, SB, O’Donnell, M, Orcutt, HK, Panizzon, MS, Peters, ES, Peterson, AL, Peverill, M, Pietrzak, RH, Polusny, MA, Rice, JP, Ripke, S, Risbrough, VB, Roberts, AL, Rothbaum, AO, Rothbaum, BO, Roy-Byrne, P, Ruggiero, K, Rung, A, Rutten, BPF, Saccone, NL, Sanchez, SE, Schijven, D, Seedat, S, Seligowski, AV, Seng, JS, Sheerin, CM, Silove, D, Smith, AK, Smoller, JW, Solovieff, N, Sponheim, SR, Stein, DJ, Sumner, JA, Teicher, MH, Thompson, WK, Trapido, E, Uddin, M, Ursano, RJ, van den Heuvel, LL, van Hooff, M, Vermetten, E, Vinkers, CH, Voisey, J, Wang, Y, Wang, Z, Werge, T, Williams, MA, Williamson, DE, Winternitz, S, Wolf, C, Wolf, EJ, Wolff, JD, Yehuda, R, Young, KA, Young, RMD, Zhao, H, Zoellner, LA, Liberzon, I, Ressler, KJ, Haas, M & Koenen, KC 2024, , Translational Psychiatry, vol. 14, no. 1, 67. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41398-024-02765-7

The role of recurrent trauma on post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms and substance use among trauma exposed youth
Leri, J, Cisler, JM, Dodd, CG, Clark, SL, Taylor, L, Theodorou, A, Belford, A, Liberzon, I, Rathouz, PJ, Newport, DJ, Devargas, C, Wagner, K & Nemeroff, CB 2024, , Psychiatry Research, vol. 338, 115980. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychres.2024.115980

Development of a brief bedside tool to screen women sexual assault survivors for risk of persistent posttraumatic stress six months after sexual assault
Walsh, K, Short, N, Ji, YY, An, XM, Witkemper, KD, Lechner, M, Bell, K, Black, J, Buchanan, J, Ho, J, Reed, G, Platt, M, Riviello, R, Martin, SL, Liberzon, I, Rauch, SAM, Bollen, K & McLean, SA 2024, , Journal of Psychiatric Research, vol. 174, pp. 54-61. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpsychires.2024.04.013

Impact of PTSD treatment on postconcussive symptoms in veterans: A comparison of sertraline, prolonged exposure, and their combination
the PROGrESS Research Team 2024, , Journal of Psychiatric Research, vol. 173, pp. 64-70. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpsychires.2024.03.011

Long-term mental health and resilience of the first responders in Japanese ground self-defense forces engaging body recovery after the great east Japan earthquake
Maeno, Y, Fuchikami, M, Fujimaki, K, Liberzon, I & Morinobu, S 2024, , Journal of Psychiatric Research, vol. 173, pp. 381-386. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpsychires.2024.03.031

Language processing following childhood poverty: Evidence for disrupted neural networks
Perkins, SC, Shaun Ho, S, Evans, GW, Liberzon, I, Gopang, M & Swain, JE 2024, , Brain and Language, vol. 252, 105414. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bandl.2024.105414

Lost in Translation: Challenges for Translational Research in the Field of Stress and Cognition
Liberzon, I 2024, , Biological Psychiatry. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopsych.2024.03.018

The role of resilience in the development of depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder after trauma in children and adolescents
Srivastava, AV, Brown, R, Newport, DJ, Rousseau, JF, Wagner, KD, Guzick, A, Devargas, C, Claassen, C, Ugalde, IT, Garrett, A, Gushanas, K, Liberzon, I, Cisler, JM & Nemeroff, CB 2024, , Psychiatry Research, vol. 334, 115772. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychres.2024.115772

Evaluating traumatic event scoring schemas for their predictive value to concurrent diagnostic profiles: Texas Childhood Trauma Research Network
Aksan, N, Guzick, AG, Taylor, L, Richmond, R, Liberzon, I, Cross, J, Garza, C, Rousseau, J, Shahidullah, JD, Clark, SL, Rathouz, PJ, Dodd, CG, Cisler, J, Newport, DJ, Wagner, KD & Nemeroff, CB 2024, , Journal of Affective Disorders, vol. 345, pp. 94-102. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2023.10.092

