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James M. Bjork, Ph.D.

James M. Bjork

Graduate Student
Postdoctoral Fellow


Period of Service

March 1995 - June 2000

Research Project Title

Aggressive Behavior: Alcohol and Menstrual Cycle Effects

The Effects of Tryptophan Depletion and Supplementation on Serotonergic Functioning and Aggression in High and Low Aggressive Subjects

The Effects of Alcohol on Aggressive Behavior of an Understudied Population: Women

After the NRLC

Jim went on to complete a Postdoctoral Research Fellowship at the Laboratory of Clinical Translational Studies at the National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), in Bethesda, Maryland.  At, NIAAA, Jim expanded his scope of impulsivity research to include structural and functional magnetic resonance imaging.  After completing his fellowship, he assumed a position as Program Official in the Division of Clinical Neuroscience and Behavioral Research at the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA).  In this position, Jim is working to expand a NIDA-funded portfolio of extramural research on neuroimaging, impulsivity/incentive processing, and substance abuse.  His additional activities include organizing workshops and symposia to bring cutting edge imaging technologies to the study of deviant brain function as a risk factor for (or consequence of) substance abuse.

Selected Publications with the NRLC

Behavioral impulsivity paradigms: A comparison in hospitalized adolescents with Disruptive Behavior Disorders. 
Dougherty, D.M., Bjork, J.M., Harper, R.A., Marsh, D.M., Moeller, F.G., and Mathias, C.W.  (2003). 
Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry and AlliedDisciplines, 44, 1145-1157.

The serotonin 2a receptor T102c Polymorphism and impaired impulse control.
Bjork, J.M., Moeller, F.G., Dougherty, D.M., Swann, A.C., Machado, M.A., and Hanis, C.L.  (2002). 
American Journal of Psychiatric Genetics (Neuropsychiatric Genetics), 114, 336-339.

Differential behavioral effects of plasma tryptophan depletion and loading in aggressive and non-aggressive men.  
Bjork, J.M., Dougherty, D.M., Moeller, F.G., and Swann, A.C.  (2000).
Neuropsychopharmacology, 22, 357-369.

The effects of tryptophan depletion and loading on laboratory aggression: Time-course and food restricted control 
Bjork, J.M., Dougherty, D.M., Moeller, F.G., Cherek, D.R., and Swann, A.C.  (1999).
Psychopharmacology, 142, 24-30.

 Low doses of alcohol increase commission error rates on a continuous performance test. 
Dougherty, D.M., Moeller, F.G., Steinberg, J.M., Marsh, D.M., Hines, S.E., and Bjork, J.M.  (1999). 
Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, 23, 1342-1351.

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