Multimodal Neuroimaging of Stress, Arousal and Alcoholism Risk

简介（由申请人提供）：徐东柱博士是耶鲁大学精神病学系的副研究员，专攻功能磁共振成像（fMRI）。他于2008年获得明尼苏达大学（University of Minnesota, Twin Cities）临床心理学博士学位，随后在耶鲁大学（Yale University）完成了专注于压力和成瘾的博士后培训。候选人的长期目标是发展一个跨学科的研究项目，通过多模态神经成像和连接映射来竞争性地进行和解释酒精中毒的转化神经科学研究。具体而言，她的研究重点是与大量饮酒相关的压力和自主神经系统（ANS）相关的神经失调，发现酒精中毒风险的易感性标记，并制定有效的预防和治疗策略。她的短期目标是通过K08奖提供的培训和支持，获得实现长期目标所需的技能和资源，并成为一名独立的研究人员。她的初步发现表明，暴饮暴食和大量饮酒受到VmPFC调节系统和ANS唤醒区（涉及调节情绪和奖励状态的大脑区域）之间功能脱节的影响。基于这一结果，我们假设VmPFC-ANS回路功能连通性的降低有助于重度社交饮酒者的情绪和ANS中断以及酒精摄入。候选人的目标是在更大的样本中检验这一假设，并寻求支持来学习这项研究的新技能。她的研究策略将是通过同时使用功能磁共振成像（fMRI）和ANS记录、功能连接映射以及结合临床设计来确定与酒精滥用风险相关的神经测量，来检查重度和轻度社交饮酒者的大脑和ANS反应。她的培训计划将涵盖以下与酒精中毒跨学科神经科学相关的主题：1)学习fMRI连接映射和酒精中毒转化神经科学；2)结合fMRI和ANS技术和分析；3)发展酒精研究纵向研究设计和分析的专业知识。她的导师包括国际知名的酗酒转化研究专家（Rajita Sinha，博士；John H. Krystal，医学博士），多模态神经成像和连接映射（Todd Constable，博士）和酗酒纵向研究专家（Howard Tennen，博士；Ralitza Gueorguieva，博士）。K08奖将允许候选人获得新的技能和资源来测试假设，并为Seo博士提供一个宝贵的机会，成长为一名独立的临床研究者，拥有应用最先进的多模式神经成像技术进行酒精中毒转化神经科学研究的专业知识。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Dr. Dongju Seo is an associate research scientist in the Department of Psychiatry at Yale University specializing in functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Dr. Seo received a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities in 2008 and subsequently completed postdoctoral training at Yale University with a focus on stress and addiction. The long-term goal of the candidate is to develop an interdisciplinary program of research to competitively conduct and interpret translational neuroscience research on alcoholism using multimodal neuroimaging and connectivity mapping. Specifically, her research focuses on stress- and autonomic nervous system (ANS)- related neural dysregulation associated with heavy alcohol use, discovering vulnerability markers for alcoholism risk, and developing effective prevention and treatment strategies. Her short-term goal is to obtain the skills and resources required to achieve her long-term goals and to become an independent researcher through the training and support provided by this K08 Award. Her preliminary findings indicate that binge and heavy alcohol use is influenced by a functional disconnectivity between the VmPFC regulatory system and the ANS arousal regions, brain areas involved in the modulation of emotions and rewarding states. Based on this result, it is hypothesized that decreased functional connectivity in the VmPFC-ANS circuit contributes to emotional and ANS disruption and alcohol intake in heavy social drinkers. The candidate aims to test this hypothesis in a larger sample and seeks support to learn new skills for this study. Her research strategy will be to examine brain and ANS response in heavy and light social drinkers using simultaneous fMRI and ANS recording, functional connectivity mapping, and combined clinical design to identify neural measures associated with risk for alcohol abuse. Her training program will cover the following topics relating to the interdisciplinary neuroscience of alcoholism: 1) learning fMRI connectivity mapping and translational neuroscience of alcoholism 2) combining fMRI and ANS techniques and analysis, and 3) developing expertise in longitudinal study design and analysis for alcohol research. Her mentors include internationally prominent experts in translational research on alcoholism (Rajita Sinha, Ph.D.; John H. Krystal, M.D.), multimodal neuroimaging and connectivity mapping (Todd Constable, Ph.D.) and longitudinal research on alcoholism (Howard Tennen, Ph.D.; Ralitza Gueorguieva, Ph.D.). The K08 Award will allow the candidate to acquire new skills and resources to test the hypothesis and provide Dr. Seo with a valuable opportunity to grow into an independent clinical investigator, with expertise in the application of state-of-the art, multimoda neuroimaging techniques to conduct translational neuroscience research on alcoholism.