Greater Early Posttrauma Activation in the Right Inferior Frontal Gyrus Predicts Recovery From Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Symptoms
Sheynin, J, Lokshina, Y, Ahrari, S, Nickelsen, T, Duval, ER, Ben-Zion, Z, Shalev, AY, Hendler, T & Liberzon, I 2024, , Biological Psychiatry: Cognitive Neuroscience and Neuroimaging, vol. 9, no. 1, pp. 91-100. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bpsc.2023.07.002

Linking trauma to mental health in the statewide Texas Youth Depression and Suicide Research Network (TX-YDSRN)
Goodman, LC, Elmore, JS, Mayes, TL, Minhajuddin, A, Slater, H, Blader, JC, Liberzon, I, Baronia, RB, Bivins, EJ, LaGrone, JM, Jackson, S, Martin, SL, Brown, R, Soares, JC, Wakefield, SM & Trivedi, MH 2024, , Psychiatry Research, vol. 331, 115620, pp. 115620. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychres.2023.115620

Genome-wide association analyses identify 95 risk loci and provide insights into the neurobiology of post-traumatic stress disorder
Nievergelt, CM, Maihofer, AX, Atkinson, EG, Chen, CY, Choi, KW, Coleman, JRI, Daskalakis, NP, Duncan, LE, Polimanti, R, Aaronson, C, Amstadter, AB, Andersen, SB, Andreassen, OA, Arbisi, PA, Ashley-Koch, AE, Austin, SB, Avdibegoviç, E, Babic, D, Bacanu, SA, Baker, DG, Batzler, A, Beckham, JC, Belangero, S, Benjet, C, Bergner, C, Bierer, LM, Biernacka, JM, Bierut, LJ, Bisson, JI, Boks, MP, Bolger, EA, Brandolino, A, Breen, G, Bressan, RA, Bryant, RA, Bustamante, AC, Bybjerg-Grauholm, J, Bækvad-Hansen, M, Børglum, AD, Børte, S, Cahn, L, Calabrese, JR, Caldas-de-Almeida, JM, Chatzinakos, C, Cheema, S, Clouston, SAP, Colodro-Conde, L, Coombes, BJ, Cruz-Fuentes, CS, Dale, AM, Dalvie, S, Davis, LK, Deckert, J, Delahanty, DL, Dennis, MF, Desarnaud, F, DiPietro, CP, Disner, SG, Docherty, AR, Domschke, K, Dyb, G, Kulenovic, AD, Edenberg, HJ, Evans, A, Fabbri, C, Fani, N, Farrer, LA, Feder, A, Feeny, NC, Flory, JD, Forbes, D, Franz, CE, Galea, S, Garrett, ME, Gelaye, B, Gelernter, J, Geuze, E, Gillespie, CF, Goleva, SB, Gordon, SD, Goçi, A, Grasser, LR, Guindalini, C, Haas, M, Hagenaars, S, Hauser, MA, Heath, AC, Hemmings, SMJ, Hesselbrock, V, Hickie, IB, Hogan, K, Hougaard, DM, Huang, H, Huckins, LM, Hveem, K, Jakovljevic, M, Javanbakht, A, Jenkins, GD, Johnson, J, Jones, I, Jovanovic, T, Karstoft, KI, Kaufman, ML, Kennedy, JL, Kessler, RC, Khan, A, Kimbrel, NA, King, AP, Koen, N, Kotov, R, Kranzler, HR, Krebs, K, Kremen, WS, Kuan, PF, Lawford, BR, Lebois, LAM, Lehto, K, Levey, DF, Lewis, C, Liberzon, I, Linnstaedt, SD, Logue, MW, Lori, A, Lu, Y, Luft, BJ, Lupton, MK, Luykx, JJ, Makotkine, I, Maples-Keller, JL, Marchese, S, Marmar, C, Martin, NG, Martínez-Levy, GA, McAloney, K, McFarlane, A, McLaughlin, KA, McLean, SA, Medland, SE, Mehta, D, Meyers, J, Michopoulos, V, Mikita, EA, Milani, L, Milberg, W, Miller, MW, Morey, RA, Morris, CP, Mors, O, Mortensen, PB, Mufford, MS, Nelson, EC, Nordentoft, M, Norman, SB, Nugent, NR, O’Donnell, M, Orcutt, HK, Pan, PM, Panizzon, MS, Pathak, GA, Peters, ES, Peterson, AL, Peverill, M, Pietrzak, RH, Polusny, MA, Porjesz, B, Powers, A, Qin, XJ, Ratanatharathorn, A, Risbrough, VB, Roberts, AL, Rothbaum, AO, Rothbaum, BO, Roy-Byrne, P, Ruggiero, KJ, Rung, A, Runz, H, Rutten, BPF, de Viteri, SS, Salum, GA, Sampson, L, Sanchez, SE, Santoro, M, Seah, C, Seedat, S, Seng, JS, Shabalin, A, Sheerin, CM, Silove, D, Smith, AK, Smoller, JW, Sponheim, SR, Stein, DJ, Stensland, S, Stevens, JS, Sumner, JA, Teicher, MH, Thompson, WK, Tiwari, AK, Trapido, E, Uddin, M, Ursano, RJ, Valdimarsdóttir, U, Van Hooff, M, Vermetten, E, Vinkers, CH, Voisey, J, Wang, Y, Wang, Z, Waszczuk, M, Weber, H, Wendt, FR, Werge, T, Williams, MA, Williamson, DE, Winsvold, BS, Winternitz, S, Wolf, C, Wolf, EJ, Xia, Y, Xiong, Y, Yehuda, R, Young, KA, Young, RMD, Zai, CC, Zai, GC, Zervas, M, Zhao, H, Zoellner, LA, Zwart, JA, deRoon-Cassini, T, van Rooij, SJH, van den Heuvel, LL, Stein, MB, Ressler, KJ & Koenen, KC 2024, , Nature Genetics, vol. 56, no. 5, pp. 792-808. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41588-024-01707-9

