A Situational Examination of Neurocognition and Affect with Simultaneous Cannabis

描述(由申请者提供)：拟议培训计划的目标是进一步发展申请者在物质使用和神经心理学领域的知识和研究技能，并将其与生态瞬时评估(EMA)和数据分析的理解相结合。该提案的最终目标是开展一项学位论文项目，加深申请者对研究设计和分析问题的了解，解决围绕大麻和烟草使用的认知和情感情景因素，以及该领域对导致年轻人同时使用大麻和烟草的瞬时因素的知识。鉴于将发展的技能和将获得的知识，该项目是实现申请人的职业目标的必要步骤，即在可以进行独立调查的学术环境中寻求教员职位。拟议的培训计划包括结构化的课程工作、定期的赞助商会议、EMA数据收集和分析的经验以及专业发展活动。这项拟议的研究通过检查同时使用大麻和烟草对年轻成年烟草使用者的神经认知、情感和行为结果的联合影响，进一步推动了这一培训计划。审查这一特殊药物组合的动机是，报告联合使用大麻和烟草的年轻人数量不断增加，与联合使用有关的健康后果(例如，更多的依赖症状，更少的成功戒烟尝试)，以及审查同时使用的机制的调查数量有限。鉴于年轻人受环境变量的影响很大，EMA技术是评估潜在的神经认知和情感因素的最佳方法，这些因素加强了联合使用。这项研究的具体目的是：1)检查同时使用大麻和烟草对神经认知功能的瞬时水平的影响，即工作记忆的变化，并将这些影响与单独使用大麻和烟草的影响进行比较；2)检查同时使用对情感的瞬时变化和主观大麻中毒的影响，并将这些影响与单独使用大麻和烟草的影响进行比较；以及3)检查神经认知的瞬时变化、情感和主观中毒对行为结果(例如，依赖和有问题的使用)之间的联系。数据将从325名年轻人中收集，目前正在进行一项关于年轻人吸烟的社会和情感背景的大型、持续的纵向调查。该项目将由下列领域的专家提供指导：烟草使用和EMA方法(Robin Mermelstein博士)、大麻使用和成瘾的神经心理学(Raul Gonzalez博士)以及分层纵向数据分析(Robin Mermelstein博士和Donald Hedeker博士)。这一研究领域正处于初级阶段，这项研究将是第一批检查大麻和烟草的联合影响以及将神经认知和EMA措施整合到对这一未被研究的现象的研究中的研究之一。拟议的计划不仅将有助于推动申请者的事业向前发展，而且还有望产生直接适用于为也使用大麻的年轻成年烟草使用者制定预防和戒烟努力的结果。 与公共健康相关：烟草使用仍然是年轻人的一个主要公共健康问题。很大比例的年轻成年烟草使用者还同时吸食大麻，这两者都与一系列负面健康后果有关。该项目将有助于描述加强这一联合使用的机制。更好地了解同时使用大麻和烟草的情况相关性和后果，将有助于为同时使用大麻和烟草的年轻人制定更有针对性的预防和戒烟努力。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The goal of the proposed training plan is to further develop the applicant's knowledge and research skills in the areas of substance use and neuropsychology and to integrate this with an understanding of ecological momentary assessment (EMA) and data analysis. The ultimate goal of the proposal is to conduct a dissertation project that will deepen the applicant's knowledge of research design and analytic issues addressing the topic of cognitive and affective situational factors surrounding cannabis and tobacco use and the field's knowledge of the momentary factors that contribute to conjoint cannabis and tobacco use among young adults. Given the skills that will be developed and the knowledge that will be gained, this project is a necessary step in achieving the applicant's career goal to pursue a faculty position in an academic setting where independent investigations can be conducted. The training plan proposed includes structured course work, regular sponsor meetings, experience with EMA data collection and analysis, and professional development activities. The proposed research furthers this training plan by examining the conjoint effects of simultaneous cannabis and tobacco use on neurocognitive, affective and behavioral outcomes in young adult tobacco users. The motivation for examining this particular drug combination comes from the increasing number of young people reporting combined use of cannabis and tobacco, the health consequences associated with conjoint use (e.g., greater dependence symptoms, fewer successful quit attempts), and the limited number of investigations examining the mechanisms that maintain simultaneous use. Given that young adults are highly influenced by contextual variables, EMA techniques are an optimal method for assessing the potential neurocognitive and affective factors that reinforce conjoint use. The specific aims of this study are: 1) to examine the effects of simultaneous use of cannabis and tobacco on momentary levels of neurocognitive functioning, namely changes in working memory and to compare these effects to the effects of cannabis and tobacco alone; 2) to examine the effects of simultaneous use on momentary changes in affect and subjective cannabis intoxication and to compare these effects to the effects of cannabis and tobacco alone; and 3) to examine the link between momentary changes in neurocognition, affect and subjective intoxication on behavioral outcomes (e.g., dependence and problematic use). Data will be collected from 325 young adults currently enrolled in a large, ongoing longitudinal investigation of the social and emotional contexts of young adult tobacco use. Mentorship for this project will be provided by experts in the areas of tobacco use and EMA methodology (Dr. Robin Mermelstein), cannabis use and the neuropsychology of addiction (Dr. Raul Gonzalez), and hierarchical longitudinal data analysis (Dr. Robin Mermelstein and Dr. Donald Hedeker). This area of research is in its nascent stages, and this study will be one of the first to examine conjoint effects of cannabis and tobacco as well as to integrate neurocognitive and EMA measures to the study of this understudied phenomenon. Not only will the proposed plan be instrumental in propelling the applicant's career forward, but also promises to yield results that will be directly applicable to the development of prevention and cessation efforts for young adult tobacco users who also use cannabis. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: Tobacco use continues to be a major public health problem among young adults. A large percentage of young adult tobacco users also engage in simultaneous cannabis use, both of which are linked with a host of negative health consequences. This project will serve to delineate the mechanisms that reinforce this conjoint use. A better understanding of the situational correlates and consequences of simultaneous cannabis and tobacco use will inform the creation of more targeted prevention and cessation efforts for the young adults who use both cannabis and tobacco.