Anthony Harris

The University of Sydney, Discipline of Psychiatry, Faculty Member

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I am an associate professor in the Discipline of Psychiatry at the University of Sydney and the Clinical Director of the Brain Dynamics Centre at the Westmead Institute for Medical Research. I work as a clinician in the Prevention Early Intervention and Recovery Service in Parramatta seeing young people with a range of severe mental illnesses. I am also the Chairman of One Door Mental Health and the Deputy President of the Mental Illness Fellowship of Australia. My research interests centre on the psychophysiology and neuroimaging of mental illness, innovative treatment especially cognitive remediation and communicating what good treatment is.

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Dara M Cannon

University of Galway

Judith L Green

University of California, Santa Barbara

E. Wayne Ross

University of British Columbia

Matthew Broome

University of Oxford

Matthew Ratcliffe

University of York

Keith Laws

University of Hertfordshire

Saybrook University

Massey University

The Institute of Philosophy of the Russian Academy of Sciences

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Papers by Anthony Harris

Using a mobile health device to monitor physiological stress for serious mental illness: A qualitative analysis of patient and clinician-related acceptability

Psychiatric Rehabilitation Journal, 2022

OBJECTIVE There is growing interest in using mobile health (mHealth) devices to monitor physiolog... more OBJECTIVE There is growing interest in using mobile health (mHealth) devices to monitor physiological stress associated with mental deterioration. Research is currently examining whether physiological information returned to individuals with serious mental illness (SMI) and their clinicians enhances early intervention. The aim of this study was to explore patient and clinician-related acceptability of an mHealth device to monitor stress for SMI. METHOD Individuals with SMI and their clinicians at a community youth mental health service were shown how an mHealth device could be used to monitor stress. Focus groups and interviews regarding the acceptability of the mHealth device were then conducted with participants (N = 22). Content was transcribed and analyzed using an inductive thematic analysis focusing on perceptions of potential benefit, barriers and facilitators of uptake. RESULTS Six themes were identified. Individuals with SMI and clinicians identified two themes related to benefits of the mHealth device: (a) self-monitoring improves symptom insight and (b) clinician monitoring as a benefit to treatment. They identified one barrier theme: (c) privacy and data misuse concerns. They also identified three facilitators of uptake: (d) ease of use, (e) engaging design and (f) procedural guidelines. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE The perceived benefits of passive physiological monitoring afforded by an mHealth device come with concerns regarding its privacy and the potential for ambiguity in the patient-clinician relationship. Results suggest the importance of codesign to ensure that it is secure, easy to use and engaging. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

Expectation maximization classification and Laplacian based thickness measurement for cerebral cortex thickness estimation

SPIE Proceedings, 2007

We describe a new framework for measuring cortical thickness from MR human brain images. This inv... more We describe a new framework for measuring cortical thickness from MR human brain images. This involves the integration of a method of tissue classification with one to estimate thickness in 3D. We have determined an additional boundary detection step to facilitate this. The classification stage utlizes the Expectation Maximisation (EM) algorithm to classify voxels associated with the tissue types that

Emotion circuits differentiate symptoms of psychosis versus mania in adolescents

Neurocase, 2014

The diagnostic boundary between schizophrenia and bipolar disorder can be unclear, particularly w... more The diagnostic boundary between schizophrenia and bipolar disorder can be unclear, particularly with early onset. We assessed if emotion brain circuits differentiate psychosis versus mania symptoms in a series of six early onset patients. Symptoms were dissociated by direction, awareness condition, and brain regions. Greater psychosis symptoms were correlated with greater prefrontal, anterior cingulate, amygdala, and fusiform face area activation during masked fear processing. By contrast, greater mania symptoms were correlated with less amygdala activation during unmasked fear and happy processing. This suggests emotion dysfunction in schizophrenia versus bipolar disorder may arise from partially distinct neural mechanisms of susceptibility.

Australian and New Zealand Journal of

Australian & New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry

Objective: Two reported genetic polymorphisms related to the production of brain-derived neurotro... more Objective: Two reported genetic polymorphisms related to the production of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BNDF) and reuptake by the serotonin transporter (5-HTT) appear to contribute to depression in combination with stressful life events. The aim of the current study was to investigate the contribution of early life stress (ELS), BDNF (Val versus Met alleles) and 5-HTT polymorphisms (L versus S alleles) to melancholic (n= 65) and non-melancholic depression (n= 59).

The Development of the Mental-State Reasoning Training (MSR) Program: Phase I and II

Schizophrenia Research, 2010

work integration of people with severe mental illnesscould optimism in this context be linked to ... more work integration of people with severe mental illnesscould optimism in this context be linked to feelings of self-efficacy? The purpose of this study was therefore to increase our understanding of correlates of optimism in people with severe mental illness in two samples: individuals with recent onset of psychosis, and individuals engaged in a vocational rehabilitation service. Methods: Study 1: This sample consisted of 150 individuals with early psychosis, with a mean age of 25 (SD = 6.4), 61% (N = 92) male and 60% (N = 88) Caucasian. Study 2: This sample consists of a total of 254 individuals taking part in a study on predictors of work outcomes in Prevocational Programs in Montreal (Quebec, Canada). The average age was 38 (S.D. = 8.7), with 53% (N = 135) of the sample being female. Results: Study 1: Optimism was correlated with conscientiousness, neuroticism and extraversion. As expected, optimism was also correlated with self-esteem, the positive, negative and total scores on the SERS-SF(Lecomte et al., 2006). In terms of symptoms, optimism was indeed negatively correlated with depression, anxiety and suicidality, measured on the BPRS but not with psychotic symptoms, either positive or negative. Insight was also negatively correlated with optimism. Regarding relational variables, significant links were found between optimism and all but the relationship as secondary peer attachment scales on the ASQ, as well as the development of friendships and of having leisure activities as measured by the CASIG. Finally, the alliance, assessed with the WAI was significantly linked with optimism as well. The Stepwise linear regression shows that 53% (adjusted R 2 = 52.8) of the variance on the optimism score can be explained by a model including: self-esteem (total score, B = 0.46), capacity for leisure activities (B = 0.16), confidence in others (B = 0.19), low depression (B =-0.16), and low insight (B =-0.14). Study 2: The correlation matrix revealed significant links between optimism and all of the measured concepts (selfefficacy, symptoms, self-esteem and social support). The Stepwise linear regression revealed that 43% (adjusted R2 = 42.7) of the variance is explained by a model including self-esteem total score (B = 0.29), depression (B =-0.33), and reflected self-esteem (B = 0.16)-a social support scale. Discussion: Our results support those of other studies with 'normal' populations suggesting links between optimism and self-esteem and depression. However, optimism after a recent psychotic episode is also linked to abilities to have a network and to perceptions regarding social or familial network. Similarly, individuals trying to integrate the workplace will be more positive about the outcome of their efforts if they also believe they are esteemed by others. Limitations and implications for treatment will be presented.

Anthony Harris

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