Biobehavioral Studies of Cardiovascular Disease

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This is the renewal application for PO1 HL040962, "Biobehavioral Studies of Cardiovascular Disease." This Program Project studies psychobiological dimensions of individual differences and variation in socioenvironmental and nutritional exposures as potential etiological variables or markers of correlated pathogenic processes in heart disease. We propose three related research projects, supported by three Core Units. Investigators represent psychology and psychiatry, clinical pharmacology, human neuroscience, molecular genetics, cell biology, epidemiology, and statistics. Project 1 seeks to establish whether psychosocial and lifestyle-related risk factors for cardiovascular disease are associated with individual differences in the reactivity of key neural structures underlying emotional processing and appetitive motivation. Project 2 will investigate stress-related features of the social environment (in both occupational and home contexts), tracking individuals' behavioral and biological reactions in real time and elucidating pathways to preclinical vascular disease. Project 3 will address a mechanism of potential relevance to several behavioral and biological risk factors - omega-3 fatty acids - as studied by both observational and experimental methodologies. These objectives will be pursued in the context of a single, multi-component data collection that will both satisfy specific aims of the individual projects and create opportunities for synergistic exploration across methods and levels of analysis. The study sample will include 530 middle-aged adults without clinically apparent atherosclerotic disease, and study methods will encompass functional neuroimaging, ecological momentary assessment of experienced environments, ambulatory blood pressure and neuroendocrine assessments, laboratory clinical evaluations, heteromethod personality and health behavior assessments, vascular imaging, and molecular genetic analyses. These Projects are facilitated by Core Units providing centralized administrative, data management and participant accrual services; instrumentation support and development; and both general biostatistical and specialized data analytic services and consultation.