Smaller total and subregional cerebellar volumes in posttraumatic stress disorder: a mega-analysis by the ENIGMA-PGC PTSD workgroup
Huggins, AA, Baird, CL, Briggs, M, Laskowitz, S, Hussain, A, Fouda, S, Haswell, C, Sun, D, Salminen, LE, Jahanshad, N, Thomopoulos, SI, Veltman, DJ, Frijling, JL, Olff, M, van Zuiden, M, Koch, SBJ, Nawjin, L, Wang, L, Zhu, Y, Li, G, Stein, DJ, Ipser, J, Seedat, S, du Plessis, S, van den Heuvel, LL, Suarez-Jimenez, B, Zhu, X, Kim, Y, He, X, Zilcha-Mano, S, Lazarov, A, Neria, Y, Stevens, JS, Ressler, KJ, Jovanovic, T, van Rooij, SJH, Fani, N, Hudson, AR, Mueller, SC, Sierk, A, Manthey, A, Walter, H, Daniels, JK, Schmahl, C, Herzog, JI, Ríha, P, Rektor, I, Lebois, LAM, Kaufman, ML, Olson, EA, Baker, JT, Rosso, IM, King, AP, Liberzon, I, Angstadt, M, Davenport, ND, Sponheim, SR, Disner, SG, Straube, T, Hofmann, D, Qi, R, Lu, GM, Baugh, LA, Forster, GL, Simons, RM, Simons, JS, Magnotta, VA, Fercho, KA, Maron-Katz, A, Etkin, A, Cotton, AS, O’Leary, EN, Xie, H, Wang, X, Quidé, Y, El-Hage, W, Lissek, S, Berg, H, Bruce, S, Cisler, J, Ross, M, Herringa, RJ, Grupe, DW, Nitschke, JB, Davidson, RJ, Larson, CL, deRoon-Cassini, TA, Tomas, CW, Fitzgerald, JM, Blackford, JU, Olatunji, BO, Kremen, WS, Lyons, MJ, Franz, CE, Gordon, EM, May, G, Nelson, SM, Abdallah, CG, Levy, I, Harpaz-Rotem, I, Krystal, JH, Dennis, EL, Tate, DF, Cifu, DX, Walker, WC, Wilde, EA, Harding, IH, Kerestes, R, Thompson, PM & Morey, R 2024, , Molecular Psychiatry, vol. 29, no. 3, pp. 611-623. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41380-023-02352-0

A Blueprint for Next Generation of Clinical Trials in Precision Psychiatry
Pham, KT, Sheynin, J & Liberzon, I 2024, . in Comprehensive Precision Medicine, First Edition, Volume 1-2. vol. 1-2, Elsevier, pp. 83-91. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-824010-6.00073-3

