Steven Siegel, MD, PhD

Dr. Steven Siegel was appointed Professor and Chair of the Department of Psychiatry and the Behavioral Sciences at the Keck School of Medicine of USC in July 2016. He is a physician-scientist specializing in the treatment of psychosis. Dr. Siegel came to USC after 20 years at the University of Pennsylvania, where he had roles in research, teaching and clinical care. He received his B.A. in Neuroscience at Colgate University in 1986, and his M.D. and Ph.D. in Neurobiology at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in 1996. He later completed a MacArthur Foundation Training Fellowship before completing his residency in Psychiatry and a Fellowship in Neuropsychiatry at the University of Pennsylvania. Prior to joining USC, Dr. Siegel was involved in, medical, undergraduate and graduate education. He was Associate Director of Masters in Translational Research for 6 years at the University of Pennsylvania. He directed a course on Therapeutics and Commercialization at Penn, based on his experience with technology transfer. Other major educational roles at Penn included Director of the Clinical Training Program that spanned 6 clinical specialties. He was named one of the nation’s outstanding clinicians by the National Association for Mental Illness. Dr. Siegel has made contributions to understanding the neurobiology of schizophrenia, autism, and drug dependence. His laboratory uses animal models to evaluate EEG, combined with behavioral and molecular studies. Additionally, he invented, patented, and licensed a new method of treatment for schizophrenia using biodegradable implants, which successfully completed a pivotal Phase 3 clinical trial and has been submitted as an NDA to the FDA for consideration. In his current role as Chair of the Department of Psychiatry and the Behavioral Sciences, Dr. Siegel oversees operations for a department comprised of 200 faculty members, 50 staff members and 100 residents, fellows, and trainees; more than tripling the size of the department in 5 years since he arrived. His department provides a broad range of mental health services to children and adults at LAC+USC Medical Center including Emergency, Inpatient, and Outpatient Services. Additionally, he has expanded and improved the quality of mental health services at Keck Medicine and USC Care, with an emphasis on consultation liaison and specialty services. During his first year at USC he designed and oversaw the incorporation of student mental health services into Keck Medicine of USC. He continues to lead and guide the evolution of student mental health services at USC, both within Student Health, and in the new Keck Medicine student outpatient practice that launched in late 2019. He was named the inaugural Chief Mental Health and Wellness Officer for Keck Medicine of USC in 2021, with responsibility and oversight of mental health services across the Keck enterprise as well as leadership of wellness program as part of Keck Medicine’s nationally acclaimed Care for the Caregiver program. Over his career at Penn and USC, Dr. Siegel has mentored more than 150 graduate and undergraduate trainees in neuroscience and bioengineering. His research has been supported by federal, state, foundation, and industry sources for more than 25 years. He has published approximately 150 manuscripts as well as multiple book chapters, and one book spanning topics related to drug abuse, basic research in schizophrenia and autism, as well as clinical aspects of schizophrenia.

