I am a neuroscientist and consultant neuroradiologist with an interest in understanding the disease course of major depression and anxiety disorders

Olga Therese Ousdal, MD PhD, is a consultant radiologist (20%) at Department of Radiology, Haukeland University Hospital, and an associate professor (100%) at Department of Biomedicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Bergen. 

Mental disorders are dynamic disorders, where the type and degree of symptoms may vary over the disease course. I am interested in understanding the various disease transitions, including the transition from premorbid to active disease, from active disease to remission (following treatment) and from remission to relapse. I use my expertise in radiology in combination with clinical and multiomic data to address my research questions. 

Currently, I am leading the neuroimaging work packages at Center for Research on Neurostimulation treatments (UiB) https://www.uib.no/k1/163177/forskergruppe-nevrostimulerende-behandling-og-hjerneavbildning and The Bergen Center for Brain Plasticity (Helse Bergen/UiB) https://helse-bergen.no/en/bergen-center-for-brain-plasticity. I am also affiliated with the Neurotargeting group at Department of Biomedicine, UiB. https://www.uib.no/en/rg/neurotarg. 

Research awards:

Ousdal´s work has gained both national and international attention, and she is the recipient of the Marie Spångberg Award 2020 by the Norwegian Medical Association, the Falch Junior Award 2022 by The Faculty of Medicine, UiB  and the Young Scientist award 2022 by the Western Norway Regional Health Authority

For an overview of recent publications, please see Google scholar:

https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=opHslbAAAAAJ&hl=no

Students interested in pursuing a MS, MD with a research track or PhD within these areas of research are encouraged to contact me.

My research has been featured in local, national and international media:

• Bergens Tidende: https://www.bt.no/nyheter/innenriks/i/1q4BM/skanner-hodene-til-utoeya-ungdom
• TV2 news: https://www.tv2.no/a/13640828/,
• PsyPost: https://www.psypost.org/2018/01/study-terror-attack-survivors-suggests-trauma-can-long-term-influences-make-decisions-50645
• Dagens Medisin: https://www.dagensmedisin.no/artikler/2019/10/02/ny-elektrosjokk-forskning-forkaster-tidligere-teori/,
• Forskning.no: https://forskning.no/hjernen-psykiske-lidelser/elektrosjokk-oker-volumet-i-store-deler-av-hjernen/1573515,
• ABC news: https://www.abcnyheter.no/helse-og-livsstil/helse/2019/10/07/195616233/elektrosjokk-oker-volumet-i-store-deler-av-hjernen

MED4 - Human fysiologi

Jeg har tidligere undervist i biologisk psykologi (PROPSY303)

