Identifying the role of emotion processes in core features of Autism Spectrum Disorder

项目概要/摘要 这是凡妮莎·H博士的K23申请表巴尔是芝加哥大学精神病学助理教授， 加州旧金山弗朗西斯科。巴尔博士正在确立自己作为一个临床科学家谁进行跨学科， 以患者为导向的研究，旨在促进对自闭症谱系的生物学基础的理解 自闭症（ASD）症状。K23将为Bal博士提供必要的支持，以完成以下任务 目标：1）发展情感科学的理论基础的专业知识; 2）获得方法熟练 （收集和分析心理生理学和面部行为数据），以进行未来的情绪研究， 患有ASD的儿童在能力范围内（例如，最低限度的口头）; 3）熟悉神经系统 调解情绪过程; 4）获得必要的知识，使用实验室为基础的研究结果， 了解社会情绪障碍的临床措施的机制; 5）学会翻译 动物模型和治疗开发研究的临床表型; 6）获得所需的知识， 对神经发育人群进行纵向研究; 7）开发一个独立的 跨学科研究生涯为了实现这些目标，巴尔博士组建了一个多学科的指导小组， 团队包括一位主要导师：霍华德罗森博士（一位在心理生理学和神经病学方面具有专长的神经学家）。 组织的情绪系统在大脑中）;四个共同导师：博士弗吉尼亚斯特姆（神经心理学家， 专家在实验室评估的情绪和社会行为的病人），斯蒂芬欣肖（a 具有发育精神病理学和神经发育纵向研究专业知识的心理学家 马修状态（精神病学家和遗传学家，具有跨学科ASD研究的专业知识）; 和一位统计顾问，凯文·德卢奇博士（一位在精神病学研究方面有专长的生物统计学家）。 拟议的项目探讨情绪过程（反应和调节）之间的关系 和社会情感功能障碍。Bal博士将使用基于实验室的范例来测量生理 （心脏，呼吸，皮肤电）和行为（面部肌肉）的情绪反应和调节儿童- 与ASD和典型的发展（目标1和2）。然后，她将把实验室结果与临床结果结合起来， 社会情绪功能和ASD症状的测量，以确定情绪对现实世界的影响。 （目标3）。巴尔博士的研究目标是确定社会情绪的潜在机制。 这些损伤可用于描述遗传风险因素与临床结果之间的关联。 这个项目是创新的，因为它探索了情感处理在ASD症状中的潜在作用，使用 情感科学的成熟转化方法，阐明了潜在的机制， 其他患者群体的临床损伤。研究结果将大大有助于我们了解 ASD症状的生物学基础巴尔博士的K23培训将使她做好准备，进行尖端研究， 这将为临床和基础ASD研究提供信息。

PROJECT SUMMARY / ABSTRACT This is a K23 application for Dr. Vanessa H. Bal, an Assistant Professor in Psychiatry at the University of California San Francisco. Dr. Bal is establishing herself as a clinician-scientist who conducts interdisciplinary, patient-oriented research aimed at advancing understanding of the biological bases of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) symptoms. This K23 will provide Dr. Bal with essential support to accomplish the following goals: 1) develop expertise in the theoretical basis of affective science; 2) gain methodological proficiency (collection and analysis of psychophysiological and facial behavior data) to conduct future emotion studies in children with ASD across the range of ability (e.g., minimally verbal); 3) gain familiarity with the neural systems mediating emotion processes; 4) obtain the knowledge necessary to use laboratory-based findings to understand mechanisms underlying clinical measures of socioemotional impairments; 5) learn to translate clinical phenotypes to animal model and treatment development studies; 6) acquire knowledge needed to conduct longitudinal research with neurodevelopmental populations; and 7) develop an independent interdisciplinary research career. To achieve these goals, Dr. Bal has assembled a multidisciplinary mentoring team including a primary mentor: Dr. Howard Rosen (a neurologist with expertise in psychophysiology and the organization of emotional systems in the brain); four co-mentors: Drs. Virginia Sturm (a neuropsychologist with expertise in laboratory assessment of emotion and social behavior in patients), Stephen Hinshaw (a psychologist with expertise in developmental psychopathology and longitudinal studies of neurodevelopmental disorders), and Matthew State (a psychiatrist and geneticist with expertise in interdisciplinary ASD research); and a statistical advisor, Dr. Kevin Delucchi (a biostatistician with expertise in psychiatric research). The proposed project explores the relationship between emotional processes (reactivity and regulation) and socioemotional dysfunction in ASD. Dr. Bal will use laboratory-based paradigms to measure physiological (cardiac, respiratory, electrodermal) and behavioral (facial muscles) emotional reactivity and regulation in child- ren with ASD and typically development (Aims 1 & 2). She will then integrate laboratory findings with clinical measures of socioemotional functioning and ASD symptoms to determine the real-world impact of emotional impairments (Aim 3). The goal of Dr. Bal's research is to identify mechanisms underlying socioemotional impairments that can be used to delineate associations between genetic risk factors and clinical outcomes. This project is innovative because it explores the potential role of emotion processing in ASD symptoms, using well-established, translational methods from affective science that have clarified mechanisms underlying clinical impairments in other patient groups. Results will significantly contribute to our understanding of the biological basis of ASD symptoms. Dr. Bal's K23 training will prepare her to conduct cutting-edge studies of aberrant socioemotional development across the lifespan that will inform clinical and basic ASD research.