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Unit for Experimental Psychiatry
Faculty
Namni Goel, Ph.D.
Research Assistant Professor of Psychology in Psychiatry
Division of Sleep and Chronobiology, Department of Psychiatry
University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine
Namni Goel, Ph.D., is a Research Assistant Professor in Psychiatry in the School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Goel received her B.A. in Psychology and Anthropology from the University of California, Berkeley and her Ph.D. in Biological Psychology from the University of Michigan (Ann Arbor). As a graduate student, she researched the behavioral and neuroanatomical substrates underlying circadian rhythms in an animal model. As a postdoctoral fellow at Columbia and Cornell Universities, Dr. Goel made the transition to human work, conducting studies on basic human physiological sleep and on seasonal affective disorder (SAD), a mood disorder which may result from circadian rhythm pathophysiology. Before coming to the University of Pennsylvania, she taught a number of courses and conducted research on these areas at Wesleyan University.
Dr. Goel's research investigates how physiological, behavioral and environmental factors affect sleep, circadian rhythms and regulate mood. Through a multidisciplinary approach - bridging clinical and biological psychology, psychiatry and behavioral neuroscience - Dr. Goel has shown that environmental, non-drug stimuli substantially alter sleep and mood and modify circadian rhythms in clinical and nonclinical populations. She has pursued these interests in two related research lines: 1. sleep, circadian rhythm, and mood regulation in response to light and other environmental stimuli (e.g., olfactory and auditory cues) in humans and in a diurnal rodent; and 2. the etiology, definition and measurement, and treatment of SAD and nonseasonal depression. Dr. Goel has obtained funding from NIA and NIMH, as well as a grant from a private foundation (Sense of Smell Institute) for her research and has served as a reviewer for NASA and NIMH grants.
Dr. Goel is Membership Chair and sits on the Board of Directors of the Society for Light Treatment and Biological Rhythms, and is a member of the Sleep Research Society, the Society for Research on Biological Rhythms, and the Society for Neuroscience.
Research Interests
Sleep, circadian rhythms, and depression: biological (photic and nonphotic), environmental treatments. Nonphotic and photic stimuli's effects on mammalian (human and nonhuman) sleep, circadian rhythms and mood. Individual (gender, diagnostic, personality, etc) differences in sleep, circadian rhythms and mood.
Selected Bibliography (Peer-reviewed Publications, 2002-Present)
Goel, N.: “An arousing musically-enhanced bird song stimulus mediates circadian rhythm phase advances in dim light.” American Journal of Physiology 291:R822-827, 2006.
Goel, N., Etwaroo, G.R.: “Bright light, negative air ions and auditory stimuli produce rapid mood changes in a student population: A placebo-controlled study.” Psychological Medicine 36:1253-1264, 2006.
Goel, N., Lao, R.P.: “Sleep changes vary by odor perception in young adults.” Biological Psychology 71:341-346, 2006.
Goel, N.: “Late-night presentation of an auditory stimulus phase delays human circadian rhythms.” American Journal of Physiology 289:R209-R216, 2005.
Goel, N., Terman, M., Terman J.S., Macchi, M.M., Stewart, J.W.: “Controlled trial of bright light and negative air ions for chronic depression.” Psychological Medicine 35:945-955, 2005.
Goel, N., Kim, H., Lao, R.P.: “An olfactory stimulus modifies nighttime sleep in young men and women.” Chronobiology International 22:889-904, 2005.
Goel, N., Kim, H., Lao, R.P.: “Gender differences in polysomnographic sleep in young healthy sleepers.” Chronobiology International 22:905-915, 2005.
Goel, N., Grasso, D.J.: “Olfactory discrimination and transient mood change in young men and women: Variation by season, mood state and time of day.” Chronobiology International 21:691-719, 2004.
Goel, N., Terman, M., Terman J.S.: “Dimensions of temperament and bright light response in seasonal affective disorder.” Psychiatry Research 119:89-97, 2003.
Terman, M., Macchi, M.M., Goel, N., Rifkin, J.B., Terman J.S., Williams, J.B.W.: “Diagnostic reliability and symptom pattern of DSM-IV atypical features in seasonal and nonseasonal depression.” Chronobiology International 20:1157-1159, 2003.
Goel, N., Terman J.S., Macchi, M.M., Stewart, J.W., Terman, M.: “A placebo-controlled trial of bright light and negative ion treatment for chronic depression: Preliminary results.” Chronobiology International 20:1207-1209, 2003.
Goel, N., Terman, M., Terman J.S.: “Depressive symptomatology differentiates subgroups of patients with seasonal affective disorder.” Depression and Anxiety 15:34-41, 2002.