Neuroimaging-based classification of PTSD using data-driven computational approaches: A multisite big data study from the ENIGMA-PGC PTSD consortium
Zhu, X, Kim, Y, Ravid, O, He, X, Suarez-Jimenez, B, Zilcha-Mano, S, Lazarov, A, Lee, S, Abdallah, CG, Angstadt, M, Averill, CL, Baird, CL, Baugh, LA, Blackford, JU, Bomyea, J, Bruce, SE, Bryant, RA, Cao, Z, Choi, K, Cisler, J, Cotton, AS, Daniels, JK, Davenport, ND, Davidson, RJ, DeBellis, MD, Dennis, EL, Densmore, M, deRoon-Cassini, T, Disner, SG, Hage, WE, Etkin, A, Fani, N, Fercho, KA, Fitzgerald, J, Forster, GL, Frijling, JL, Geuze, E, Gonenc, A, Gordon, EM, Gruber, S, Grupe, DW, Guenette, JP, Haswell, CC, Herringa, RJ, Herzog, J, Hofmann, DB, Hosseini, B, Hudson, AR, Huggins, AA, Ipser, JC, Jahanshad, N, Jia-Richards, M, Jovanovic, T, Kaufman, ML, Kennis, M, King, A, Kinzel, P, Koch, SBJ, Koerte, IK, Koopowitz, SM, Korgaonkar, MS, Krystal, JH, Lanius, R, Larson, CL, Lebois, LAM, Li, G, Liberzon, I, Lu, GM, Luo, Y, Magnotta, VA, Manthey, A, Maron-Katz, A, May, G, McLaughlin, K, Mueller, SC, Nawijn, L, Nelson, SM, Neufeld, RWJ, Nitschke, JB, OLeary, EM, Olatunji, BO, Olff, M, Peverill, M, Phan, KL, Qi, R, Quidé, Y, Rektor, I, Ressler, K, Riha, P, Ross, M, Rosso, IM, Salminen, LE, Sambrook, K, Schmahl, C, Shenton, ME, Sheridan, M, Shih, C, Sicorello, M, Sierk, A, Simmons, AN, Simons, RM, Simons, JS, Sponheim, SR, Stein, MB, Stein, DJ, Stevens, JS, Straube, T, Sun, D, Théberge, J, Thompson, PM, Thomopoulos, SI, van der Wee, NJA, van der Werff, SJA, van Erp, TGM, van Rooij, SJH, van Zuiden, M, Varkevisser, T, Veltman, DJ, Vermeiren, RRJM, Walter, H, Wang, L, Wang, X, Weis, C, Winternitz, S, Xie, H, Zhu, Y, Wall, M, Neria, Y & Morey, RA 2023, , NeuroImage, vol. 283, 120412. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroimage.2023.120412

Texas Youth Depression and Suicide Research Network (TX-YDSRN) research registry and learning healthcare network: Rationale, design, and baseline characteristics
Trivedi, MH, Minhajuddin, A, Slater, H, Baronia, R, Blader, JC, Blood, J, Brown, R, Claassen, C, DeFilippis, M, Farmer, D, Garza, C, Hughes, JL, Kennard, BD, Liberzon, I, Martin, S, Mayes, TL, Soares, JC, Soutullo, CA, Storch, EA & Wakefield, SM 2023, , Journal of Affective Disorders, vol. 340, pp. 88-99. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2023.07.035

Do diurnal salivary cortisol curves carry meaningful information about the regulatory biology of the HPA axis in healthy humans?
Abelson, JL, Sánchez, BN, Mayer, SE, Briggs, H, Liberzon, I & Rajaram, N 2023, , Psychoneuroendocrinology, vol. 150, 106031. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psyneuen.2023.106031

The Relationship of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder With Posttraumatic Stress Disorder: A Two-Sample Mendelian Randomization and Population-Based Sibling Comparison Study
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Working Group of the Psychiatric Genomics Consortium 2023, , Biological Psychiatry, vol. 93, no. 4, pp. 362-369. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopsych.2022.08.012

Evaluating the Evidence for Brain-Based Biotypes of Psychiatric Vulnerability in the Acute Aftermath of Trauma
Ben-Zion, Z, Spiller, TR, Keynan, JN, Admon, R, Levy, I, Liberzon, I, Shalev, AY, Hendler, T & Harpaz-Rotem, I 2023, , American Journal of Psychiatry, vol. 180, no. 2, pp. 146-154. https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.ajp.20220271

DNA methylation GrimAge acceleration in US military veterans with PTSD
Katrinli, S, King, AP, Duval, ER, Smith, AK, Rajaram, N, Liberzon, I & Rauch, SAM 2023, , Neuropsychopharmacology, vol. 48, no. 5, pp. 773-780. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41386-023-01537-z