Joseph Schacht, PhD

Professional Titles

• Associate Professor

Research Interests

I am a clinical neuroscientist focused on using neurobiological measures to improve treatment for alcohol and addictive disorders. My training and expertise span behavioral genetics, functional neuroimaging, experimental pharmacology, and “human laboratory” paradigms. I am also a licensed clinical psychologist in the state of Colorado. My current work, funded by grants from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), focuses on evaluating novel medications for Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD).

Publications

• Prisciandaro JJ, Schacht JP, Prescot AP, Brenner HM, Renshaw PF, Brown TR, Anton RF. Intraindividual changes in brain GABA, glutamate, and glutamine during monitored abstinence from alcohol in treatment-naive individuals with alcohol use disorder. Addict Biol. 2019 Aug 1;:e12810. [Epub ahead of print] PubMed PMID: 31373138
• Karoly HC, Schacht JP, Jacobus J, Meredith LR, Taylor CT, Tapert SF, Gray KM, Squeglia LM. Preliminary evidence that computerized approach avoidance training is not associated with changes in fMRI cannabis cue reactivity in non-treatment-seeking adolescent cannabis users. Drug Alcohol Depend. 2019 Jul 1;200:145-152. PubMed PMID: 31132681
• Prisciandaro JJ, Schacht JP, Prescot AP, Brenner HM, Renshaw PF, Brown TR, Anton RF. Evidence for a unique association between fronto-cortical glycine levels and recent heavy drinking in treatment naïve individuals with alcohol use disorder. Neurosci Lett. 2019 Jul 27;706:207-210. PubMed PMID: 31108129
• Prisciandaro JJ, Schacht JP, Prescot AP, Renshaw PF, Brown TR, Anton RF. Brain Glutamate, GABA, and Glutamine Levels and Associations with Recent Drinking in Treatment-Naïve Individuals with Alcohol Use Disorder Versus Light Drinkers. Alcohol Clin Exp Res. 2019 Feb;43(2):221-226. PubMed PMID: 30537347
• Karoly HC, Schacht JP, Meredith LR, Jacobus J, Tapert SF, Gray KM, Squeglia LM. Investigating a novel fMRI cannabis cue reactivity task in youth. Addict Behav. 2019 Feb;89:20-28. PubMed PMID: 30243035
• Schacht JP, Anton RF, McNamara PJ, Im Y, King AC. The dopamine transporter VNTR polymorphism moderates the relationship between acute response to alcohol and future alcohol use disorder symptoms. Addict Biol. 2019 Sep;24(5):1109-1118. PubMed PMID: 30230123
• Burnette EM, Grodin EN, Schacht JP, Ray LA. Clinical and Neural Correlates of Reward and Relief Drinking. Alcohol Clin Exp Res. 2020 Oct 29. [Epub ahead of print] PubMed PMID: 33119924
• Anton RF, Voronin KE, Book SW, Latham PK, Randall PK, Glen WB, Hoffman M, Schacht JP. Opioid and Dopamine Genes Interact to Predict Naltrexone Response in a Randomized Alcohol Use Disorder Clinical Trial. Alcohol Clin Exp Res. 2020 Oct;44(10):2084-2096. PubMed PMID: 32772383
• Hartwell EE, Feinn R, Morris PE, Gelernter J, Krystal J, Arias AJ, Hoffman M, Petrakis I, Gueorguieva R, Schacht JP, Oslin D, Anton RF, Kranzler HR. Systematic review and meta-analysis of the moderating effect of rs1799971 in OPRM1, the mu-opioid receptor gene, on response to naltrexone treatment of alcohol use disorder. Addiction. 2020 Aug;115(8):1426-1437. PubMed PMID: 31961981
• Prisciandaro JJ, Schacht JP, Prescot AP, Brenner HM, Renshaw PF, Brown TR, Anton RF. Intraindividual changes in brain GABA, glutamate, and glutamine during monitored abstinence from alcohol in treatment-naive individuals with alcohol use disorder. Addict Biol. 2020 Nov;25(6):e12810. PubMed PMID: 31373138
