ORCID Research Profile
ANA ADAN
Position: Associate Professor
Research team
Laura Río Martínez
Administrative and technical staff
laurario (at) ub.edu
Contact details
Dr. Ana Adan
Department of Clinical Psychology and Psychobiology
Faculty of Psychology, P. Vall d’Hebron 171
08035 Barcelona (Spain)
+3493 31 25060
aadan (at) ub.edu
Research Interests
The goal of our research is to obtain results which provide new knowledge and which may be applied to the clinical setting of substance use disorder (SUD) and dual diagnosis (DD), considered as the coexistence of SUD and a severe mental disorder (SMD). DD is of great concern to the professionals working on drug addiction and mental health because of its high prevalence and the difficulties involved in the therapeutic management of these patients. Despite this health reality, and besides descriptive and epidemiological studies, scientific research on this topic is scarce and it was not until the last decade that studies on it began to be published. One main goal is to obtain clinical markers of the functional impact of DD and markers that can be used as predictors of response to treatment, evolution and prognosis of relapses.
We assess several genetic polymorphisms PER2 (rs934945), PER3 (rs2640909), BDNF rs6265 (Val66Met), APOE rs429358 and rs7412 (E2, E3 and E4) and MAOA (uVNTR), as well as objective circadian rhythmicity using the device Kronowise KW5℗ with an integrated ambulatory recording system (measuring temperature, activity and light exposure) and self-assessed circadian rhythmicity (circadian typology, sleep-wake rhythm and mood), neurocognitive performance in several domains (premorbid IQ, attention, processing speed, visuospatial perception, immediate and long-term verbal memory, working memory, executive functions) and personality characteristics based on biological models, in addition to a complete clinical evaluation, recording quality of life measures and coping strategies to treatment.
The patients were recorded undergoing treatment, or with the SMD stabilized and/or with the SUD in early remission (abstinence from 3 to 12 months). We focused in three SMD: schizophrenia, major depression and bipolar disorder. All the patients participate on a voluntary, unpaid basis, and their clinical progress will be tracked at 3, 6 and 12 months after the initial assessment.
Current Research Lines
- Substance use disorders
- Dual disorders
- Chronobiology
Technologies / methods
- Integrated ambulatory recording system of circadian rhythm (Kronowise KW5)
- Neuropsychological assessment
Highlighted publications
· Adan, A., Arredondo, A.Y., Capella, M.M., Prat, G., Forero, D. & Navarro, J.F. (2017). Neurobiological underpinnings and modulating factors in psychotic disorders with a comorbid substance use disorder: A systematic review. Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews, 75, 361-377.
· Adan, A., Forero, D.A. & Navarro, J.F. (2017). Personality traits related to binge drinking. A systematic review. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 8:134. doi:10.3398/fpsyt.2017.00134
· Marquez-Arrico, J.E., López-Vera, S., Prat, G. & Adan, A. (2016). Temperament and character dimensions in male patients with substance use disorders: Differences relating to psychiatric comorbidity. Psychiatry Research, 237, 1-8.
· Capella, M.M., Benaiges, I. & Adan, A. (2015). Neuropsychological performance in polyconsumer men under treatment. Influence of age of onset of substance use. Scientific Reports, 5: 12038. http://www.nature.com/articles/srep12038.
· González-Giraldo, Y., González-Reyes, E., Mueller, S.T., Piper, B.J., Adan, A. & Forero, D.A. (2015). Differences in planning performance, a neurocognitive endophenotype, are associated with a functional variant in PER3 gene. Chronobiology International, 32(5), 591-595.