Andrew Leuchter, M.D.

Edit your Faculty Profile

A Short Biography:

Andrew F. Leuchter, MD, is a Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Science, Director of the Neuromodulation Division, and a Senior Research Scientist at the Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior at UCLA. A graduate of Stanford University, Dr. Leuchter earned his medical degree from Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas. He joined the UCLA faculty in 1986. An internationally recognized expert on the treatment of mood disorders, Dr. Leuchter’s research focuses on the enhancement of treatment outcomes in depression. He directs the Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) Service in the Division, which performs more than 2,500 treatments each year for patients with depression, pain, and other neuropsychiatric illness. He is leading clinical trials to develop novel neuromodulation technologies for treatment of depression and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), including synchronized Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (sTMS) and Trigeminal Nerve Stimulation (TNS). He uses brain-imaging techniques, such as quantitative electroencephalography (qEEG), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and positron emission tomography (PET), to examine brain function and predict which treatments are most likely to benefit individual patients. Dr. Leuchter’s research program combines clinical trials with neurophysiologic and brain-imaging studies to inform clinical practice in the treatment of depression. As a Board certified electroencephalographer, he has unique expertise in development of biomarkers and has shown that brain oscillation patterns can be used to determine highly beneficial and individualized treatment. Dr. Leuchter is a Diplomat of the American Board of Electroencephalography and Neurophysiology and a Diplomat in Psychiatry and Neurology with Added Qualifications in Geriatric Psychiatry. He is a member of several professional organizations, including the American Psychiatric Association, American Psychiatric Electrophysiology Association, and the American Medical EEG Association. He has authored over 150 scientific articles on topics including neuromodulation for the treatment of depression, biomarkers to guide treatment of neuropsychiatric illness, and theories of antidepressant action. He also maintains an active clinical practice, specializing in consultation for and care of patients suffering from treatment-resistant depression.
Work Titles
UCLA Director, Consultation and Evaluation Service Director, Quantitative Electroencephalography (QEEG) Laboratory Professor, Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences Member, Adult Psychiatry Member, Brain Research Institute Member, Neuroscience GPB Home Area
Education:
Degrees:
M.D., Baylor College of Medicine, 1980
Fellowship:
1984 - 1986 UCLA Neuropsychiatric Hospital
Internship:
1980 - 1981 UCLA School of Medicine
Residency:
1981 - 1984 UCLA Neuropsychiatric Hospital
Certifications:
Certifications:
1991 American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology
1986 American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology

Contact Information:

Email Address:

afl@ucla.edu


Website:

Web-Profile
Department Page

Mailing Address:

UCLA Semel
760 Westwood Plaza, Room 37-452
Los Angeles, CA 90095


Publications:

A selected list of publications:

