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Venkat Bhat

MD MSc FRCPC DABPN

Investigator

Email: venkat.bhat@unityhealth.to
Tel: 416-360-4000 x76404

Research Programs

Biography

Dr. Bhat is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Toronto. He is currently a staff psychiatrist based at two Depression Centres: The Centre for Depression and Suicide Studies at St. Michael’s Hospital and the Poul Hansen Depression Centre at Toronto Western Hospital. At St. Michael’s Hospital, he is the Director of the Interventional Psychiatry Program which offers novel psychopharmacological (e.g. IV ketamine/other anesthetic agents), neurostimulation (e.g. rTMS, ECT, emerging neurostimulation modalities) and digital therapeutic (mobile-based monitoring and interventions) interventions for Mood and other Disorders. At Toronto Western Hospital, he has a focus on invasive neurostimulation (Deep Brain Stimulation and Invasive Brain Mapping) and is currently leading a study comparing ECT to IV Ketamine for Treatment-resistant Depression. Dr. Bhat collaborates closely with anesthesia, imaging, informatics, neurology and neurosurgery to offer emerging and procedural interventions for psychiatric disorders, his research program aims to understand treatment-response with these emerging interventions.

Recent Publications

  1. Baltazar, VA, Demchenko, I, Tassone, VK, Sousa-Ho, RL, Schweizer, TA, Bhat, V et al.. Brain-based correlates of depression and traumatic brain injury: a systematic review of structural and functional magnetic resonance imaging studies. Front Neuroimaging. 2024;3 :1465612. doi: 10.3389/fnimg.2024.1465612. PubMed PMID:39563730 PubMed Central PMC11573519.
  2. Meshkat, S, Tassone, VK, Dunnett, S, Pang, H, Wu, M, Boparai, JK et al.. Gender differences in the relationship between depressive symptoms and diabetes associated with cognitive-affective symptoms. BJPsych Open. 2024;10 (6):e192. doi: 10.1192/bjo.2024.764. PubMed PMID:39497465 .
  3. Teferra, BG, Rueda, A, Pang, H, Valenzano, R, Samavi, R, Krishnan, S et al.. Screening for Depression Using Natural Language Processing: Literature Review. Interact J Med Res. 2024;13 :e55067. doi: 10.2196/55067. PubMed PMID:39496145 PubMed Central PMC11574504.
  4. Meshkat, S, Tello-Gerez, TJ, Gholaminezhad, F, Dunkley, BT, Reichelt, AC, Erritzoe, D et al.. Impact of psilocybin on cognitive function: A systematic review. Psychiatry Clin Neurosci. 2024; :. doi: 10.1111/pcn.13741. PubMed PMID:39354706 .
  5. Demchenko, I, Rampersad, S, Datta, A, Horn, A, Churchill, NW, Kennedy, SH et al.. Target engagement of the subgenual anterior cingulate cortex with transcranial temporal interference stimulation in major depressive disorder: a protocol for a randomized sham-controlled trial. Front Neurosci. 2024;18 :1390250. doi: 10.3389/fnins.2024.1390250. PubMed PMID:39268031 PubMed Central PMC11390435.
  6. Gholamali Nezhad, F, Martin, J, Tassone, VK, Swiderski, A, Demchenko, I, Khan, S et al.. Transcranial alternating current stimulation for neuropsychiatric disorders: a systematic review of treatment parameters and outcomes. Front Psychiatry. 2024;15 :1419243. doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2024.1419243. PubMed PMID:39211537 PubMed Central PMC11360874.
  7. Meshkat, S, Wu, M, Tassone, VK, Janssen-Aguilar, R, Pang, H, Jung, H et al.. Increased Odds of Cognitive Impairment in Adults with Depressive Symptoms and Antidepressant Use. Pharmacopsychiatry. 2024; :. doi: 10.1055/a-2381-2061. PubMed PMID:39178840 .
  8. Meshkat, S, Edalatkhah, M, Di Luciano, C, Martin, J, Kaur, G, Hee Lee, G et al.. Virtual Reality and Stress Management: A Systematic Review. Cureus. 2024;16 (7):e64573. doi: 10.7759/cureus.64573. PubMed PMID:39144853 PubMed Central PMC11323791.
  9. Martin, J, Gholamali Nezhad, F, Rueda, A, Lee, GH, Charlton, CE, Soltanzadeh, M et al.. Predicting treatment response to ketamine in treatment-resistant depression using auditory mismatch negativity: Study protocol. PLoS One. 2024;19 (8):e0308413. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0308413. PubMed PMID:39116153 PubMed Central PMC11309493.
  10. Boparai, JK, Dunnett, S, Wu, M, Tassone, VK, Duffy, SF, Zuluaga Cuartas, V et al.. The Association Between Depressive Symptoms and the Weekly Duration of Physical Activity Subset by Intensity and Domain: Population-Based, Cross-Sectional Analysis of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey From 2007 to 2018. Interact J Med Res. 2024;13 :e48396. doi: 10.2196/48396. PubMed PMID:38968593 PubMed Central PMC11259767.
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Affiliations & Other Activities

  • Associate Scientist, LKSKI & KRCBS (core affiliation)
  • Director, Interventional Psychiatry Program, St. Michael’s Hospital (other affiliation)
  • Clinician Investigator, Krembil Research Institute, University Health Network (other affiliation)
  • Assistant Professor, Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto (other affiliation)