Affective Deficits in Schizophrenia

描述（由申请人提供）：本指导患者导向研究职业发展计划的目的是寻求支持，开发一种综合情感和认知神经科学方法来研究精神分裂症的情感缺陷。这项研究的主要目的是对神经回路的功能进行评估，该神经回路在连接情感和认知信息的基本过程中起着至关重要的作用。情感信息的准确编码和检索以及这种经验与记忆中的事件和线索的联系尤为重要，因为它们有助于形成动机状态，并为适应性决策提供信息。目前的研究计划侧重于发展行为和功能成像范式，以评估编码和识别情感信息的基本记忆过程。提出的职业发展和研究计划旨在使候选人准备：a)设计理论驱动的任务，以探索记忆中情感信息的利用；b)使用这些任务来研究精神分裂症患者情绪和记忆功能相关的神经回路功能障碍。为了实现这些目标，候选人将从事以下职业发展活动：a)情感和认知神经科学专家的高级培训和咨询，为新的认知情感刺激和任务的评估提供信息；b) MR物理和高级统计方法的教育和培训，以支持有效使用fMRI数据采集技术和图像分析。c)咨询临床情感和认知神经科学家专家，以便对患者群体的行为和神经影像学数据进行复杂的分析和解释。John Sweeney博士指导了这个项目，在情感神经科学、临床神经科学、MR物理和高级统计分析方面有大量顾问参与。该培训将使候选人能够有效地整合情感和认知神经科学范式中使用的策略，以研究精神分裂症中情感-认知过程的缺陷，并培养作为独立研究者继续这一重要研究领域所需的技能和专业知识。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The purpose of this Mentored Patient-Oriented Research Career Development proposal is to request support to develop an integrated affective and cognitive neuroscience approach to investigate affective deficits in schizophrenia. The primary aim of the research is to functionally assess neural circuitry that is critically involved in basic processes linking emotional and cognitive information. Accurate encoding and retrieval of affective information and linkage of this experience to events and cues in memory are particularly important because they contribute to motivational states and provide information utilized for adaptive decision-making. The current research plan focuses on developing behavioral and functional imaging paradigms to assess basic memory processes that encode and recognize affective information. The proposed career development and research plans are designed to prepare the candidate to: a) design theoretically-driven tasks to probe utilization of affective information in memory, and b) use these tasks to investigate dysfuntion in neural circuitry involved in emotional and mnemonic function in individuals with schizophrenia. To achieve these goals, the candidate will pursue career development activities which focus on a) advanced training and consultation with experts in affective and cognitive neuroscience to inform assessment of new cognitive-affective stimuli and tasks, b) education and training in MR physics and advanced statistical methods to support effective use of fMRI data acquisition techniques and image analysis, and c) consultation with expert clinical affective and cognitive neuroscientists to enable sophisticated analysis and interpretation of behavioral and neuroimaging data in patient populations. Dr. John Sweeney mentors this project, with significant participation by consultants in affective neuroscience, clinical neuroscience, MR physics, and advanced statistical analysis. This training will enable the candidate to effectively integrate strategies used in affective and cognitive neuroscience paradigms to investigate deficits in affective-cognitive processes in schizophrenia, and to develop the skills and expertise necessary to continue this important line of research as an independent investigator.