Studies of Reward Processing and Impulsivity in Nicotine Addiction and Obesity

描述（由申请人提供）：候选人的长期职业目标是研究冲动和奖励加工相关的神经机制，并评估它们对吸烟和暴饮暴食等负面健康行为的影响。冲动性与不顾负面长期后果而对即时回报的偏好有关，这反过来又会导致与健康相关的糟糕决策。为了实现她的职业目标，候选人需要加强她的神经成像技能，并扩大她的科学背景，包括成瘾和肥胖的临床经验。通过K99/R00机制，她将接受必要的培训，成为转化认知神经科学研究中具有竞争力的独立研究者，因为它与成瘾和肥胖有关。这位候选人的直接目标是研究尼古丁成瘾、肥胖和健康人群对奖惩的神经反应。采用功能性磁共振成像（fMRI），指导的研究计划使用金钱奖励和自我报告的冲动来澄清尼古丁成瘾和肥胖在神经系统奖励机制中的共享程度。该候选人还将研究不同程度的冲动是否会对尼古丁成瘾和肥胖的奖励处理产生不同的影响。在独立研究阶段，候选人将研究当这些相同的群体在较小的即时可用奖励和较大的延迟奖励之间进行选择时，大脑的反应。独立研究阶段还将包括一组肥胖的尼古丁成瘾者，以进一步调查负面健康行为的共同机制。这些研究经历将为候选人的职业生涯奠定基础，使其成为一名独立研究者，在与健康相关的决策中进行冲动和奖励的神经成像转化研究。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The candidate's long-term career goal is to examine the neural mechanisms associated with impulsivity and reward processing, and evaluate their impacts on negative health-related behaviors such as smoking and overeating. Impulsivity is associated with a preference for immediate rewards despite negative long-term consequences, which in turn can lead to poor health-related decision-making. To meet her career goal, the candidate needs to strengthen her neuroimaging skills and expand her scientific background to include clinical experiences in addiction and obesity. Through the K99/R00 mechanism she will receive the training necessary to become a competitive independent investigator in translational cognitive neuroscience research as it relates to addiction and obesity. The candidate's immediate goal is to examine neural responses to rewards and punishments in nicotine addicted, obese and healthy groups. Employing functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), the mentored research proposal uses monetary rewards and self-reported impulsivity to clarify the degree to which nicotine addiction and obesity share mechanisms in the neural systems of reward. The candidate will also examine whether varying levels of impulsivity differentially impact reward processing in nicotine addiction and obesity. During the independent research phase, the candidate will examine how the brain responds when these same groups choose between smaller immediately available rewards compared to larger delayed rewards. The independent research phase will also include a group of obese nicotine addicted individuals to further investigate shared mechanisms of negative health-related behaviors. These research experiences will lay the groundwork for the candidate's career as an independent investigator conducting translational research in neuroimaging of impulsivity and reward in health-related decision making. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: The proposed mentored and independent research has important clinical implications concerning addiction and obesity. The results will shed light on how impulsivity, addiction and obesity impact reward processing and decision-making, which may ultimately have clinical applications such as the development of personally, tailored treatment programs.