Exploring the neurobiological response to anti-drug media messages with fMRI

描述(申请人提供)：药物滥用是一个主要的公共卫生问题，防止有问题的药物使用已成为公共卫生的优先事项。被归类为高感觉寻求者的个人很容易受到药物滥用和其他危险行为的影响，这些行为可能会导致不良的健康结果。感觉寻求是一种基于生物学的人格特征，其特点是倾向于寻找和参与新奇多样的体验，以保持最佳的唤醒水平--即使这些体验涉及重大风险。使用为高轰动寻求者量身定做的电视公共服务公告(PSA)的预防节目，通过融入吸引和保持观众注意力的新奇和高感觉价值的元素，在激励行为和态度改变方面一直是有效的。虽然在有针对性的预防运动方面取得了进展，但影响态度改变的认知和神经生物学机制尚未得到深入研究。本申请使用最先进的功能磁共振成像(FMRI)来探索高感觉和低感觉寻求个体处理高感觉价值PSA所涉及的神经生物学系统。这项研究将确定处理PSA的神经底物是否与新奇检测/寻找多巴胺奖励系统重叠，或者神经底物是否与参与自主神经唤醒和情绪调节的大脑系统重叠。鉴于青春期是初次吸毒、使用频率和滥用情况发展的相当脆弱的时期，本研究包括两个年龄组--青少年和青壮年。功能磁共振成像是探索参与处理复杂媒体信息(如PSA)的神经系统的理想技术，因为它具有非侵入性，并且能够揭示大规模激活模式，这些模式反映了许多可能参与复杂信息处理的大脑系统的参与。不同大脑系统的特征是通过两个常用的任务-新颖性检测和情绪诱导-结合对感觉价值(高和低)和主题内容(药物滥用与安全性行为)不同的PSA的处理来完成的。这项研究中使用的PSA是为了接触到高感觉寻求者而设计的，之前已经证明会影响青少年的态度改变。PSA在感觉价值方面表现得很好。这项申请中提出的研究将为产生关于通过禁毒PSA影响态度或行为改变的潜在神经生物学和认知机制的假说提供基础。联合社区、行为和神经生物学研究项目将提供一种进一步识别和提高预防信息有效性的手段。对可能尝试毒品的人处理禁毒媒体信息所涉及的大脑系统进行表征，可以更好地理解如何在未来设计预防信息。对相关神经系统的更好理解可以导致创造性的方式在这些人身上引发态度和行为的变化。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Drug abuse is a major public health concern and preventing the onset of problematic drug use has become a public health priority. Individuals classified as high sensation seekers are vulnerable to drug abuse and other risky behaviors that may result in poor health outcomes. Sensation seeking is a biologically based personality trait marked by a tendency to seek out and engage in novel and varied experiences to maintain an optimal level of arousal -- even if those experiences involve significant risk. Prevention programs that use televised public service announcements (PSAs) tailored for high sensation seekers have been effective at motivating behavior and attitude change by incorporating elements of novelty and high sensation value that attract and hold the attention of the viewer. Although progress has been made with targeted prevention campaigns, the cognitive and neurobiological mechanisms involved in effecting attitude change have not been addressed in depth. The present application uses state-of-the-art functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to explore the neurobiological systems involved in processing high sensation value PSAs by high and low sensation seeking individuals. This study will determine whether the neural substrates of processing PSAs overlap with the novelty detection / seeking dopamine reward system or whether the neural substrates overlap with brain systems involved in autonomic arousal and emotional regulation. Given that adolescence is a fairly vulnerable period for initial drug use, frequency of use, and development of abuse, the present study includes two age groups -- adolescents and young adults. fMRI is an ideal technique for exploring the neural systems involved in processing complex media messages like PSAs due to its non-invasive nature and capacity to reveal large scale activation patterns that reflect the participation of numerous brain systems, which are likely engaged with complex message processing. The characterization of different brain systems is accomplished with two commonly used tasks - novelty detection and emotional induction - in conjunction with the processing of PSAs that vary in sensation value (high and low) and thematic content (substance abuse versus safe sex). The PSAs used in this study were designed to reach high sensation seekers and have been shown previously to effect attitude change in adolescents. The PSAs are well characterized in terms of sensation value. The research proposed in this application will provide a foundation for generating hypotheses about potential neurobiological and cognitive mechanisms involved in effecting attitude or behavior change through anti-drug PSAs. Uniting community, behavioral, and neurobiological programs of research will provide a means of further identifying and increasing the effectiveness of prevention messages. Characterizing the brain systems involved in processing anti-drug media messages in individuals who are likely to try drugs can lead to a better understanding of how to design prevention messages in the future. A better understanding of the neural systems involved can lead to creative ways to invoke attitude and behavior change in these individuals.