• Multiomic Immune Profiling of Pediatric Transplant Recipients Identifies Cell States Associated with Vaccine Response. Clin J Am Soc Nephrol. 2026 Apr 01; 21(4):650-663.. View in PubMed
• Protein-protein interaction-interfering peptide rescues dysregulated NMDA receptor signaling. JCI Insight. 2026 Jan 23; 11(2).. View in PubMed
• Comparing Computerized Adaptive Testing-Mental Health (CAT-MH) and Behavioral Health Measure-20 (BHM-20) screening measures in college mental health. J Am Coll Health. 2026 Jan 12; 1-7.. View in PubMed
• Retraction Note: mGluR5 hypofunction is integral to glutamatergic dysregulation in schizophrenia. Mol Psychiatry. 2025 Jul; 30(7):3358.. View in PubMed
• Editorial Expression of Concern: Src kinase as a mediator of convergent molecular abnormalities leading to NMDAR hypoactivity in schizophrenia. Mol Psychiatry. 2025 Jul; 30(7):3359.. View in PubMed
• Graft-versus-host disease prophylaxis shapes T cell biology and immune reconstitution after hematopoietic cell transplant. medRxiv. 2025 Feb 26.. View in PubMed
• Protocol of randomized-controlled trial to examine the effectiveness of three different interventions to reduce healthcare provider burnout. BMC Health Serv Res. 2024 Dec 23; 24(1):1643.. View in PubMed
• LiFT (a Lithium Fiber-Based Test): An At-Home Companion Diagnostics for a Safer Lithium Therapy in Bipolar Disorder. Adv Healthc Mater. 2024 07; 13(18):e2304122.. View in PubMed
• Editorial Expression of Concern: Altered neuregulin 1-erbB4 signaling contributes to NMDA> receptor hypofunction in schizophrenia. Nat Med. 2024 Mar; 30(3):911.. View in PubMed
• Theta-frequency medial septal nucleus deep brain stimulation increases neurovascular activity in MK-801-treated mice. Front Neurosci. 2024; 18:1372315.. View in PubMed
• The Use of Event-Related Potentials in the Study of Schizophrenia: An Overview. Adv Neurobiol. 2024; 40:285-319.. View in PubMed
• Sex differences in regional gray matter density in pre-adolescent binge eating disorder: a voxel-based morphometry study. Psychol Med. 2023 10; 53(13):6077-6089.. View in PubMed
• Aberrant functional connectivity between reward and inhibitory control networks in pre-adolescent binge eating disorder. Psychol Med. 2023 07; 53(9):3869-3878.. View in PubMed
• The Power of Potentials. Am J Psychiatry. 2023 Jul 01; 180(7):470-472.. View in PubMed
• Role of the endocannabinoid system in fragile X syndrome: potential mechanisms for benefit from cannabidiol treatment. J Neurodev Disord. 2023 01 09; 15(1):1.. View in PubMed
• A Case of Prolonged Mania, Psychosis, and Severe Depression After Psilocybin Use: Implications of Increased Psychedelic Drug Availability. Am J Psychiatry. 2022 12 01; 179(12):892-896.. View in PubMed
• Calcium/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase IIα heterozygous knockout mice show electroencephalogram and behavioral changes characteristic of a subpopulation of schizophrenia and intellectual impairment. Neuroscience. 2022 09 01; 499:104-117.. View in PubMed
• Early life social instability stress causes lasting cognitive decrement and elevated hippocampal stress-related gene expression. Exp Neurol. 2022 08; 354:114099.. View in PubMed
• Frequency-specific medial septal nucleus deep brain stimulation improves spatial memory in MK-801-treated male rats. Neurobiol Dis. 2022 08; 170:105756.. View in PubMed
• Regional gray matter abnormalities in pre-adolescent binge eating disorder: A voxel-based morphometry study. Psychiatry Res. 2022 04; 310:114473.. View in PubMed
• A roadmap for development of neuro-oscillations as translational biomarkers for treatment development in neuropsychopharmacology. Neuropsychopharmacology. 2020 08; 45(9):1411-1422.. View in PubMed
• mGluR5 hypofunction is integral to glutamatergic dysregulation in schizophrenia. Mol Psychiatry. 2020 04; 25(4):750-760.. View in PubMed