Leuchter Andrew F, Hunter Aimee M, Tartter Molly, Cook Ian A   Authors' reply The British journal of psychiatry : the journal of mental science, 2015; 207(6): 561-2.
Hunter Aimee M, Cook Ian A, Tartter Molly, Sharma Simi K, Disse Gregory D, Leuchter Andrew F   Antidepressant treatment history and drug-placebo separation in a placebo-controlled trial in major depressive disorder Psychopharmacology, 2015; 232(20): 3833-40.
Leuchter Andrew F, Cook Ian A, Feifel David, Goethe John W, Husain Mustafa, Carpenter Linda L, Thase Michael E, Krystal Andrew D, Philip Noah S, Bhati Mahendra T, Burke William J, Howland Robert H, Sheline Yvette I, Aaronson Scott T, Iosifescu Dan V, O'Reardon John P, Gilmer William S, Jain Rakesh, Burgoyne Karl S, Phillips Bill, Manberg Paul J, Massaro Joseph, Hunter Aimee M, Lisanby Sarah H, George Mark S   Efficacy and Safety of Low-field Synchronized Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (sTMS) for Treatment of Major Depression Brain stimulation, 2015; 8(4): 787-94.
McGough James J, Loo Sandra K, Sturm Alexandra, Cowen Jennifer, Leuchter Andrew F, Cook Ian A   An eight-week, open-trial, pilot feasibility study of trigeminal nerve stimulation in youth with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder Brain stimulation, 2015; 8(2): 299-304.
Leuchter Andrew F, Hunter Aimee M, Krantz David E, Cook Ian A   Rhythms and blues: modulation of oscillatory synchrony and the mechanism of action of antidepressant treatments Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 2015; 1344(4): 78-91.
Leuchter Andrew F, Hunter Aimee M, Krantz David E, Cook Ian A   Intermediate phenotypes and biomarkers of treatment outcome in major depressive disorder Dialogues in clinical neuroscience, 2014; 16(4): 525-37.
Leuchter Andrew F, Hunter Aimee M, Tartter Molly, Cook Ian A   Role of pill-taking, expectation and therapeutic alliance in the placebo response in clinical trials for major depression The British journal of psychiatry : the journal of mental science, 2014; 205(6): 443-9.
Cook Ian A, Espinoza Randall, Leuchter Andrew F   Neuromodulation for depression: invasive and noninvasive (deep brain stimulation, transcranial magnetic stimulation, trigeminal nerve stimulation) Neurosurgery clinics of North America, 2014; 25(1): 103-16.
Cook Ian A, Schrader Lara M, Degiorgio Christopher M, Miller Patrick R, Maremont Eve R, Leuchter Andrew F   Trigeminal nerve stimulation in major depressive disorder: acute outcomes in an open pilot study Epilepsy & behavior : E&B, 2013; 28(2): 221-6.
Hunter Aimee M, Korb Alexander S, Cook Ian A, Leuchter Andrew F   Rostral anterior cingulate activity in major depressive disorder: state or trait marker of responsiveness to medication? The Journal of neuropsychiatry and clinical neurosciences, 2013; 25(2): 126-33.
Leuchter Andrew F, Cook Ian A, Jin Yi, Phillips Bill   The relationship between brain oscillatory activity and therapeutic effectiveness of transcranial magnetic stimulation in the treatment of major depressive disorder Frontiers in human neuroscience, 2013; 7(2): 37.
Hunter Aimee M, Cook Ian A, Leuchter Andrew F   Does prior antidepressant treatment of major depression impact brain function during current treatment? European neuropsychopharmacology : the journal of the European College of Neuropsychopharmacology, 2012; .
Kerber Kevin Brian, Wisniewski Stephen R, Luther James F, Leuchter Andrew F, D'Empaire Inna, Trivedi Madhukar H, Rush A John   Effects of heart disease on depression treatment: results from the COMED study General hospital psychiatry, 2012; 34(1): 24-34.
Leuchter Andrew F, Cook Ian A, Hunter Aimee M, Cai Chaochao, Horvath Steve   Resting-state quantitative electroencephalography reveals increased neurophysiologic connectivity in depression PloS one, 2012; 7(2): e32508.
Hunter Aimee M, Cook Ian A, Greenwald Scott D, Tran Melody L, Miyamoto Kate N, Leuchter Andrew F   The antidepressant treatment response index and treatment outcomes in a placebo-controlled trial of fluoxetine Journal of clinical neurophysiology : official publication of the American Electroencephalographic Society, 2011; 28(5): 478-82.
Korb Alexander S, Hunter Aimee M, Cook Ian A, Leuchter Andrew F   Rostral anterior cingulate cortex activity and early symptom improvement during treatment for major depressive disorder Psychiatry research, 2011; 192(3): 188-94.
Muthén Bengt, Asparouhov Tihomir, Hunter Aimee M, Leuchter Andrew F   Growth modeling with nonignorable dropout: alternative analyses of the STAR*D antidepressant trial Psychological methods, 2011; 16(1): 17-33.
