Cognitive Control of Emotion in Autism

该指导研究科学家发展奖（K23）将使候选人能够独立进行关于自闭症情绪调节发展的研究，该研究将临床和大脑发现相结合。候选人是一名有执照的儿童临床心理学家，专门研究自闭症，他也有遗传学方面的培训。她的短期目标是在儿童和青少年情绪调节发展的基础上进行认知和情感神经科学机制的培训，功能性磁共振成像（fMRI）的使用，以及引发情绪和测量情绪反应的方法。培训将通过以下方式完成：（a）与导师Nancy Minshew，M.D.，Kevin Pelphrey博士和医学博士罗纳德达尔以及一个由内部和外部顾问组成的专家团队;（B）正式课程;（c）参加地方和国家会议、期刊俱乐部和研究会议;（d）在使用功能磁共振成像方法收集和分析数据以及研究情绪调节方面的监督实践经验。匹兹堡大学医学院和卡内基梅隆大学将是这次培训的主要地点，提供神经科学和精神病学研究的卓越组合。培训的一个关键组成部分是参与拟议研究的各个方面，该研究利用功能性磁共振成像来探索ASD中情绪的认知控制。情绪调节的这一特定组成部分被选择为焦点，这是基于申请人的临床印象，即坚持经常导致ASD中的破坏性情绪崩溃，并且因为对其他人群的研究表明，与情绪调节相关的注意力偏差可能非常适合治疗。在匹兹堡NIH自闭症卓越中心（PI Minshew）的基础设施内，拟议的研究将包括120名12至18岁的儿童，有和没有高功能自闭症/自闭症。参与者将在扫描仪中观看引起恐惧和中性的电影片段。将使用多种方法来捕捉情绪反应;最值得注意的是，参与者将在扫描仪中持续评估他们的情绪状态。这项研究的目的是：描述孤独症患者对负面刺激的情绪反应中持续性的作用; 2调查情绪反应中杏仁核和前额叶皮质的功能及其相互作用; 3收集年龄、共病情绪、焦虑和注意力不集中症状对孤独症患者情绪反应个体差异影响的初步数据。从这项研究中获得的对情绪调节的见解，以及申请人将通过相关培训获得的技能，将使申请人处于有利地位，以进行自闭症情绪调节的研究，该研究将指定变化机制，以告知治疗开发并解释对治疗的不同反应。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): This Mentored Research Scientist Development Award (K23) will enable the candidate to independently conduct research on the development of emotion regulation in autism that integrates clinical and brain findings. The candidate is a licensed child clinical psychologist, specialized in autism, who also has prior genetics training. Her short-term goals are to pursue training in the cognitive and affective neuroscience mechanisms underlying the development of emotion regulation in childhood and adolescence, the use of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), and methods for eliciting emotion and measuring emotional reactivity. Training will be accomplished via (a) meetings and guided readings with mentors Nancy Minshew, M.D., Kevin Pelphrey, Ph.D., and Ronald Dahl, M.D., and an expert team of internal and external consultants; (b) formal coursework; (c) attendance at local and national conferences, journal clubs, and research meetings, and (d) supervised hands-on experiences in the collection and analysis of data using fMRI methodologies and research on emotion regulation. The University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and Carnegie Mellon University will be the primary sites of this training, offering a combination of excellence in neuroscience and psychiatric research. A key component of the training is participation in all aspects of the proposed study, which utilizes functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging to explore the cognitive control of emotion in ASD. This particular component of emotion regulation was chosen as the focus based on the applicant's clinical impressions that perseveration often leads to disruptive emotional meltdowns in ASD, and because research in other populations suggests that attentional biases related to emotion regulation may be highly amenable to treatment. Within the infrastructure of the Pittsburgh NIH Autism Center of Excellence (PI Minshew), the proposed research will include 120 12 to 18 year old children, with and without high-functioning autism/Asperger's. Participants will view fear-inducing and neutral film clips while in the scanner. Multiple methods will be used to capture emotional reactivity; most notably, participants will continuously rate their emotional status throughout their time in the scanner. The study aims to: characterize the role of perseveration in emotional responses to negative stimuli in autism; investigate the functioning of the amygdala and pre- frontal cortex, and their interactions, during emotional responses; and gather preliminary data on the impact of age and comorbid mood, anxiety, and inattention symptoms on individual differences in emotional responding in autism. Insights into emotion regulation gained from this study, and the skills that the applicant will attain through the related training, will place the applicant in a strong position to conduct research on emotion regulation in autism that will specify mechanisms of change to inform treatment development and explain varying response to treatment.