Sensory Processing Dysfunction in Neuropsychiatric Illness

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DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): This is an application for an R24 award under program announcement PAR-06-357 Building Translational Research in Integrative Behavioral Science. Long-term investment by NIH over recent decades has resulted in a large body of knowledge in such areas as emotion, motivation, and cognition. However, the theory, methods, knowledge and insights from the basic behavioral sciences have not been fully utilized in understanding pressing public health issues such as schizophrenia. The overall goal of this project is the development of a network of collaborations that will encourage the systematic translations of basic behavioral theory, methods and findings into research designed to reduce the burden of mental illness behavioral disorders, particularly schizophrenia. The core project consists of a collaboration between one clinical researcher (Javitt) and two basic behavioral science researchers (Hillyard, Schroeder) to translate recent advances in the basic science of neurocognition to the study of schizophrenia, and to translate recent findings of sensory processing dysfunction in schizophrenia to the development of improved basic and translational models. Sensory dysfunction represents an ideal model for translational research, in that component processes are readily amenable to study by basic behavioral scientists and for translation to animal models. Further, ongoing behavioral research in the area permits refinement of existing measures and recursive interaction between basic and behavioral scientists. Deficits in sensory processing in schizophrenia "upward generalize" to cause deficits in more holistic processes such as object recognition, reading, and emotion identification. Studies during the present project period will focus on enhancement of capabilities to conduct translational research, including development of new paradigms, collaborations and infrastructure.