Vitenskapelig artikkel

• Pernille Hagland; Anders Lillevik Thorsen; Olga Therese Ousdal et al. (2021). Disentangling Within- and Between-Person Effects During Response Inhibition in Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder. (ekstern lenke)
• Miklos Argyelan; Zhi-De Deng; Olga Therese Ousdal et al. (2023). Electroconvulsive therapy-induced volumetric brain changes converge on a common causal circuit in depression. (ekstern lenke)
• Olga Therese Ousdal; Karsten Specht; ANDRES SERVER et al. (2014). The human amygdala encodes value and space during decision making. (ekstern lenke)
• Martin Steen Tesli; Kristina Cecilie Skåtun; Olga Therese Ousdal et al. (2013). CACNA1C Risk Variant and Amygdala Activity in Bipolar Disorder, Schizophrenia and Healthy Controls. (ekstern lenke)
• Åsa Karin Hammar; Marit Therese Schmid; Linn Petersdotter et al. (2023). Inhibitory control as possible risk and/or resilience factor for the development of trauma related symptoms–a study of the Utøya terror attack survivors. (ekstern lenke)
• Ina Selseth Almdahl; Liva Jenny Martinussen; Olga Therese Ousdal et al. (2023). Task-based functional connectivity reveals aberrance with the salience network during emotional interference in late-life depression. (ekstern lenke)
• Michael Moutoussis; Robb B. Rutledge; Gita Prabhu et al. (2018). Neural activity and fundamental learning, motivated by monetary loss and reward, are intact in mild to moderate major depressive disorder. (ekstern lenke)
• Anders Lillevik Thorsen; Florence Friederike Boehmisch; Dag Alnæs et al. (2025). Associations between early life adversity and the development of gray matter macrostructure and microstructure. (ekstern lenke)
• Olga Therese Ousdal; Quentin J. Huys; Anne Marita Milde et al. (2017). The impact of traumatic stress on Pavlovian biases. (ekstern lenke)
• Olga Therese Ousdal; Andrew Brown; Jimmy Kristian Jensen et al. (2012). Associations Between Variants Near a Monoaminergic Pathways Gene (PHOX2B) and Amygdala Reactivity: A Genome-Wide Functional Imaging Study. (ekstern lenke)
• Niels T. de Joode; Anders Lillevik Thorsen; Eline L. Vester et al. (2021). Longitudinal changes in neurometabolite concentrations in the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex after concentrated exposure therapy for obsessive-compulsive disorder. (ekstern lenke)
• Francesco Rigoli; Robb B. Rutledge; Benjamin Chew et al. (2016). Dopamine increases a value-independent gambling propensity. (ekstern lenke)
• Anders Lillevik Thorsen; Chris Vriend; Stella J. de Wit et al. (2020). Effects of Bergen 4-day treatment on resting-state graph features in obsessive-compulsive disorder. (ekstern lenke)
• Olga Therese Ousdal; Miklos Argyelan; Maarten Laroy et al. (2025). Effects of electroconvulsive therapy on hippocampal longitudinal axis and its association with cognitive side effects. (ekstern lenke)
• Akihiro Takamiya; Frank Riemer; Vera Jane Erchinger et al. (2025). Acute and transient change in brain water content induced by a single electroconvulsive therapy session. (ekstern lenke)
• Olga Therese Ousdal; Ole Andreas Andreassen; ANDRES SERVER et al. (2014). Increased amygdala and visual cortex activity and functional connectivity towards stimulus novelty is associated with state anxiety. (ekstern lenke)
• Maximilian Kiebs; Danielle C. Farrar; Antoine Yrondi et al. (2024). Electroconvulsive therapy and cognitive performance from the Global ECT MRI Research Collaboration. (ekstern lenke)
• Olga Therese Ousdal; Anne Marita Milde; Alexander R. Craven et al. (2018). Prefrontal glutamate levels predict altered amygdala–prefrontal connectivity in traumatized youths. (ekstern lenke)
• Leila Marie Frid; Ute Kessler; Olga Therese Ousdal et al. (2023). Neurobiological mechanisms of ECT and TMS treatment in depression: study protocol of a multimodal magnetic resonance investigation. (ekstern lenke)
• Greg Reckless; Olga Therese Ousdal; ANDRES SERVER et al. (2014). The left inferior frontal gyrus is involved in adjusting response bias during a perceptual decision-making task. (ekstern lenke)
• Olga Therese Ousdal; Miklos Argyelan; Katherine L. Narr et al. (2019). Brain changes induced by electroconvulsive therapy are broadly distributed. (ekstern lenke)
• Akihiro Takamiya; Annemiek Dols; Louise Emsell et al. (2021). Neural Substrates of Psychotic Depression: Findings From the Global ECT-MRI Research Collaboration. (ekstern lenke)
• Olga Therese Ousdal; Tobias Kaufmann; Knut-Kristian Kolskår et al. (2019). Longitudinal stability of the brain functional connectome is associated with episodic memory performance in aging. (ekstern lenke)
• Olga Therese Ousdal; Anne Marita Milde; Gertrud Sofie Hafstad et al. (2020). The association of PTSD symptom severity with amygdala nuclei volumes in traumatized youths. (ekstern lenke)
• Molly J. Crockett; Jenifer Z. Siegel; Zeb Kurth-Nelson et al. (2015). Dissociable Effects of Serotonin and Dopamine on the Valuation of Harm in Moral Decision Making. (ekstern lenke)
• Niels T. de Joode; Anders Lillevik Thorsen; Chris Vriend et al. (2023). Linking resting state metabolite concentrations in the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex to response inhibition in OCD, a combined fMRI-MRS study. (ekstern lenke)
• Giulio Emilio Brancati; Njål Brekke; Hauke Bartsch et al. (2021). Short and long-term effects of single and multiple sessions of electroconvulsive therapy on brain gray matter volumes. (ekstern lenke)
• Maarten Laroy; Filip Bouckaert; Olga Therese Ousdal et al. (2024). Characterization of gray matter volume changes from one week to 6 months after termination of electroconvulsive therapy in depressed patients. (ekstern lenke)
• Nils Opel; Katherine L Narr; Christopher Abbott et al. (2021). Elevated body weight modulates subcortical volume change and associated clinical response following electroconvulsive therapy. (ekstern lenke)
• Janne Grønli; Annika Maria D Melinder; Olga Therese Ousdal et al. (2017). Life threat and sleep disturbances in adolescents: a two-year follow-up of survivors from the 2011 Utøya, Norway, terror attack. (ekstern lenke)
• Vilde Brecke; Anders Lillevik Thorsen; Chaim Huyser et al. (2025). Total and subregional thalamic volumes before and after cognitive behavioral therapy in obsessive-compulsive disorder. (ekstern lenke)
• Robb B. Rutledge; Michael Moutoussis; Peter Smittenaar et al. (2017). Association of neural and emotional impacts of reward prediction errors with major depression. (ekstern lenke)
• Vera Jane Erchinger; Ole Johan Evjenth Sørhaug; Stein Magnus Aukland et al. (2025). Effects of Electroconvulsive Therapy on Brain Structure: A Neuroradiological Investigation Into White Matter Hyperintensities, Atrophy, and Microbleeds. (ekstern lenke)
• Vilde Brecke; Anders Lillevik Thorsen; Olga Therese Ousdal et al. (2021). Diffusion Tensor Imaging Before and 3 Months After Concentrated Exposure Response Prevention in Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder. (ekstern lenke)
• Anders Lillevik Thorsen; Stella J. de Wit; Pernille Hagland et al. (2020). Stable inhibition-related inferior frontal hypoactivation and fronto-limbic hyperconnectivity in obsessive–compulsive disorder after concentrated exposure therapy. (ekstern lenke)
• Olga Therese Ousdal; Greg Reckless; Server Andrès et al. (2012). Effect of relevance on amygdala activation and association with the ventral striatum. (ekstern lenke)
• Line Lindanger; Torbjørn Strand; Anders Mølster et al. (2022). Predictors of osteoarthritis development at a median 25 years after anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction using a patellar tendon autograft. (ekstern lenke)
• Joey P. A. J. Verdijk; Laurens A. van de Mortel; Freek ten Doesschate et al. (2024). Longitudinal resting-state network connectivity changes in electroconvulsive therapy patients compared to healthy controls. (ekstern lenke)
• Christoffer Rahm; Benny Liberg; Greg Reckless et al. (2015). Negative symptoms in schizophrenia show association with amygdala volumes and neural activation during affective processing. (ekstern lenke)
• Nora I. Strom; Zachary F. Gerring; Marco Galimberti et al. (2025). Genome-wide analyses identify 30 loci associated with obsessive–compulsive disorder. (ekstern lenke)

