Effects of Drug Use on Prefrontal Cortex Function in HIV+ Women

描述（由申请人提供）：本申请提出了一个博士前培训计划，旨在调查人类免疫缺陷病毒（HIV）和最近的非法药物使用对女性认知功能的影响。该培训计划涉及三个主要领域的指导，教学和体验式研究培训：1）药物滥用; 2）艾滋病毒; 3）神经成像;和4）统计方法。该培训计划是实现申请人职业目标的重要一步，即成为一名专注于女性认知和成瘾行为的独立调查员。在这一更广泛的目标范围内，拟议的研究培训计划的总体目标是更好地了解艾滋病毒和最近使用快克可卡因对认知功能的相互作用。这一培训方案将利用妇女机构间艾滋病毒研究收集的数据，这是一项关于艾滋病毒自然史和治疗史的前瞻性研究。第一个项目是一项行为研究，研究艾滋病毒和快克可卡因使用对情景记忆测试中执行策略（即语义聚类）的相互影响。据预测，快克可卡因使用者与非吸毒妇女相比，战略执行功能将下降，这些影响在艾滋病毒阳性妇女中更为明显。第二个项目是一项神经成像研究，检查艾滋病毒和快克可卡因使用对女性延迟情景记忆和记忆系统的相互影响。研究这些主题的动机来自：a）试点数据表明，最近使用快克可卡因对HIV阳性但不影响HIV阴性女性的记忆力产生负面影响;以及B）WIHS最近的出版物显示，HIV血清状态影响延迟情景记忆和辅助延迟情景记忆的记忆系统。由此，可以预测，最近的非法药物使用将与延迟情节记忆受损，情节记忆任务的执行策略受损，以及延迟情节记忆任务执行期间前额叶皮层激活的改变有关。重要的是，据预测，这些影响将在艾滋病毒阳性妇女比在风险，艾滋病毒妇女更明显。这项培训计划将增加对艾滋病毒感染妇女的认知和成瘾行为的理解，并将为未来的独立学术生涯奠定坚实的基础。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): This application proposes a predoctoral training program aimed at investigating the effects of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) and recent illicit drug use on cognitive function in women. The training program involves mentored, didactic, and experiential research training in three primary areas: 1) substance abuse; 2) HIV; 3) neuroimaging; and 4) statistical methods. The training program is an important step in achieving the applicant's career goal of becoming an independent investigator focusing on cognition and addictive behaviors in women. Within this broader goal, the general aim of the proposed research training program is to better understand the interactive effects of HIV and recent crack cocaine use on cognitive function. This training program would draw on data collected in the Women's Interagency HIV Study, a prospective study of the natural and treated history of HIV. The first project is a behavioral study examining the interactive effects of HIV and crack cocaine use on measures of executive strategies (i.e. semantic clustering) on tests of episodic memory. It is predicted that crack cocaine users will show decreased strategic executive function compared to non-drug abusing women and these effects will be more pronounced among HIV + women. The second project is a neuroimaging study examining the interactive effects of HIV and crack cocaine use on delayed episodic memory and memory systems in women. The motivation for examining these topics comes from: a) pilot data suggesting that recent crack cocaine use negatively impacts memory in HIV+ but not HIV- women; and b) recent publications in WIHS showing that HIV serostatus impacts delayed episodic memory and memory systems subserving delayed episodic memory. From this, it is predicted that recent illicit drug use will be associated with impaired delayed episodic memory, impaired executive strategies on episodic memory tasks, and altered prefrontal cortex activation during performance of a delayed episodic memory task. Critically, it is predicted that these effects will be more pronounced in HIV+ women versus at-risk, HIV-women. This training program would add to the understanding of cognition and addictive behaviors in women with HIV and would serve as a solid foundation for a future independent academic career.