Department of Psychiatry


June 28, 2018

Study Shows UAMS Device Can Help Assess Fetal Health after Opioid Exposure

Ben Boulden

Hari Eswaran, Ph.D., Jessica Coker, M.D., center, and Diana Escalona-Vargas, Ph.D., stand next to the SARA imaging device. They completed a pilot study that determined the SARA can be used to assess the health of fetuses exposed buprenorphine.

June 28, 2018 | A biomagnetic technique developed at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) can be used to assess the brain and heart health of third-trimester fetuses exposed to opioids, UAMS researchers showed in a recent pilot study. The study was published online this month in the medical journal Addiction, authored by…


August 16, 2017

UAMS Study Finds Day-Supply of Prescribed Opioids Most Decisive Factor in Likelihood of Long-Term Use

Ben Boulden

Aug. 16, 2017 | The single biggest factor determining whether a patient is likely to use opioids long term may be the number of days’ supply initially prescribed, according to a study by UAMS researchers. “Compared to someone prescribed two days versus seven days, that person with a seven-day supply is twice as likely to…


March 27, 2017

UAMS Study Finds Opioid Supply of Three Days or Less Reduces Likelihood of Chronic Opioid Use

Ben Boulden

March 27, 2017 | By prescribing for a patient an opioid supply of three days or less, a health care professional can reduce the likelihood of a patient’s chronic opioid use one to three years later, according to University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) research. In a report published online March 17 in the Centers…


January 11, 2017

Relationship Expert Wakefield to Head Couples Center at UAMS

Ben Boulden

Jan. 11, 2017 | A nationally recognized expert in the field of couples therapy has joined the faculty of the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) to establish a program designed to treat those with issues related to interpersonal relationships. Chelsea Wakefield, Ph.D., L.C.S.W., is an assistant professor in the UAMS College of Medicine’s Department…


February 11, 2015

Physician Wins Postpartum Research Award

Ben Boulden

LITTLE ROCK – Shona Ray-Griffith, M.D., an assistant professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) has been awarded the 2015 Susan A. Hickman Memorial Research Award by Postpartum Support International (PSI).