Training in Drug Abuse and Brain Imaging

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DESCRIPTION: (Provided by Applicant): This is a proposal to establish a postdoctoral research training program in the field of human brain imaging and drug abuse. As the Decade of the Brain came to a close two years ago, we have at our disposal a more refined variety of brain imaging tools. The need for such a dedicated program is dictated by the explosive growth of the field of human bran imaging that has led to an emergence of new and innovative techniques to view both the anatomical and functional aspects of the brain under a variety of conditions related to substance abuse such as acute intoxicating effects, tracking cue-induced craving, measuring cognitive effects, detecting persistent neurological and cognitive defects, monitoring withdrawal, sleep disturbances, medication compliance, tracking treatment progress and medication development. Because the nature and spectrum of the sub-disciplines involved in human brain imaging are so complex, a new breed of clinical scientists with backgrounds in brain imaging technology, neuroscience, pharmacology, addiction medicine and treatment will be needed to integrate the fields of brain imaging with the exploration of the neurobiological bases of drug abuse and thus fill the anticipated vacancies in research centers in the United States and abroad--this T32 Research Training Program is designed to fill this void. We propose to establish an integrated, multidisciplinary Drug Abuse and Brain Imaging Training Program (DABITP) to be jointly supported by the McLean Hospital/Harvard Medical School and Boston University School of Medicine. The success of these programs is based largely on the high caliber of the many talented faculty members and current group of trainees. Together with an environment of significant cross fostering of ideas and students as well as a proven record of active and productive collaboration, the foundation for such an endeavor is already well in place. The proposed three year post doctoral training program will be structured to provide the trainees with the fundamentals of magnetic resonance and electrophysiological measures of brain activity (year 1), followed by placement in one of three distinctly designed research tracks that meets the trainees future career goals: 1) MR Technology and Instrumentation Track; 2) Basic Clinical Research Track; and 3) Clinical Treatment Track. The combination of didactic training in brain imaging and psychopharmacology with practical applications in a variety of highly successful research laboratories will provide us with the next generation of drug abuse researchers who are equipped to employ brain imaging techniques as they embark on the next decade of research on the addicted brain.