Affective Processing and Substance Use Escalation in Adolescence

项目摘要/摘要。青春期是一个独特的神经发育时期，自下而上 在这个年龄段，情感过程是明显的，而自上而下的执行控制是显而易见的。 具体地说，皮质下边缘区域对情绪刺激的反应更强，并驱动“热”情绪反应。 这些情绪状态表面上可以出现在冲动和危险的行为中，比如物质使用，而且是一种 慢性复发性物质使用障碍这一概念的完整理论组成部分。因此，像差 在情绪化过程中曾与青少年的问题物质使用维持有关 成人期及以后。然而，很少有研究调查这些情绪性加工异常 在青春期物质使用升级之前，尽管理论框架提出了 两个，并表明在他们的发展中存在性别差异。了解预防和干预措施 在这一环节中是否有针对性是至关重要的，因为青春期反复使用药物与药物使用有关 精神障碍，后来的精神病理学，以及健康问题。相比之下，研究独立地将较贫穷的人 青春期物质使用的工作记忆能力。作为工作记忆和情感加工 包含重叠的大脑功能区--特别是额叶区域--它回避了这样一个问题： 情感加工异常可能会影响“冷”认知加工的有效利用，并有可能 代表着物质使用升级的风险。尽管有这样的文献，但还没有研究调查 情绪诱发的关键情绪加工脑区神经元激活之间的关系 在工作记忆任务中对早期物质使用升级结果的刺激，并调查性行为 这条轨迹上的差异。更不用说，在大规模和人口统计学上调查这种关系 不同的样品，预期的，在物质使用开始之前。因此，沙利文先生的F31提案寻求 在一项利用具有里程碑意义的NIH资助的青少年大脑的二级分析中检查这些关系 认知发展(ABCD)研究，对超过11800名年轻人进行了10年的跟踪调查。功能神经成像 数据将在整个研究期间与无数其他生物心理社会指标一起用于预测 青少年物质使用升级(9-15岁)。这笔奖学金将为沙利文先生提供一个特殊的 有机会培养他在功能神经成像方面的技能，以及在成瘾和情感方面的专业知识 神经科学，同时提高纵向和“大数据”分析所需的重要技能。一位敬业的 在这些领域拥有专业知识的ABCD研究带头人的指导团队将确保进行特殊的培训。在 完成这项奖学金后，沙利文先生将实现他的目标，即发展多样化和高质量的技能集，以 将F32计划付诸实施，并在早期职业生涯中取得进展，成为一名具有以下专业知识的临床研究科学家 成瘾和情感神经科学、功能神经成像和高级统计技能。这将使 他利用复杂的、纵向的神经成像数据集，在团队科学环境中有效地工作。

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT. Adolescence is a unique neurodevelopmental period where bottom-up affective processes is pronounced while top-down executive control is onboarded throughout this age range. Specifically, subcortical limbic areas are more reactive to emotional stimuli and drive “hot” emotional responding. These emotional states can outwardly appear in impulsive and risky-behavior, such as substance use, and is an integral theoretical component to the notion of chronically relapsing substance use disorders. Thus, aberrations in affective processing have been previously associated with problematic substance use maintenance in young adulthood and onward. Though, few studies have investigated whether these affective processing aberrations predate substance use escalation in adolescence, despite theoretical frameworks proposing a link between the two and suggesting sex differences in their development. Understanding where prevention and interventions could be targeted in this link is critical as repeated substance use in adolescence is linked with substance use disorders, later psychopathology, and health concerns. Comparatively, research has independently linked poorer working memory abilities with substance use in adolescence. As working memory and affective processing contains overlapped functional brain areas—particularly in frontal regions—it begs the question as to whether affective processing aberrations may impact effective utilization of “cold” cognitive processing and potentially represent a risk for escalation of substance use. Despite this line of literature, no studies have investigated the relationship between neuronal activation, within key affective processing brain regions, elicited by affective stimuli during a working memory task on early substance use escalation outcomes, and investigate sex differences in this trajectory. Let alone, investigating this relationship in a large-scale and demographically diverse sample, prospectively, and prior to substance use initiation. Thus, Mr. Sullivan’s F31 proposal seeks to examine these relationships in a secondary-analysis harnessing the landmark NIH-funded Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study, following over 11,800 youth across 10 years. Functional neuroimaging data will be utilized across the study period, along with a myriad of other biopsychosocial measures, in predicting adolescent substance use escalation (ages 9-15). This fellowship would provide Mr. Sullivan with an exceptional opportunity to build his skills within functional neuroimaging and expertise in addiction and affective neuroscience, while also advancing vital skills needed for longitudinal and “big data” analysis. A dedicated mentorship team of ABCD Study leaders with expertise in these areas will ensure exceptional training. At the conclusion of this fellowship, Mr. Sullivan will meet his goal of developing a diverse and high-quality skillset to carry into an F32 proposal and progress to an early career as a clinical research scientist with an expertise in addiction and affective neuroscience, functional neuroimaging, and advanced statistical skills. This will enable him to work effectively in a team science setting, utilizing complex, longitudinal neuroimaging datasets.