Michael. L. Perlis, Ph.D.

Academic and Clinical Appointments

Associate Professor, Department of Psychiatry
Member, Neurosciences Program

Director, University of Rochester Sleep Research Lab
Director, UR Behavioral Sleep Medicine Service

Chair, BSM Div. - American Academy of Sleep Medicine

Curriculum Vitae

Contact Information

Education

Ph.D. University of Arizona

M.A. University of Arizona

B.A. Guilford College

Research
Focus and Interests

His areas of expertise include sleep in psychiatric disorders and neurocognitive phenomena in insomnia, the mechanisms of action of sedative hypnotics and the development of alternative treatments for insomnia. His clinical expertise is in the area of Behavioral Sleep Medicine and he is the principle author of the first text book in this filed (Treating Sleep Disorders: The Principles and Practice of Behavioral Sleep Medicine, Wiley & Sons). He has authored or co-authored a variety of papers and chapters on the assessment and treatment of sleep disorders and published more than 35 empirical or theoretical papers on sleep related topics.

Dr. Perlis’s specific research interests include:

• high frequency EEG activity in insomnia as a measure of cortical arousal (NIMH)
  
  
• memory and information processing in insomnia (Salzman) the relative efficacy of behavioral and pharmacologic treatments of insomnia
  
  
• the relative efficacy of CBT Tx for insomnia in patients with Primary and Secondary Insomnia (secondary to Major Depression, Anxiety Disorders, Chronic Pain and Cancer).
  
  
• effectiveness of sedative hypnotics when used intermittently and long term (Lorex Pharmaceuticals, Elan Pharmaceuticals)
  
  
• the effects of modafinil on the sleep and daytime function in patients with insomnia (Cephalon Pharmaceuticals)
  
  
• Conditioned arousal model of Insomnia in the rat.

In addition to his academic endeavors, he has served as Assistant Director of Training for the SRS (1996-2000) and as the founding editor of the SRS & AASM Training Opportunities in Sleep Research and Sleep Medicine Manual. Dr. Perlis is currently a member of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine Presidential Committee on Behavioral Sleep Medicine, the section chair for Behavioral Sleep Medicine, and the coordinator of the Junior Faculty in Sleep Research Interest Group.

Publications

1. Perlis, M, Aloia M, Boehmler J, Millikan A, Greenblatt D, Giles D. Behavior treatment of insomnia: a clinical case series study. The Journal of Behavioral Medicine,23(2)149-161, 2000.

2. Perlis M & Youngsted S. Diagnosis of Primary Insomnia & Treatment Options. Invited Paper to Comprehensive Therapy,26 (4), 298-306, 2000.

3. Smith MT, Perlis, ML, Smith, MS, Giles, DE. Sleep Quality in chronic pain. Journal of Behavioral Medicine,23(1), 1-13, 2000.

4. Perlis ML, Smith MT, Orff H, Andrews P, Giles, DE. Beta/Gamma activity in patients with insomnia and in good sleeper controls. Sleep,24,(1), 110-117, 2001.

5. Smith MT, Perlis, ML, Smith, MS, Giles, DE. Pre-sleep cognitions in patients with insomnia secondary to chronic pain. In submission: Journal of Behavioral Medicine,24(1)93-114,2001.

6. Stepanski E. & Perlis, M. Behavioral Sleep Medicine: An Emerging Subspecialty in Health Psychology. Journal of Psychosomatic Research,49,343-347, 2000.

7. Aloia MS, DiDio L, Ilniczky N, Perlis ML, Greenblatt DW, & Giles DE. Improving compliance with nasal CPAP and vigilance in older adults with OSAHS. Sleep and Breathing,5(1):13-21, 2001.

8. Perlis ML Sharpe MC, Smith MT, Greenblatt DW, Giles DE. Behavioral treatment of insomnia: Treatment outcome and the relevance of medical and psychiatric morbidity. The Journal of Behavioral Medicine,24(3) 281-296. 2001.

9. Perlis ML, Kehr EL, Smith MT, Orff H, Andrews P, Giles, DE. Temporal and Stagewise distribution of Beta activity in patients with insomnia and in good sleeper controls. The Journal of Sleep Research,10, 93-104. 2001.

10. Perlis ML, Smith, MT, Orff HJ. Andrews PJ, Giles DE.The mesograde amnesia of sleep may be attenuated in subjects With primary insomnia. Physiology & Behavior,74,71-76. 2001.

11. Perlis ML, Merica H, Smith MT, Giles DE. Beta EEG in Insomnia. Invited Paper to Journal of Sleep Medicine Reviews,5(5) 364-375. 2001.

12. Smith MT, Perlis, ML, Park A, Giles DE, Pennington JA, Buysee, D. Behavioral treatment vs pharmacotherapy for Insomnia - A comparative meta-analyses. American Journal of Psychiatry,59: 5-11. 2002.

13. Perlis ML, Smith MT, Orff HJ, Andrews PJ, Giles DE, Gillin, JC. The effects of an orally administered cholinergic agonist on REM sleep in major depression. Biological Psychiatry,51(6):457-62, 2002

14. Smith, MT, Perlis, ML, Chengazi, VU, Pennington J, Soeffing, J, Ryan JM., Giles, DE. Neuroimaging of NREM sleep in primary insomnia: A preliminary, Tc-99-HMPAO Single Photon Emission Computed Tomography Study. Sleep,25(3) 325-335.2002.

15. Smith MT, Perlis, ML, Smith ML. Sleep onset insomnia and pain intensity discriminate suicidal ideation in patients with chronic pain. In Press. Journal of Pain.

16. Perlis ML, Smith, MT, Cacialli DO. Nowakowski S, Orff HJ. On the comparability of pharmacotherapy and behavior therapy for chronic insomnia - commentary and implications. In Press. Journal of Psychosomatic Research.

17. Aloia MS, DiDio L, Ilniczky N, Perlis ML, Greenblatt DW, & Giles DE. Neuropsychological Changes and Treatment Compliance in Older Adults with Sleep Apnea. In press. Journal of Psychosomatic Research.

18. Youngsted S, Perlis M, O'Brien P, Palmer M, Smith M. No Association of Sleep with Daily Physical Activity. In Press. Journal of Physiology & Behavior.

19. Perlis ML, Soeffing J, Orff H, Junquist C, Nowakowski S. Reverse Sleep State Misperception: A Case Study. Submitted to the Sleep Reviews 12/02.

.20. Perlis ML, Orff H, Enright T, Smith, MT, Nowakowski S, Jungquist C, Plotkin K. “Reverse Pharmacotherapy” For Primary Insomnia: Can Modafinil Be Used Alone or In Combination with CBT? Submitted to the Journal Sleep 12/02.

Pertinent Web Links

University of Rochester Sleep Research Laboratory

Sleepless in Rochester