The Horga Lab at Columbia University Department of Psychiatry

11/22/2019

“Researchers have found that people with schizophrenia who experience auditory hallucinations tend to hear what they expect, an exaggerated version of a perceptual distortion that is common among other people without hallucinations.” Dr. Horga is among the authors on this research. Read more at this link: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/02/180216142646.htm

11/15/2019

“Symptoms of Schizophrenia usually start between ages 16 and 30” - NIMH

11/06/2019

The National Institute of Mental Health says: “Schizophrenia is a chronic and severe mental disorder that affects how a person thinks, feels, and behaves. People with schizophrenia may seem like they have lost touch with reality.” If you are struggling from schizophrenia, or know someone who is, contact us today.

10/08/2019

Mayo Clinic defines psychosis as: “A mental disorder characterized by a disconnection from reality.

Psychosis may occur as a result of a psychiatric illness like schizophrenia. In other instances, it may be caused by a health condition, medications, or drug use.”

If you are experiencing these symptoms be sure to reach out to a licensed mental health care provider.

09/27/2019

Check out a great press release on Columbia Psychiatry’s website on an article published by Dr. Horga’s team: https://www.columbiapsychiatry.org/news/delusions-may-stem-sticky-beliefs-study-finds

Read the full article here, on Brain’s site: https://academic.oup.com/brain/advance-article/doi/10.1093/brain/awz051/5400582 @ Columbia Psychiatry

09/20/2019

“Hallucinated voices can be helpful life guides, muses of creativity, and powerful agents for healing the fractured self” - Shruti Ravindran.

Check out this great article about hallucinated voices by at this link: https://aeon.co/essays/should-hallucinatory-voices-be-ignored-or-befriended

As mentioned in the article, The Hearing Voices Groups are self-help, social groups meant to aid individuals suffering from hallucinations. There are several chapters in NYC (Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens) If you are interested in participating check out this link: hearingvoicesnyc.org @ Columbia Psychiatry

09/17/2019

The Horga Lab went on a wonderful hike this past weekend! A little fresh air always helps when working on research 😉🌳🍂

09/10/2019

September is National Su***de Prevention Awareness month!
* If you are in crisis call: 1-800-273 TALK (8255)
* Learn more at the link below:
https://www.nami.org/get-involved/awareness-events/suicide-prevention-awareness-month @ Columbia Psychiatry

05/16/2019

05/02/2019

Each year millions of Americans face the reality of living with a mental illness. During May, NAMI and the rest of the country are raising awareness of mental health. Each year we fight stigma, provide support, educate the public and advocate for policies that support people with mental illness and their families. Check out this link to learn more: https://www.nami.org/mentalhealthmonth

04/23/2019

Please meet the newest member of The Horga Lab, Dr. Andra Mihali. Andra is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the Horga Lab. She aims to combine methods such as: psychophysics, eye tracking and computational modeling with neural measures of dopamine function to better understand psychosis and inform individualized treatment. Her project focuses on developing psychophysical markers to quantify perceptual distortions and understand how people make use of and update beliefs about the reliability of their sensory information.

04/18/2019

“From an early age, children learn to talk to themselves. That voice in your head is the thing that makes you, you.” Read more about the development of your inner voice via this link: https://aeon.co/essays/our-inner-narrator-gives-us-continuity-and-a-sense-of-self

03/19/2019

The Horga Lab is now starting to recruit for a new brain imaging study!! We are looking for those with a diagnosis of schizophrenia and also healthy controls to participate in our study. Please contact Sylvie Messer for inquiries.

02/19/2019

Fast schizophrenia facts # 7 - “To be diagnosed with schizophrenia, a patient must have psychotic symptoms for at least six months and show increasing difficulty in functioning normally” -

02/12/2019

Can hallucinations lead to post-traumatic growth? “A research team from Hull University and associated NHS trusts in the UK suggest that, among the tumult, hallucinations can also offer opportunities for growth” - Aeon Read the Whole article at this link: https://aeon.co/ideas/can-hallucinations-lead-to-post-traumatic-growth @ Columbia Psychiatry

02/04/2019

Happy Monday from The Horga Lab! Here is another fast schizophrenia fact (as defined by the World Health Organization): “Hallucinations: hearing, seeing or feeling things that are not there.” -

01/26/2019

01/22/2019

Please meet the newest member of the Horga Lab, Dr. Kenneth Wengler! Ken is a postdoctoral research fellow focusing on the development of neuromelanin-sensitive MRI in order to study psychiatric disorders, like schizophrenia.