• Bartels K, Schacht JP. Cocaine-positive patients undergoing elective surgery – from avoiding case cancellations to treating substance use disorders. Anesthesia & Analgesia. (in press).
• Schacht JP, Hoffman M, Chen BH, Anton RF. Epigenetic moderators of naltrexone efficacy in reducing heavy drinking in Alcohol Use Disorder: a randomized trial. Pharmacogenomics J. 2021 Aug 11. [Epub ahead of print] PubMed PMID: 34381173
• Ekhtiari H., … Schacht, J.P., et al. (in press). A Methodological Checklist for fMRI Drug Cue Reactivity Studies: Development and Expert Consensus. Nature Protocols
• Ellingson, J. M., Hinckley, J. D., Ross, J. M., Schacht, J. P., Bidwell, L. C., Bryan, A. D., Hopfer, C J., Riggs, P., & Hutchison, K. E. (2021). The Neurocognitive Effects of Cannabis Across the Lifespan. Current Behavioral Neuroscience Reports.
• Schacht JP, Yeongbin Im, Hoffman M, Voronin KE, Book SW, Anton RF. Effects of pharmacological and genetic regulation of COMT activity in alcohol use disorder: a randomized, placebo-controlled trial of tolcapone. Neuropsychopharmacology. 2022 Oct;47(11):1953-1960. PubMed PMID: 35523943
• Ekhtiari H, Zare-Bidoky M, Sangchooli A, Janes AC, Kaufman MJ, Oliver JA, Prisciandaro JJ, Wüstenberg T, Anton RF, Bach P, Baldacchino A, Beck A, Bjork JM, Brewer J, Childress AR, Claus ED, Courtney KE, Ebrahimi M, Filbey FM, Ghahremani DG, Azbari PG, Goldstein RZ, Goudriaan AE, Grodin EN, Hamilton JP, Hanlon CA, Hassani-Abharian P, Heinz A, Joseph JE, Kiefer F, Zonoozi AK, Kober H, Kuplicki R, Li Q, London ED, McClernon J, Noori HR, Owens MM, Paulus MP, Perini I, Potenza M, Potvin S, Ray L, Schacht JP, Seo D, Sinha R, Smolka MN, Spanagel R, Steele VR, Stein EA, Steins-Loeber S, Tapert SF, Verdejo-Garcia A, Vollstädt-Klein S, Wetherill RR, Wilson SJ, Witkiewitz K, Yuan K, Zhang X, Zilverstand A. A methodological checklist for fMRI drug cue reactivity studies: development and expert consensus. Nat Protoc. 2022 Mar;17(3):567-595. PubMed PMID: 35121856
• Schacht JP, Hoffman M, Chen BH, Anton RF. Epigenetic moderators of naltrexone efficacy in reducing heavy drinking in Alcohol Use Disorder: a randomized trial. Pharmacogenomics J. 2022 Feb;22(1):1-8. PubMed PMID: 34381173
• Gowin, J. L., Kirk-Provencher, K. T., Karoly, H. C., & Schacht, J. P. (in press). Structural and functional imaging of alcohol’s effects on the brain. In M. Heilig & S. Mueller (Eds.), Alcoholism and Alcohol-Related Disorders. Berlin: Springer Nature.
• Schacht JP, Kubicki, M, Anton RF. A randomized trial of the effects of COMT inhibition on subjective response to alcohol: Moderation by baseline COMT activity and mediation of alcohol self-administration. Alcohol: Clinical & Experimental Research. (in press). doi: 10.1111/acer.15227
• Sangchooli A, Zare-Bidoky M, Jouzdani AF, Schacht JP, et al. Twenty-Five Years of fMRI Cue-Reactivity: Overview of Parameter Space and Potential for Biomarker Development. JAMA Psychiatry. (in press).
• Schacht JP. Stress, Cues, and Craving: Does the Insula Hold the Key to Understanding Stress-Induced Drinking in Alcohol Use Disorder?. Biol Psychiatry. 2024 Feb 1;95(3):200-201. PubMed PMID: 38143097
• Leggio L, Hendershot CS, Farokhnia M, Fink-Jensen A, Klausen MK, Schacht JP, Simmons WK. GLP-1 receptor agonists are promising but unproven treatments for alcohol and substance use disorders. Nat Med. 2023 Dec;29(12):2993-2995. PubMed PMID: 38001271

Practice Locations

Department of Psychiatry - Faculty and Staff Mental Health
1890 N Revere Ct
Anschutz Health Sciences Bldg, Suite 5242
Aurora, CO 80045
303-724-4987

Hospital Affiliation

• University of Colorado Hospital

Specialty Information

Specialties

• Psychology