Neurobehavioral Aspects of Personality & Psychopathology

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DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Rationale- The emergence of a biological revolution in psychopathology research is now strongly solidified, leaving many young Ph.D.s inadequately trained in biological concepts and methods, contributing to a void of creative young psychologists equipped to study normal and abnormal personality and psychopathological syndromes across varying levels of analysis. Most graduate programs in clinical psychology are primarily oriented toward cognitive and psychosocial approaches to behavior. Our existing training program integrates behavioral neurobiology and behavior genetics in the study of psychopathology and personality, taking advantage of the unique perspectives on emotional behavioral systems offered by psychology. To date, the program has been limited to training pre-doctoral students. Here, we propose to extend this program to include postdoctoral trainees. Seven components of the training program are described: 1) coursework in behavioral neurobiology, behavioral genetics, personality, and psychopathology; 2) association with a designated lab for specialized training in research, with opportunities to participate in proposal development, design of studies, and grant writing activities; 3) training in applied research, including interviewing, psychometric assessment, and/or administration of psychological treatment; 4) training in brain imaging techniques, including safety, scanner operation, data collection, and statistical analysis; 5) participation in research seminars led by training program mentors; 6) lecture series composed of invited scholars and a year-end research conference which featuring student presentations; and 7) travel to national conferences to present research findings. Trainees- As a supplement to the currently funded pre-doctoral training program, 3 years of support is sought for 4 postdoctoral positions. Trainees will be selected via national searches designed to identify qualified individuals whose career development can benefit from training in neurobehavioral research techniques applied to the study of personality and psychopathology.