Populærvitenskapelig artikkel

• Olga Therese Ousdal; Anne Marita Milde (2013). To år etter terrorangrepet. Hvordan har Utøya-ungdommene det når hverdagen har kommet?. (ekstern lenke)
• Olga Therese Ousdal (2015). Traumer: Hva kan terrorangrepet på Utøya lære oss?. (ekstern lenke)

Leserbrev

• Olga Therese Ousdal; Rolf Gjestad; Leif Oltedal (2021). Reply to: Clinical Relevance of Brain Changes After Electroconvulsive Therapy: Is There Really No Link at All?. (ekstern lenke)

Masteroppgave

• Thomas Hertzberg Stræte; Olga Therese Ousdal; Hrvoje Miletic et al. (2025). Mapping the role of brain microglia in a mouse model of depression. (ekstern lenke)
• Florence Friederike Boehmisch; Olga Therese Ousdal; Anders Lillevik Thorsen (2023). Early life adversity and trajectories of cortical myelination. (ekstern lenke)

Konferanseposter

• Olga Therese Ousdal; Kenneth Hugdahl; Silje Haukenes Stavestrand et al. (2014). The influence of action requirements and outcome valence on instrumental Learning after traumatic stress.. (ekstern lenke)
• Olga Therese Ousdal; Anne Marita Milde; Alexander R. Craven et al. (2014). Emotional conflict Processing in Survivors of the 2011 Oslo and Utøya terror attack; Behavioural and fMRI data.. (ekstern lenke)
• Anne Marita Milde; Olga Therese Ousdal; Silje Haukenes Stavestrand et al. (2014). Psychiatric long-term effects in Survivors from the terror attack at Utøya 22. July.. (ekstern lenke)

Konferanseforedrag

• Olga Therese Ousdal; Astri Lundervold; Lars Tjelta Westlye et al. (2018). Longitudinal stability of the brain functional connectome is associated with episodic memory performance. (ekstern lenke)
• Anne Marita Milde; Janne Grønli; Olga Therese Ousdal (2018). Funn fra prosjektet 'Akutt stress på en hjerne I utvikling'. (ekstern lenke)

Vitenskapelig litteraturgjennomgang

• Yoshifumi Abe; Vera Jane Erchinger; Olga Therese Ousdal et al. (2024). Neurobiological mechanisms of electroconvulsive therapy for depression: Insights into hippocampal volumetric increases from clinical and preclinical studies. (ekstern lenke)
• Olga Therese Ousdal; Giulio E. Brancati; Ute Kessler et al. (2021). The Neurobiological Effects of Electroconvulsive Therapy Studied Through Magnetic Resonance: What Have We Learned, and Where Do We Go?. (ekstern lenke)

Rettelse i tidsskrift

• Miklos Argyelan; Zhi-De Deng; Olga Therese Ousdal et al. (2023). Correction: Electroconvulsive therapy-induced volumetric brain changes converge on a common causal circuit in depression (Molecular Psychiatry, (2023), 10.1038/s41380-023-02318-2). (ekstern lenke)

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