• Sociability development in mice with cell-specific deletion of the NMDA receptor NR1 subunit gene. Genes Brain Behav. 2020 01; 19(1):e12624.. View in PubMed
• Src deficient mice demonstrate behavioral and electrophysiological alterations relevant to psychiatric and developmental disease. Prog Neuropsychopharmacol Biol Psychiatry. 2019 07 13; 93:84-92.. View in PubMed
• High-beta/low-gamma frequency activity reflects top-down predictive coding during a spatial working memory test. Exp Brain Res. 2019 Jul; 237(7):1881-1888.. View in PubMed
• Cannabidiol (CBD) reduces anxiety-related behavior in mice via an FMRP-independent mechanism. Pharmacol Biochem Behav. 2019 06; 181:93-100.. View in PubMed
• Parvalbumin Cell Ablation of NMDA-R1 Leads to Altered Phase, But Not Amplitude, of Gamma-Band Cross-Frequency Coupling. Brain Connect. 2019 04; 9(3):263-272.. View in PubMed
• Pyramidal cell-selective GluN1 knockout causes impairments in salience attribution and related EEG activity. Exp Brain Res. 2018 03; 236(3):837-846.. View in PubMed
• Mismatch negativity in preclinical models of schizophrenia. Schizophr Res. 2018 01; 191:35-42.. View in PubMed
• Protocadherin 10 alters γ oscillations, amino acid levels, and their coupling; baclofen partially restores these oscillatory deficits. Neurobiol Dis. 2017 Dec; 108:324-338.. View in PubMed
• Amygdala activity associated with social choice in mice. Behav Brain Res. 2017 08 14; 332:84-89.. View in PubMed
• The nature and consequences of cognitive deficits among tobacco smokers with HIV: a comparison to tobacco smokers without HIV. J Neurovirol. 2017 08; 23(4):550-557.. View in PubMed
• Metabotropic Glutamate Receptor 5 as a Point of Convergence for Models of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder and Autism Spectrum Disorder. Biol Psychiatry. 2016 10 01; 80(7):504-6.. View in PubMed
• Lysosomal iron modulates NMDA receptor-mediated excitation via small GTPase, Dexras1. Mol Brain. 2016 Apr 14; 9:38.. View in PubMed
• Multiple Drug Treatments That Increase cAMP Signaling Restore Long-Term Memory and Aberrant Signaling in Fragile X Syndrome Models. Front Behav Neurosci. 2016; 10:136.. View in PubMed
• Mouse Model of Chromosome 15q13.3 Microdeletion Syndrome Demonstrates Features Related to Autism Spectrum Disorder. J Neurosci. 2015 Dec 09; 35(49):16282-94.. View in PubMed
• Oxytocin reduces amygdala activity, increases social interactions, and reduces anxiety-like behavior irrespective of NMDAR antagonism. Behav Neurosci. 2015 Aug; 129(4):389-98.. View in PubMed
• EEG biomarkers of target engagement, therapeutic effect, and disease process. Ann N Y Acad Sci. 2015 May; 1344:12-26.. View in PubMed
• Pyramidal cell selective ablation of N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor 1 causes increase in cellular and network excitability. Biol Psychiatry. 2015 Mar 15; 77(6):556-68.. View in PubMed
• Prospective MEG biomarkers in ASD: pre-clinical evidence and clinical promise of electrophysiological signatures. Yale J Biol Med. 2015 Mar; 88(1):25-36.. View in PubMed
• PDE-4 inhibition rescues aberrant synaptic plasticity in Drosophila and mouse models of fragile X syndrome. J Neurosci. 2015 Jan 07; 35(1):396-408.. View in PubMed
• Mice with subtle reduction of NMDA NR1 receptor subunit expression have a selective decrease in mismatch negativity: Implications for schizophrenia prodromal population. Neurobiol Dis. 2015 Jan; 73:289-95.. View in PubMed
• The Role of Nicotine in Schizophrenia. Int Rev Neurobiol. 2015; 124:23-78.. View in PubMed
• [Ketamine alters socially-evoked activity in the amygdala]. Nihon Yakurigaku Zasshi. 2014 Dec; 144(6):272-6.. View in PubMed