Leuchter Andrew F, Cook Ian A, Hamilton Steven P, Narr Katherine L, Toga Arthur, Hunter Aimee M, Faull Kym, Whitelegge Julian, Andrews Anne M, Loo Joseph, Way Baldwin, Nelson Stanley F, Horvath Steven, Lebowitz Barry D   Biomarkers to predict antidepressant response Current psychiatry reports, 2010; 12(6): 553-62.
Hunter Aimee M, Cook Ian A, Leuchter Andrew F   Impact of antidepressant treatment history on clinical outcomes in placebo and medication treatment of major depression Journal of clinical psychopharmacology, 2010; 30(6): 748-51.
Hunter Aimee, Bordelon Yvette, Cook Ian, Leuchter Andrew   QEEG Measures in Huntington's Disease: A Pilot Study PLoS currents, 2010; 2(6): RRN1192.
Warden Diane, Trivedi Madhukar H, Wisniewski Stephen R, Kurian Benji, Zisook Sidney, Kornstein Susan G, Friedman Edward S, Miyahara Sachiko, Leuchter Andrew F, Fava Maurizio, Rush A John   Early adverse events and attrition in selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor treatment: a suicide assessment methodology study report Journal of clinical psychopharmacology, 2010; 30(3): 259-66.
Kobak Kenneth A, Leuchter Andrew, DeBrota David, Engelhardt Nina, Williams Janet B W, Cook Ian A, Leon Andrew C, Alpert Jonathan   Site versus centralized raters in a clinical depression trial: impact on patient selection and placebo response Journal of clinical psychopharmacology, 2010; 30(2): 193-7.
Farahbod Haleh, Cook Ian A, Korb Alexander S, Hunter Aimee M, Leuchter Andrew F   Amygdala lateralization at rest and during viewing of neutral faces in major depressive disorder using low-resolution brain electromagnetic tomography Clinical EEG and neuroscience : official journal of the EEG and Clinical Neuroscience Society (ENCS), 2010; 41(1): 19-23.
Hunter Aimee M, Muthén Bengt O, Cook Ian A, Leuchter Andrew F   Antidepressant response trajectories and quantitative electroencephalography (QEEG) biomarkers in major depressive disorder Journal of psychiatric research, 2010; 44(2): 90-8.
Cook Ian A, Hunter Aimee M, Abrams Michelle, Siegman Barbara, Leuchter Andrew F   Midline and right frontal brain function as a physiologic biomarker of remission in major depression Psychiatry research, 2009; 174(2): 152-7.
Leuchter Andrew F, Cook Ian A, Marangell Lauren B, Gilmer William S, Burgoyne Karl S, Howland Robert H, Trivedi Madhukar H, Zisook Sidney, Jain Rakesh, McCracken James T, Fava Maurizio, Iosifescu Dan, Greenwald Scott   Comparative effectiveness of biomarkers and clinical indicators for predicting outcomes of SSRI treatment in Major Depressive Disorder: results of the BRITE-MD study Psychiatry research, 2009; 169(2): 124-31.
Leuchter Andrew F, Cook Ian A, Gilmer William S, Marangell Lauren B, Burgoyne Karl S, Howland Robert H, Trivedi Madhukar H, Zisook Sidney, Jain Rakesh, Fava Maurizio, Iosifescu Dan, Greenwald Scott   Effectiveness of a quantitative electroencephalographic biomarker for predicting differential response or remission with escitalopram and bupropion in major depressive disorder Psychiatry research, 2009; 169(2): 132-8.
Leuchter Andrew F, McCracken James T, Hunter Aimee M, Cook Ian A, Alpert Jonathan E   Monoamine oxidase a and catechol-o-methyltransferase functional polymorphisms and the placebo response in major depressive disorder Journal of clinical psychopharmacology, 2009; 29(4): 372-7.
Hunter Aimee M, Leuchter Andrew F, Cook Ian A, Abrams Michelle, Siegman Barbara E, Furst Daniel E, Chappell Amy S   Brain functional changes and duloxetine treatment response in fibromyalgia: a pilot study Pain medicine (Malden, Mass.), 2009; 10(4): 730-8.
Kalechstein Ari D, De la Garza Richard, Newton Thomas F, Green Michael F, Cook Ian A, Leuchter Andrew F   Quantitative EEG abnormalities are associated with memory impairment in recently abstinent methamphetamine-dependent individuals The Journal of neuropsychiatry and clinical neurosciences, 2009; 21(3): 254-8.
Korb Alexander S, Hunter Aimee M, Cook Ian A, Leuchter Andrew F   Rostral anterior cingulate cortex theta current density and response to antidepressants and placebo in major depression Clinical neurophysiology : official journal of the International Federation of Clinical Neurophysiology, 2009; 120(7): 1313-9.
Leuchter Andrew F, Cook Ian A, Hunter Aimee M, Korb Alexander S   A new paradigm for the prediction of antidepressant treatment response Dialogues in clinical neuroscience, 2009; 11(4): 435-46.
