Neurocognitive mechanisms of reward - motivated memory persistence across age

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Project Summary/Abstract My career goal is to a lead a research group that investigates the neurocognitive development of motivationally-salient memory formation and how persistent memories influence behaviors that can increase risk for substance use disorders. To acquire the necessary skills to lead a team pursuing this line of research, I propose a project that aims to examine the neural mechanisms underlying reward-motivated memory, the influence of previously learned reward value on new learning, and the impact of real-world positive affect states on memory processes from childhood to adulthood. My training to date has provided me with a strong methodological and theoretical foundation in developmental cognitive neuroscience and basic behavioral neuroscience research. My career development plan builds on this knowledge base by providing crucial, intensive training in the study of reward-motivated memory and its relation to addiction, multivariate analyses of neuroimaging data, computational modeling, and ecological momentary assessment methods. Completion of the proposed research and training will prepare me to lead a lab that uses a translational approach to study appetitive and aversive motivated memory processes and how they guide future behaviors across development, using sophisticated computational and neuroimaging approaches. Research Project: Experimentation with addictive substances often begins during adolescence, increasing the risk of progression to addiction. Normative developmental changes in mesolimbic dopamine systems, which drive adolescent reward sensitivity and motivated behaviors, alongside changes in hippocampal memory systems may yield vulnerability to substance abuse during adolescence. While a rich body of research has focused on how reward sensitivity drives reactive and consummatory behaviors during adolescence, few studies have investigated how this sensitivity shapes memory and future choices. The goal of the proposed research is to investigate age-related changes in reward-motivated memory persistence that may contribute to substance abuse from childhood to adulthood, spanning the transition into and out of adolescence. We hypothesize that adolescent reward sensitivity enhances the persistence of reward-motivated memories, yielding greater susceptibility to substance abuse. The first study (Aim 1) will identify age-related changes in the neural mechanisms supporting reward-motivated memories. The second study (Aim 2) will determine how reward-motivated experiences and related brain activity influence subsequent learning across age. Finally, the third study will investigate how real-world affective states influence memory and its relation to substance use and mesolimbic dopamine system connectivity across age (Aim 3). Understanding the neurocognitive mechanisms through which rewards modulate memory and guide future behaviors across age – both in the lab and in the real-world – may provide key insights into how to help prevent substance use disorders and to promote a healthy transition into adulthood.