• TLR2 signaling decreases transmission of Streptococcus pneumoniae by limiting bacterial shedding in an infant mouse Influenza A co-infection model. PLoS Pathog. 2014 Aug; 10(8):e1004339.. View in PubMed
• Influenza promotes pneumococcal growth during coinfection by providing host sialylated substrates as a nutrient source. Cell Host Microbe. 2014 Jul 09; 16(1):55-67.. View in PubMed
• Animal Models of Psychosis: Current State and Future Directions. Curr Behav Neurosci Rep. 2014 Jun 01; 1(2):100-116.. View in PubMed
• Parvalbumin cell ablation of NMDA-R1 causes increased resting network excitability with associated social and self-care deficits. Neuropsychopharmacology. 2014 Jun; 39(7):1603-13.. View in PubMed
• Convergence of circuit dysfunction in ASD: a common bridge between diverse genetic and environmental risk factors and common clinical electrophysiology. Front Cell Neurosci. 2014; 8:414.. View in PubMed
• Animal models and measures of perceptual processing in schizophrenia. Neurosci Biobehav Rev. 2013 Nov; 37(9 Pt B):2092-8.. View in PubMed
• Electroencephalographic and early communicative abnormalities in Brattleboro rats. Physiol Rep. 2013 Oct; 1(5):e00100.. View in PubMed
• Capacity, confidentiality and consequences: balancing responsible medical care with mental health law. Curr Psychiatry Rep. 2013 Aug; 15(8):380.. View in PubMed
• Electrophysiological and behavioral responses to ketamine in mice with reduced Akt1 expression. Psychopharmacology (Berl). 2013 Jun; 227(4):639-49.. View in PubMed
• Knockout of NMDA receptors in parvalbumin interneurons recreates autism-like phenotypes. Autism Res. 2013 Apr; 6(2):69-77.. View in PubMed
• Electroencephalographic changes following direct current deep brain stimulation of auditory cortex: a new model for investigating neuromodulation. Neurosurgery. 2013 Feb; 72(2):267-75; discussion 275.. View in PubMed
• The electrophysiological signature of motivational salience in mice and implications for schizophrenia. Neuropsychopharmacology. 2012 Dec; 37(13):2846-54.. View in PubMed
• Subchronic ketamine treatment leads to permanent changes in EEG, cognition and the astrocytic glutamate transporter EAAT2 in mice. Neurobiol Dis. 2012 Sep; 47(3):338-46.. View in PubMed
• Nicotine normalizes event related potentials in COMT-Val-tg mice and increases gamma and theta spectral density. Behav Neurosci. 2012 Apr; 126(2):332-43.. View in PubMed
• MeCP2+/- mouse model of RTT reproduces auditory phenotypes associated with Rett syndrome and replicate select EEG endophenotypes of autism spectrum disorder. Neurobiol Dis. 2012 Apr; 46(1):88-92.. View in PubMed
• Gamma synchrony: towards a translational biomarker for the treatment-resistant symptoms of schizophrenia. Neuropharmacology. 2012 Mar; 62(3):1504-18.. View in PubMed
• Nicotine receptor subtype-specific effects on auditory evoked oscillations and potentials. PLoS One. 2012; 7(7):e39775.. View in PubMed
• Dysbindin-1 mutant mice implicate reduced fast-phasic inhibition as a final common disease mechanism in schizophrenia. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2011 Oct 25; 108(43):E962-70.. View in PubMed
• Poly Lactic-co-Glycolic Acid (PLGA) as Biodegradable Controlled Drug Delivery Carrier. Polymers (Basel). 2011 Sep 01; 3(3):1377-1397.. View in PubMed
• What can we expect from long-acting formulations for schizophrenia? Curr Psychiatry Rep. 2011 Aug; 13(4):243-4.. View in PubMed
• cAMP response element binding protein phosphorylation in nucleus accumbens underlies sustained recovery of sensorimotor gating following repeated D₂-like receptor agonist treatment in rats. Biol Psychiatry. 2011 Feb 01; 69(3):288-94.. View in PubMed
• mGluR5-antagonist mediated reversal of elevated stereotyped, repetitive behaviors in the VPA model of autism. PLoS One. 2011; 6(10):e26077.. View in PubMed
• Validating γ oscillations and delayed auditory responses as translational biomarkers of autism. Biol Psychiatry. 2010 Dec 15; 68(12):1100-6.. View in PubMed