Leuchter Andrew F, Cook Ian A, Hunter Aimee, Korb Alex   Use of clinical neurophysiology for the selection of medication in the treatment of major depressive disorder: the state of the evidence Clinical EEG and neuroscience : official journal of the EEG and Clinical Neuroscience Society (ENCS), 2009; 40(2): 78-83.
Korb Alexander S, Cook Ian A, Hunter Aimee M, Leuchter Andrew F   Brain electrical source differences between depressed subjects and healthy controls Brain topography, 2008; 21(2): 138-46.
Leuchter Andrew F, Cook Ian A, DeBrota David J, Hunter Aimee M, Potter William Z, McGrouther Caroline C, Morgan Melinda L, Abrams Michelle, Siegman Barbara   Changes in brain function during administration of venlafaxine or placebo to normal subjects Clinical EEG and neuroscience : official journal of the EEG and Clinical Neuroscience Society (ENCS), 2008; 39(4): 175-81.
Leuchter Andrew F, Lesser Ira M, Trivedi Madhukar H, Rush A John, Morris David W, Warden Diane, Fava Maurizio, Wisniewski Stephen R, Luther James F, Perales Mercedes, Gaynes Bradley N, Stewart Jonathan W   An open pilot study of the combination of escitalopram and bupropion-SR for outpatients with major depressive disorder Journal of psychiatric practice, 2008; 14(5): 271-80.
Fava Maurizio, Rush A John, Alpert Jonathan E, Balasubramani G K, Wisniewski Stephen R, Carmin Cheryl N, Biggs Melanie M, Zisook Sidney, Leuchter Andrew, Howland Robert, Warden Diane, Trivedi Madhukar H   Difference in treatment outcome in outpatients with anxious versus nonanxious depression: a STAR*D report The American journal of psychiatry, 2008; 165(3): 342-51.
Shapiro David, Cook Ian A, Davydov Dmitry M, Ottaviani Cristina, Leuchter Andrew F, Abrams Michelle   Yoga as a Complementary Treatment of Depression: Effects of Traits and Moods on Treatment Outcome Evidence-based complementary and alternative medicine : eCAM, 2007; 4(4): 493-502.
Lesser Ira M, Leuchter Andrew F, Trivedi Madhukar H, Davis Lori L, Wisniewski Stephen R, Balasubramani G K, Fava Maurizio, Rush A John   Insured and non-insured depressed outpatients: how do they compare? Annals of clinical psychiatry : official journal of the American Academy of Clinical Psychiatrists, 2007; 19(2): 73-82.
Leuchter Andrew, Levey Gerald S   Need to strike balance with industry-academia rules Nature, 2007; 449(7163): 658.
Cook Ian A, Bookheimer Susan Y, Mickes Laura, Leuchter Andrew F, Kumar Anand   Aging and brain activation with working memory tasks: an fMRI study of connectivity International journal of geriatric psychiatry, 2007; 22(4): 332-42.
Hunter Aimee M, Cook Ian A, Leuchter Andrew F   The promise of the quantitative electroencephalogram as a predictor of antidepressant treatment outcomes in major depressive disorder The Psychiatric clinics of North America, 2007; 30(1): 105-24.
Claassen Cynthia A, Trivedi Madhukar H, Rush A John, Husain Mustafa M, Zisook Sidney, Young Elizabeth, Leuchter Andrew, Wisniewski Stephen R, Balasubramani G K, Alpert Jonathan   Clinical differences among depressed patients with and without a history of suicide attempts: findings from the STAR*D trial Journal of affective disorders, 2007; 97(1-3): 77-84.
Morgan Melinda L, Cook Ian A, Rapkin Andrea J, Leuchter Andrew F   Neurophysiologic changes during estrogen augmentation in perimenopausal depression Maturitas, 2007; 56(1): 54-60.
Hunter Aimee M, Leuchter Andrew F, Morgan Melinda L, Cook Ian A   Changes in brain function (quantitative EEG cordance) during placebo lead-in and treatment outcomes in clinical trials for major depression The American journal of psychiatry, 2006; 163(8): 1426-32.
Moses Tally, Leuchter Andrew F, Cook Ian, Abrams Michelle   Does the clinical course of depression determine improvement in symptoms and quality of life? The Journal of nervous and mental disease, 2006; 194(4): 241-8.
Venneman Sandy, Leuchter Andrew, Bartzokis George, Beckson Mace, Simon Sara L, Schaefer Melodie, Rawson Richard, Newton Tom, Cook Ian A, Uijtdehaage Sebastian, Ling Walter   Variation in neurophysiological function and evidence of quantitative electroencephalogram discordance: predicting cocaine-dependent treatment attrition The Journal of neuropsychiatry and clinical neurosciences, 2006; 18(2): 208-16.
Cook Ian A, Leuchter Andrew F, Morgan Melinda L, Stubbeman William, Siegman Barbara, Abrams Michelle   Changes in prefrontal activity characterize clinical response in SSRI nonresponders: a pilot study Journal of psychiatric research, 2005; 39(5): 461-6.
Krell Heather V, Leuchter Andrew F, Cook Ian A, Abrams Michelle   Evaluation of reboxetine, a noradrenergic antidepressant, for the treatment of fibromyalgia and chronic low back pain Psychosomatics, 2005; 46(5): 379-84.
