Sahib Khalsa

I received a B.S. in Psychology, from SUNY Stony Brook in 2002. After graduating I joined the Medical Scientist Training Program at the University of Iowa, and received MD and PhD degrees from the University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine in 2009. I am currently a 4th year Psychiatry resident at UCLA, where I am serving as the program Chief Resident and as Chief Resident in the UCLA Anxiety Disorders Clinic.

In graduate school I became intrigued by understanding factors that modulate how we perceive the internal states of our bodies, a process termed interoceptive awareness. My studies examined the effects of age, brain injury and long term meditation practice (human studies) on interception. My current research extends this interest into clinical domains, to examine whether cardiac interception and anxiety are differentially modulated in conditions including anorexia nervosa and cardiovascular disease states.

When I'm not working, I enjoy gardening, scuba diving, spending time with my family and sampling the many culinary wonders that LA has to offer!

Publications:
Bystritsky A, Khalsa SS, Schiffman J, Cameron M. Current Diagnosis and Treatment of Anxiety Disorders. Pharmacy and Therapeutics (in press). 

Philippi C, Feinstein JS, Khalsa SS, Tranel D, Landini G, Williford K, Rudrauf D. Preserved self-awareness following extensive bilateral brain damage to the insula, anterior cingulate, and medial prefrontal cortices. PLOS One (2012). 7: e38413.

Khalsa SS, Schiffman J, Bystritsky A. Treatment-resistant OCD: Options beyond first line medications. Current Psychiatry (2011) 10: 45-52.

Khalsa SS, Rudrauf D, Feinstein JS, & Tranel D. The pathways of interoceptive awareness. Nature Neuroscience (2009) 12: 1494-6.

Khalsa SS, Rudrauf D & Tranel D. Interoceptive awareness decreases with age: evidence from heartbeat detection. Psychophysiology (2009) 46:  1130-6. 

Feinstein JS, Rudrauf D, Khalsa SS, Cassell M, Bruss J, Grabowski TJ & Tranel D. Bilateral limbic system destruction in man. Journal of Clinical and Experimental Neuropsychology (2009) 17: 1-19.

Khalsa SS, Rudrauf D, Sandesara C, Olshansky B & Tranel D. Bolus isoproterenol infusions provide a reliable method for assessing interoceptive awareness. International Journal of Psychophysiology (2009) 72: 34-45.

Khalsa SS, Rudrauf D, Damasio AR, Davidson RJ, Lutz A & Tranel D. Interoceptive awareness in experienced meditators. Psychophysiology (2008) 45: 671-8.

Khalsa SS, Moore SA & Van Hoesen GW. Hughlings Jackson and the role of the entorhinal cortex in temporal lobe epilepsy: from Patient A to Doctor Z. Epilepsy and Behavior (2006) 9: 524-31. 

Goldstein RZ, Leskovjan AC, Hoff AL, Hitzemann R, Bashan F, Khalsa SS, Wang GJ, Fowler JS & Volkow ND. Severity of neuropsychological impairment in cocaine and alcohol addiction: association with metabolism in the prefrontal cortex. Neuropsychologia (2004) 42: 1447-58.