• Mouse behavioral endophenotypes for schizophrenia. Brain Res Bull. 2010 Sep 30; 83(3-4):147-61.. View in PubMed
• In vitro-in vivo correlations of scalable PLGA-risperidone implants for the treatment of schizophrenia. Pharm Res. 2010 Aug; 27(8):1730-7.. View in PubMed
• Resurgence of long-acting antipsychotic formulations. Curr Psychiatry Rep. 2010 Aug; 12(4):276-8.. View in PubMed
• Ketamine modulates theta and gamma oscillations. J Cogn Neurosci. 2010 Jul; 22(7):1452-64.. View in PubMed
• Mouse model predicts effects of smoking and varenicline on event-related potentials in humans. Nicotine Tob Res. 2010 Jun; 12(6):589-97.. View in PubMed
• Psychiatric health care provider attitudes towards implantable medication. Psychiatry Res. 2010 May 15; 177(1-2):167-71.. View in PubMed
• A rapid method for creating drug implants: translating laboratory-based methods into a scalable manufacturing process. J Biomed Mater Res B Appl Biomater. 2010 May; 93(2):562-72.. View in PubMed
• Effects of the alpha4beta2 partial agonist varenicline on brain activity and working memory in abstinent smokers. Biol Psychiatry. 2010 Apr 15; 67(8):715-21.. View in PubMed
• Association of enhanced limbic response to threat with decreased cortical facial recognition memory response in schizophrenia. Am J Psychiatry. 2010 Apr; 167(4):418-26.. View in PubMed
• Neuregulin 1 transgenic mice display reduced mismatch negativity, contextual fear conditioning and social interactions. Brain Res. 2009 Oct 19; 1294:116-27.. View in PubMed
• Novel environment and GABA agonists alter event-related potentials in N-methyl-D-aspartate NR1 hypomorphic and wild-type mice. J Pharmacol Exp Ther. 2009 Oct; 331(1):308-18.. View in PubMed
• Predator odor modulates auditory event-related potentials in mice. Neuroreport. 2009 Sep 23; 20(14):1260-4.. View in PubMed
• Chronic ketamine impairs fear conditioning and produces long-lasting reductions in auditory evoked potentials. Neurobiol Dis. 2009 Aug; 35(2):311-7.. View in PubMed
• Role of beta2-containing nicotinic acetylcholine receptors in auditory event-related potentials. Psychopharmacology (Berl). 2009 Mar; 202(4):745-51.. View in PubMed
• Profile of auditory information-processing deficits in schizophrenia. Psychiatry Res. 2009 Jan 30; 165(1-2):27-37.. View in PubMed
• Male and female mice differ for baseline and nicotine-induced event related potentials. Behav Neurosci. 2008 Oct; 122(5):982-90.. View in PubMed
• Attitudes of patients and family members towards implantable psychiatric medication. Schizophr Res. 2008 Oct; 105(1-3):279-86.. View in PubMed
• Deviance-elicited changes in event-related potentials are attenuated by ketamine in mice. J Cogn Neurosci. 2008 Aug; 20(8):1403-14.. View in PubMed
• Constitutive activation of the G-protein subunit Galphas within forebrain neurons causes PKA-dependent alterations in fear conditioning and cortical Arc mRNA expression. Learn Mem. 2008 Feb; 15(2):75-83.. View in PubMed
• Controlling the in vitro release profiles for a system of haloperidol-loaded PLGA nanoparticles. Int J Pharm. 2008 Jan 04; 346(1-2):151-9.. View in PubMed
• Ketamine exposure in adult mice leads to increased cell death in C3H, DBA2 and FVB inbred mouse strains. Drug Alcohol Depend. 2008 Jan 01; 92(1-3):217-27.. View in PubMed
• Evaluation of in vitro release and in vivo efficacy of mPEG-PLA-haloperidol conjugate micelle-like structures. J Biomed Mater Res B Appl Biomater. 2007 Nov; 83(2):422-30.. View in PubMed
• PDE inhibitors in psychiatry–future options for dementia, depression and schizophrenia? Drug Discov Today. 2007 Oct; 12(19-20):870-8.. View in PubMed
• Translational research in medication development for nicotine dependence. Nat Rev Drug Discov. 2007 Sep; 6(9):746-62.. View in PubMed
