Motivated Attention and Avolition in Individuals with Schizophrenia

描述（由申请人提供）：本导师病人导向研究职业发展奖的目的是寻求支持，为候选人提供认知和情感神经科学方面的培训，以指导他发展专注于精神分裂症情绪处理缺陷的研究项目。越来越多的证据表明，情绪处理的异常可能是精神分裂症一些最持久和最令人衰弱的症状的基础：因此，对情绪处理背后的行为和生物学机制的更深入了解有可能显著地告知我们对这些症状的理解，并更有效地开发药物治疗和心理治疗来解决这些症状。这项研究的主要目的是检查精神分裂症患者是否表现出注意力处理的异常，这可能会显著影响人们对环境中积极和消极情绪特征的关注。此外，候选人建议发展使用眼动追踪和事件相关电位（ERP）方法的技能，以评估在情绪信息的认知处理中至关重要的时间过程和神经回路。拟议的培训和研究计划旨在使候选人准备：a)设计理论驱动的任务来检查情绪和注意力的相互作用，b)使用这些任务来研究精神分裂症患者情感处理中涉及的功能失调的神经回路。为了实现这些目标，候选人将从事职业发展活动，重点发展情感和认知神经科学文献和方法方面的专业知识，以及ERP分析和神经生理学方面的专业知识，以便有效地收集和解释ERP数据。Drs。James M. Gold和Gunvant Thaker指导这项工作，提供情感和认知神经科学方面的专业知识，在行为，眼动和ERP范式方面与精神分裂症样本一起工作的重要经验，以及整合行为和神经生理方面的实践表现。该培训将使候选人能够发展必要的技能和专业知识，以建立一个独立的研究路线，研究导致精神分裂症发展的认知、情感和神经机制。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The purpose of this Mentored Patient-Oriented Research Career Development Award is to request support to provide the candidate with training in cognitive and affective neuroscience to guide his developing research program focusing on deficits in emotional processing in schizophrenia. There is growing evidence that abnormalities in emotional processing may underlie some of the most persistent and debilitating symptoms of schizophrenia: thus, greater insight into the behavioral and biological mechanisms underlying emotional processing has the potential to significantly inform our understanding of these symptoms, and to more effectively develop both pharmacotherapy and psychotherapy treatments to address these symptoms. The primary aim of the research is to examine whether individuals with schizophrenia demonstrate abnormalities in attentional processing, which could significantly influence focus on emotionally positive versus negative features of the environment. In addition, the candidate proposes to develop skills in the use of Eye-Tracking and Event Related Potential (ERP) methodologies in order to assess the time-course and neural circuitry that is critically involved in the cognitive processing of emotional information. The proposed training and research plans are designed to prepare the candidate to: a) design theoretically driven tasks to examine emotion and attention interactions, and b) use these tasks to investigate dysfunctional neural circuitry involved with affective processing in individuals with schizophrenia. To achieve these goals, the candidate will pursue career development activities that focus on development of expertise in affective and cognitive neuroscience literature and methodology, and in ERP analysis and neurophysiology in order to effectively collect and interpret ERP data. Drs. James M. Gold and Gunvant Thaker mentor this work, providing expertise in affective and cognitive neuroscience perspectives, significant experience working with schizophrenia samples in both behavioral, eye- movement, and ERP paradigms, and practice in integrating behavioral and neurophysiological aspects of performance. This training will enable the candidate to develop the skills and expertise necessary to establish an independent line of research examining cognitive, emotional, and neural mechanisms that contribute to the development of schizophrenia. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: Schizophrenia is a psychiatric disorder that affects approximately 1% of the world's population. A large proportion of individuals with schizophrenia experience "negative symptoms" (e.g., avolition, anhedonia) at some point in the course of their illness; however, there are few treatments available to remediate these symptoms. Given that negative symptoms are highly associated with social and functional outcomes, it is of critical importance to conduct research into the neural mechanisms associated with these symptoms, with the aim of using this knowledge to inform novel treatments.