Neurobiological and Genetic Correlates of Cooperative Behavior

描述(申请人提供)：这个项目的总体目标是探索正常受试者在合作社会行为中个体差异的生物学基础，目的是开发假说来解释更极端的表现为精神疾病的差异。合作行为将在一种被称为囚徒困境(PD)游戏的互动社会任务中进行衡量。有四个具体目标。目的一是考察PD游戏中合作行为的个体差异与脑功能的个体差异之间的关系。这将通过在受试者与假设的两个人类伙伴各自玩重复的囚犯困境游戏时，通过使用功能磁共振成像来实现。这些数据将使我们能够评估促进和抑制合作的神经系统的现有模型。目的二是研究合作行为的个体差异与前额叶皮质解剖的个体差异之间的关系。这一目标将包括对每个受试者进行结构磁共振扫描，以测量形态变化，以及扩散张量成像(DTI)脑扫描，以测量脑白质完整性。目的3是研究鼻内催产素和加压素这两种与社会联系相关的神经肽对合作行为和相关脑活动的影响。在这项安慰剂对照的双盲试验中，受试者将被随机分成三种情况之一：鼻腔内注射催产素、鼻腔内注射加压素或鼻内注射安慰剂。将对不同治疗组的大脑功能活动和行为进行比较。目的4考察合作行为中的个体变异与个体遗传变异之间的关系。唾液样本将从每个受试者身上收集，用于分析假设对合作社会行为有影响的基因。最终，这些数据将确定有助于信任及其互惠的因素，这些因素是合作社会行为的基本组成部分。信任及其互惠是健康人际关系的重要组成部分，几种精神障碍就证明了这一点，其中包括自闭症、抑郁症、精神病人格障碍和几种轴心二型人格障碍。通过确定在正常人群中影响合作行为的因素，这个项目将产生与精神疾病相关的更严重变异的原因的假设。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The overall objective of this project is to explore the biological bases of individual variation in cooperative social behavior among normal subjects, with the goal of developing hypotheses to explain more extreme variation that manifests as mental illness. Cooperative behavior will be measured in an interactive social task known as the Prisoner's Dilemma (PD) Game. There are four specific aims. Aim 1 is to examine the relationship between individual variation in cooperative behavior and individual variation in brain function during the PD game. This will be accomplished by imaging subjects' brains with fMRI as they play an iterated Prisoner's Dilemma Game with each of two assumed human partners. These data will allow us to evaluate an existing model of the neural systems that facilitate and inhibit cooperation. Aim 2 is to examine the relationship between individual variation in cooperative behavior and individual variation in prefrontal cortex anatomy. This aim will involve acquiring a structural MRI scan from each subject to measure morphometric variation, as well as a diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) brain scan to measure white matter integrity. Aim 3 is to investigate the impact of intranasal oxytocin and vasopressin, neuropeptides associated with social bonding, on cooperative behavior and associated brain activity. In this placebo-controlled, double-blind experiment, subjects will be randomized to one of three conditions: intranasal oxytocin administration, intranasal vasopressin administration, or intranasal placebo administration. Functional brain activity and behavior will be compared across treatment groups. Aim 4 is to examine the relationship between individual variation in cooperative behavior and individual genetic variation. Saliva samples will be collected from each subject for analysis of genes hypothesized to have an influence on cooperative social behavior. Ultimately, these data will identify factors that contribute to trust and its reciprocation which are essential components of cooperative social behavior. Trust and its reciprocation are essential components of healthy interpersonal relationships, as evidenced by several psychiatric disorders in which they are lacking, including autism, depression, psychopathic personality disorder and several axis II personality disorders. By identifying factors that influence cooperative behavior in a normal population, this project will generate hypotheses as to the causes of more severe variation associated with mental illness.