• Visual attention circuitry in schizophrenia investigated with oddball event-related functional magnetic resonance imaging. Am J Psychiatry. 2007 Mar; 164(3):442-9.. View in PubMed
• Pharmacokinetic and behavioral characterization of a long-term antipsychotic delivery system in rodents and rabbits. Psychopharmacology (Berl). 2007 Feb; 190(2):201-11.. View in PubMed
• Effects of nicotine vary across two auditory evoked potentials in the mouse. Biol Psychiatry. 2007 Jan 01; 61(1):23-30.. View in PubMed
• Self-face recognition and theory of mind in patients with schizophrenia and first-degree relatives. Schizophr Res. 2006 Dec; 88(1-3):151-60.. View in PubMed
• Olfactory functioning in schizophrenia: relationship to clinical, neuropsychological, and volumetric MRI measures. J Clin Exp Neuropsychol. 2006 Nov; 28(8):1444-61.. View in PubMed
• Altered neuregulin 1-erbB4 signaling contributes to NMDA receptor hypofunction in schizophrenia. Nat Med. 2006 Jul; 12(7):824-8.. View in PubMed
• Corticosterone modulates auditory gating in mouse. Neuropsychopharmacology. 2006 May; 31(5):897-903.. View in PubMed
• Unirhinal olfactory function in schizophrenia patients and first-degree relatives. J Neuropsychiatry Clin Neurosci. 2006; 18(3):389-96.. View in PubMed
• Ketamine produces lasting disruptions in encoding of sensory stimuli. J Pharmacol Exp Ther. 2006 Jan; 316(1):315-24.. View in PubMed
• Levels-of-processing effect on frontotemporal function in schizophrenia during word encoding and recognition. Am J Psychiatry. 2005 Oct; 162(10):1840-8.. View in PubMed
• Patient and family attitudes toward schizophrenia treatment. Curr Psychiatry Rep. 2004 Aug; 6(4):283-8.. View in PubMed
• The effects of ketamine vary among inbred mouse strains and mimic schizophrenia for the P80, but not P20 or N40 auditory ERP components. Neurochem Res. 2004 Jun; 29(6):1179-88.. View in PubMed
• Patient attitudes towards surgically implantable, long-term delivery of psychiatric medicine. Neuropsychopharmacology. 2004 May; 29(5):960-8.. View in PubMed
• Dysbindin-1 is reduced in intrinsic, glutamatergic terminals of the hippocampal formation in schizophrenia. J Clin Invest. 2004 May; 113(9):1353-63.. View in PubMed
• Effects of chronic olanzapine and haloperidol differ on the mouse N1 auditory evoked potential. Neuropsychopharmacology. 2004 Apr; 29(4):739-46.. View in PubMed
• Symptom and demographic profiles in first-episode schizophrenia. Schizophr Res. 2004 Apr 01; 67(2-3):185-94.. View in PubMed
• Sensorimotor gating deficits in transgenic mice expressing a constitutively active form of Gs alpha. Neuropsychopharmacology. 2004 Mar; 29(3):494-501.. View in PubMed
• A sexually dimorphic ratio of orbitofrontal to amygdala volume is altered in schizophrenia. Biol Psychiatry. 2004 Mar 01; 55(5):512-7.. View in PubMed
• Levels-of-processing effect on word recognition in schizophrenia. Biol Psychiatry. 2003 Dec 01; 54(11):1154-61.. View in PubMed
• Inhibition of auditory evoked potentials and prepulse inhibition of startle in DBA/2J and DBA/2Hsd inbred mouse substrains. Brain Res. 2003 Nov 28; 992(1):85-95.. View in PubMed
• Neurocognitive performance and clinical changes in olanzapine-treated patients with schizophrenia. Neuropsychopharmacology. 2003 Nov; 28(11):2029-36.. View in PubMed
• Facial emotion recognition in schizophrenia: intensity effects and error pattern. Am J Psychiatry. 2003 Oct; 160(10):1768-74.. View in PubMed
• Effects of strain, novelty, and NMDA blockade on auditory-evoked potentials in mice. Neuropsychopharmacology. 2003 Apr; 28(4):675-82.. View in PubMed
• Surgically implantable long-term antipsychotic delivery systems for the treatment of schizophrenia. Neuropsychopharmacology. 2002 Jun; 26(6):817-23.. View in PubMed

• Featherstone, Robert
• Thompson, Paul