Lesser Ira M, Leuchter Andrew F, Trivedi Madhukar H, Davis Lori L, Wisniewski Stephen R, Balasubramani G K, Petersen Timothy, Stegman Diane, Rush A John   Characteristics of insured and noninsured outpatients with depression in STAR(*)D Psychiatric services (Washington, D.C.), 2005; 56(8): 995-1004.
Morgan Melinda L, Cook Ian A, Rapkin Andrea J, Leuchter Andrew F   Estrogen augmentation of antidepressants in perimenopausal depression: a pilot study The Journal of clinical psychiatry, 2005; 66(6): 774-80.
Morgan Melinda L, Witte Elise A, Cook Ian A, Leuchter Andrew F, Abrams Michelle, Siegman Barbara   Influence of age, gender, health status, and depression on quantitative EEG Neuropsychobiology, 2005; 52(2): 71-6.
Hunter Aimee M, Leuchter Andrew F, Morgan Melinda L, Cook Ian A, Abrams Michelle, Siegman Barbara, DeBrota David J, Potter William Z   Neurophysiologic correlates of side effects in normal subjects randomized to venlafaxine or placebo Neuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology, 2005; 30(4): 792-9.
Leuchter Andrew F, Morgan Melinda, Cook Ian A, Dunkin Jennifer, Abrams Michelle, Witte Elise   Pretreatment neurophysiological and clinical characteristics of placebo responders in treatment trials for major depression Psychopharmacology, 2004; 177(1-2): 15-22.
Stubbeman William F, Leuchter Andrew F, Cook Ian A, Shurman Brett D, Morgan Melinda, Gunay Ibrahim, Gonzalez Sergio   Pretreatment neurophysiologic function and ECT response in depression The journal of ECT, 2004; 20(3): 142-4.
Krell Heather V, Leuchter Andrew F, Morgan Melinda, Cook Ian A, Abrams Michelle   Subject expectations of treatment effectiveness and outcome of treatment with an experimental antidepressant The Journal of clinical psychiatry, 2004; 65(9): 1174-9.
Cook Ian A, Leuchter Andrew F, Morgan Melinda L, Dunkin Jennifer J, Witte Elise, David Steven, Mickes Laura, O'Hara Ruth, Simon Sara, Lufkin Robert, Abrams Michelle, Rosenberg Susan   Longitudinal progression of subclinical structural brain disease in normal aging The American journal of geriatric psychiatry : official journal of the American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry, 2004; 12(2): 190-200.
Marie-Mitchell Ariane, Leuchter Andrew F, Chou Chih-Ping, James Gauderman W, Azen Stanley P   Predictors of improved mood over time in clinical trials for major depression Psychiatry research, 2004; 127(1-2): 73-84.
Newton Thomas F, Kalechstein Ari D, Hardy David J, Cook Ian A, Nestor Liam, Ling Walter, Leuchter Andrew F   Association between quantitative EEG and neurocognition in methamphetamine-dependent volunteers Clinical neurophysiology : official journal of the International Federation of Clinical Neurophysiology, 2004; 115(1): 194-8.
Newton Thomas F, Cook Ian A, Kalechstein Ari D, Duran Sonia, Monroy Franz, Ling Walter, Leuchter Andrew F   Quantitative EEG abnormalities in recently abstinent methamphetamine dependent individuals Clinical neurophysiology : official journal of the International Federation of Clinical Neurophysiology, 2003; 114(3): 410-5.
Cook Ian A, Leuchter Andrew F, Morgan Melinda L, Conlee Elise Witte, David Steven, Lufkin Robert, Babaie Ashkan, Dunkin Jennifer J, O'Hara Ruth, Simon Sara, Lightner Amy, Thomas Susan, Broumandi David, Badjatia Neeraj, Mickes Laura, Mody Rajal K, Arora Sanjaya, Zheng Zimu, Abrams Michelle, Rosenberg-Thompson Susan   Cognitive and physiologic correlates of subclinical structural brain disease in elderly healthy control subjects Archives of neurology, 2002; 59(10): 1612-20.
Cook Ian A, Leuchter Andrew F, Morgan Melinda, Witte Elise, Stubbeman William F, Abrams Michelle, Rosenberg Susan, Uijtdehaage Sebastian H J   Early changes in prefrontal activity characterize clinical responders to antidepressants Neuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology, 2002; 27(1): 120-31.
Cook Ian A, Morgan Melinda L, Dunkin Jennifer J, David Steven, Witte Elise, Lufkin Robert, Abrams Michelle, Rosenberg Susan, Leuchter Andrew F   Estrogen replacement therapy is associated with less progression of subclinical structural brain disease in normal elderly women: a pilot study International journal of geriatric psychiatry, 2002; 17(7): 610-8.
Leuchter Andrew F, Cook Ian A, Witte Elise A, Morgan Melinda, Abrams Michelle   Changes in brain function of depressed subjects during treatment with placebo The American journal of psychiatry, 2002; 159(1): 122-9.

Does this profile need updating? Contact Us