NEURAL MECHANISMS OF ADAPTIVE BEHAVIOR

描述（由申请人提供）： 这个建议是为了继续我们的生物医学研究卓越中心（COBRE）在南达科他州大学的适应行为的神经机制。人类和动物都能够改变他们的行为以应对环境状况。对环境做出反应的行为改变是大脑神经回路中发生的适应机制的外部表现。这种适应也会发生在对内部线索的反应中，如压力和焦虑，并且可能产生适应不良的行为反应，这可能发生在精神疾病中。我们的COBRE的一个主要研究目标是了解神经元通路的功能和结构重组如何导致对外部或感知体验的适应性或在某些情况下适应不良的行为反应。此外，我们的COBRE在拟议资助期间的主要目标是通过我们的基础科学家的研究优势，在我们的机构显着发展临床神经科学研究。为了实现这一目标，我们的COBRE提出的五个新的研究项目将检查学习和大脑疾病（如精神分裂症，焦虑和成瘾）过程中发生的细胞变化，并将为基础科学家和临床医生之间建立以患者为导向的合作研究基础提供桥梁。南达科他州大学（USD）和南达科他州大学医学院（USDSM）的神经科学小组在过去几年中在基础科学方面进行了重大扩展，这主要是由于我们的COBRE的资助。随着持续的资金，我们建议扩大神经科学的基础和临床研究在一个地区，北方中西部地区，这是传统上高度不足的精神卫生保健方面和资金不足的基础和临床研究，旨在加强治疗有关改善脑功能障碍后创伤或疾病状态。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): This proposal is for continuation of our Center of Biomedical Research Excellence (COBRE) on NEURAL MECHANISMS OF ADAPTIVE BEHAVIOR at the University of South Dakota. Both human and animal subjects are able to modify their behavior in response to environmental situations. Behavioral modifications in response to the environment are an external manifestation of adaptive mechanisms that take place in neuronal circuits in the brain. Such adaptations also occur in response to internal cues such as stress and anxiety and maladaptive behavioral responses may be generated as may occur in mental illness. A major research goal of our COBRE is to understand how functional and structural reorganization of neuronal pathways results in adaptive, or in some cases maladaptive, behavioral responses to external or perceived experiences. Moreover, a primary objective of our COBRE in the proposed funding period is to significantly develop clinical neuroscience research at our institution through the research strengths of our basic scientists. To achieve this aim, the five new research projects proposed by our COBRE will examine cellular changes that occur during learning and brain disorders such as schizophrenia, anxiety and addiction, and will provide a bridge toward establishing a base for collaborative patient-oriented research among basic scientists and clinicians. The Neuroscience Group at the University of South Dakota (USD) and University of South Dakota School of Medicine (USDSM) has undergone significant expansion in the basic sciences in the last several years due largely by the funding of our COBRE. With continued funding, we propose to expand neuroscience basic and clinical research in a region, the northern midwest, that is traditionally highly underserved in terms of mental health care and underfunded for both basic and clinical research directed at enhancing treatments related to improving brain dysfunction following trauma or in disease states.