RODRIGO ESCALONA, M.D.

Department of
Psychiatry

PROFESSOR
ATTENDING PSYCHIATRIST, INPATIENT UNIT, VAMC

M.D., University of Chile, 1987
Residency: Duke University 1989-93

E-mail: escalona@unm.edu

Areas of Specialization: Inpatient Psychiatry and Psychopharmacology of Severe Mood Disorders.

After completing my Psychiatry Residency at Duke, I began my academic career at Emory University in Atlanta Georgia. I came to the New Mexico in 1996, where I have been an inpatient attending at the VA Hospital and on faculty at UNM. My main role within the Department has been the direct clinical supervision and teaching of Psychiatry residents and medical students. I still believe that inpatient psychiatry remains the best environment to master the core foundation to be a successful psychiatrist. In addition to my teaching role, I have been able to conduct several research projects of my own and collaborate with other faculty and trainees. My current areas of interest are neurobiology and psychopharmacology of severe mood disorders.

Selected Publications

Escalona PR, McDonald WM, Doraiswamy P.M, Husain M.M, Shah S.A, Figiel GS, Boyko O.B, Ellinwood E.R, Krishnan K.R.R. In vivo stereological assessment of human cerebellar volume: Effects of gender and age. Am J Neuroradiology 1991; 12:927-9

Husain MM, McDonald WM, Doraiswamy PM, Figiel GS, Na C, Escalona PR, Boyko OB, Nemeroff CB, Krishnan KRR. A Magnetic resonance study of putamen nuclei in major depression.  Psychiatry Res 1991; 40:95-9

Krishnan KRR, MacDonald WM, Escalona PR, Doraiswamy PM, Na C, Husain MM, Figiel GS, Boyko OB, Ellinwood EH, Nemeroff CB. Magnetic resonance imaging of the caudate nuclei in depression: preliminary observations. Arch. Gen. Psychiatry 1992:49:553-7

Escalona PR, MacDonald WM, Doraiswamy PM, Fiegel GS, Boyko OB, Ellinwood ER, Nemeroff CB, Krishnan KRR. Reduction of cerebellar volume in major depression: A controlled MRI study. Depression 1993; 1:156-8

Early B, Escalona PR, Boyko OB, Doraiswamy PM, Axelson D, Patterson L, McDonald WM, Krishnan KRR. The MR interuncal distance measurement in normal volunteers, as compared to patients with Alzheimer's disease. Am J Neuroradiol 1993;    14:907-10

 Escalona PR, Tupler LA, Saur CD, Krishnan KRR, Davidson JRT. Screening for trauma history on an inpatient affective-disorders unit: A pilot study. J Trauma stress. 1997: Vol 10; 2:299-305

Escalona PR, Adair J, Roberts BB, Graeber DA. Obsessive-compulsive disorder following bilateral globus pallidus infarction. Biological Psychiatry. 1997;42:410-412

Escalona  R,  Lewis S, Yager J,. A Psychiatry Primary Care Clinic for Chronically Ill Psychiatric patients. Psychiatric Services, 52 (4):536, 2001

 Escalona R, Canive J, Calais L, Davidson JRT. Fluvoxamine Treatment in Veterans with Post-traumatic Stress Disorder.  Depression and Anxiety 15:29-33, 2002

Lu BY, Lundgren R, Escalona R, Roberts BB. A case of Ziprasidone-induced mania and the role of 5-HT2A in mood changes induced by atypical antipsychotics. J Clin Psychiatry 63;12: 1185-86, 2002  

Escalona R, Achilles G, Waitzkin H, Yager J. PTSD and Somatization in Women Treated at a VA Primary Care Clinic. Psychosomatics 45;4:291-296, 2004

Nemeroff CB, Escalona PR, Krishnan KRR, Reynolds CF. The Biology of Late Life Depression in Mann JJ, Kupfer (eds), The Biology of Depressive Disorders. New York: Plenum Press, 1993, pp.59-73