NEURAL CORR OF SOCIAL BUFFERING IN JUVENILE RH MACAQUES:FRIENDS VS COMPANIONS

这个子项目是许多利用资源的研究子项目之一 由NIH/NCRR资助的中心拨款提供。子项目的主要支持 而子项目的主要调查员可能是由其他来源提供的， 包括其它NIH来源。 列出的子项目总成本可能 代表子项目使用的中心基础设施的估计数量， 而不是由NCRR赠款提供给子项目或子项目工作人员的直接资金。 本研究旨在进一步了解友谊背景下社会支持的神经生物学机制。无数的研究已经将社会支持确定为保护个体免受急性和慢性压力源的有害精神和身体健康后果的关键（Uchino等人，1996年），但潜在的神经生物学机制仍不清楚。朋友对于儿童的健康心理社会适应至关重要，这一事实强调了研究友谊的具体机制的重要性（Erath et al.，2010），以及对朋友作为不成熟个体的社会缓冲器的机制的理解可以解释为什么更多的社会孤立的青少年在以后的生活中患精神和身体疾病的风险更大（Bagwell et al.，1998年）。本项目有三个具体目标：1）确定幼年恒河猴的脑区（猕猴）友谊使用非侵入性成像技术（即正电子发射断层扫描）; 2）确定朋友与熟悉的同伴在减少已知介导压力和焦虑的区域的大脑活动方面的有效性;（3）在友谊的背景下，研究行为、大脑活动与中枢和外周催产素、加压素和皮质醇水平之间的关系。我们假设：（1）友谊的神经回路与依恋关系中的许多通路有共同之处;（2）与熟悉的同伴相比，在暴露于心理社会压力源时，朋友的存在将与边缘结构的活动减少有关，边缘结构通常参与对威胁经历的反应，这反过来又会降低皮质醇水平;以及3）与熟悉的同伴相比，在暴露于心理社会压力源期间，朋友的存在将与增加的联系相关联，这将激活中枢催产素和加压素释放神经元，并导致脑脊液和血浆中这些神经肽的更高水平。

This subproject is one of many research subprojects utilizing the resources provided by a Center grant funded by NIH/NCRR. Primary support for the subproject and the subproject's principal investigator may have been provided by other sources, including other NIH sources. The Total Cost listed for the subproject likely represents the estimated amount of Center infrastructure utilized by the subproject, not direct funding provided by the NCRR grant to the subproject or subproject staff. This research aims to further our understanding of the neurobiological mechanisms underlying social support in the context of friendship. Countless studies have identified social support as critical in protecting individuals from the deleterious mental and physical health consequences of both acute and chronic stressors (Uchino et al., 1996), yet the underlying neurobiological mechanisms remain unclear. The importance of examining the specific mechanisms underlying friendship is underlined by the fact that friends are vital for the healthy psychosocial adjustment of children (Erath et al., 2010), and an understanding of the mechanisms by which friends act as social buffers to immature individuals may explain why more socially isolated youngsters are at greater risk for developing mental and physical illnesses later in life (Bagwell et al., 1998). This project has three specific goals: 1) To identify brain areas involved in juvenile rhesus monkey (Macaca mulatta) friendships using non-invasive imaging techniques (i.e. positron emission tomography); 2) To determine the effectiveness of a friend versus a familiar companion in reducing brain activity in regions known to mediate stress and anxiety; 3) To examine the associations between behavior, brain activity, and central and peripheral levels of oxytocin, vasopressin, and cortisol within the context of friendship. We hypothesize that 1) the neural circuitry of friendship shares in common many of the pathways that have been implicated in attachment relationships; 2) the presence of a friend during exposure to a psychosocial stressor, as compared with the presence of a familiar peer, will be associated with reduced activity in limbic structures typically involved in responding to threatening experiences, which will in turn reduce cortisol levels; and 3) the presence of a friend during exposure to a psychosocial stressor, as compared with the presence of a familiar peer, will be associated with increased affiliation, which will activate central oxytocin- and vasopressin-releasing neurons and result in higher levels of these neuropeptides in cerebrospinal fluid and plasma.