Khat Research Program: Neurobehavioral Impact of Long-Term Use

描述（由申请人提供）：我们计划建立一个多学科的研究和培训项目，重点是阿拉伯茶，一种在非洲和中东广泛使用的精神兴奋剂植物，具有显著的神经行为和健康效应。我们将利用这笔探索性/发展性赠款来实现两个主要目标。首先是发展合作关系，提供必要的能力建设资源，其中包括一系列研究培训讲习班，建立一个机构审查委员会，进行有关研究道德标准的培训，以及组织半年一次的会议，以发展未来的方案研究。第二个目标是完成初步研究，以确定长期使用阿拉伯茶的认知、情感和生物行为后果。将比较阿拉伯茶使用者和非使用者在反应抑制、注意力、注意力集中、记忆力以及对急性压力的激素和心血管反应测试中的表现。我们将包括两个阿拉伯茶使用者的样本，那些单独使用阿拉伯茶和那些使用阿拉伯茶和烟草一起。目的是研究同时使用这两种物质的影响。该方案将利用也门独特的人口和环境开展这项工作。初步研究的设计旨在最大限度地发挥在这个国家和周边国家推进阿拉伯茶相关研究的潜力，并将促进今后的研究发展，指导制定减少阿拉伯茶和烟草使用造成的危害的方法。结合应激反应和认知功能的测量将提供关于阿拉伯茶使用对重要行为和神经生物学功能影响的新信息。我们组建了一个多学科的国际团队，在所有相关主题方面都有杰出的记录和经验。该计划的培训和研究部门都将强调这种专业知识的广度。该项目将构成我们未来研究计划概念化的核心部分，以进一步确定阿拉伯茶和同时使用烟草的神经行为影响，并制定有效的干预策略。公共卫生相关性：该方案解决了阿拉伯茶在非洲和中东许多国家以及西欧和北美移民社区日益增加的使用及其对健康的有害影响。该项目将提高我们对阿拉伯茶使用的短期和长期影响的认识，并有助于指导制定与预防和治疗阿拉伯茶和烟草使用有关的未来研究项目。与这一问题作斗争将对世界上许多国家的健康状况产生重大好处。该方案还将在促进也门的科研能力建设方面发挥重要作用。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): We plan to establish a multidisciplinary research and training program focusing on khat, a psychostimulant plant widely used in Africa and the Middle East associated with significant neurobehavioral and health effects. We will use this exploratory/developmental grant to achieve two primary goals. The first is to develop collaborative relationships and provide needed capacity-building resources that will include a series of research training workshops, establishing an Institutional Review Board, conducting relevant training on ethical standards of research, and organizing semi-annual meetings to develop future programmatic research. The second goal is to complete preliminary research to determine cognitive, affective, and biobehavioral consequences of long-term khat use. Khat users and nonusers will be compared on their performance on tests of response inhibition, attention, concentration, memory, and hormonal and cardiovascular responses to acute stress. We will include two samples of khat users, those who use khat alone and those who use khat and tobacco together. The purpose will be to examine the influence of the concurrent use of both substances. The program will take advantage of a unique population and setting by conducting this work in Yemen. The design of the preliminary research is geared towards maximizing the potential for advancing khat-related research in this and surrounding countries, and will facilitate later development of research that will guide efforts to develop methods to reduce the harm caused by khat and tobacco use. The combination of measures of the stress response and cognitive functioning will provide novel information on the impact of khat use on important behavioral and neurobiological functions. We have assembled a multidisciplinary, international team with distinguished records and experience in all relevant topics. Both the training and research arms of the program will emphasize this breadth of expertise. This program will form a core part of our conceptualization of future research initiatives to further identify neurobehavioral effects of khat an concurrent tobacco use and develop means for effective intervention strategies. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: This program addresses the growing use of khat and its harmful effects on health in many countries in Africa and the Middle East and among immigrant communities in Western Europe and North America. The program will advance our knowledge of the short and long-term effects of khat use and help guide efforts to develop future research programs related to prevention and treatment of khat and tobacco use. Combating this problem will have significant benefits on the health conditions in many countries in the world. The program will also be significant in fostering scientific and research capacity-building efforts in Yemen.