Interdisciplinary Research on Stress, Self-Control & Addiction

描述(由申请者提供)：吸烟、饮酒和过量食用富含脂肪和高脂肪的“舒适”食物是当今美国可预防的死亡和疾病的三大原因。尽管有严重的健康、社会和法律后果，但持续和强迫地参与这些成瘾是一个共同的特征。新出现的数据表明，自我控制机制对于维持这种强迫性的上瘾行为至关重要。压力在上瘾、其他精神疾病和许多慢性病中起着关键作用，也会促进自我控制的失误。尽管关于压力和成瘾、压力和精神障碍以及压力和慢性病之间的联系的研究已经存在，但关于压力、自我控制和成瘾之间的相互作用的系统研究一直很少。压力、自我控制和成瘾之间的这种三方面的相互作用是复杂的，需要一个跨学科(ID)的概念框架和基于团队的协作研究方法，其中包括多个大脑、身体、行为和社会系统。因此，我们建议成立一个关于压力、自我控制和成瘾的跨学科研究联盟(IRCSSA)，该联盟汇集了50多名顶尖科学家，他们进行了与许多NIH研究所(NIMH、NIA、NIDA、NIAAA、NHLBI、NCI、NICHD、NIDDK、NIEHS、NINDS、NIDCD)相关的研究。这些专家代表跨越5个学院(医学、艺术和科学、管理、护理和公共卫生)和三个学术机构的20个学科，将作为一个团队合作：(A)确定吸烟、饮酒和暴饮暴食成瘾行为中与压力相关的自我控制发展的潜在机制；(B)评估慢性压力和成瘾的病理生理学中的自我控制机制；以及(C)开发社会、行为和药物策略，以增加自我控制并减少这些成瘾行为。这些目标将通过动物模型(非人灵长类动物和啮齿动物)和包括儿童和成人在内的人类研究来实现。实现这些目标将对减少这些疾病造成的发病率和死亡率产生直接影响。这些目标将通过解决以下具体目标来实现：(1)通过汇集顶尖的生物、行为和社会科学家建立一个跨学科的研究联盟，研究压力、自我控制和成瘾行为的潜在机制；(2)进行程序性的、以团队为基础的合作研究，以了解促进和维持强迫吸烟、酗酒和暴饮暴食的压力和自我控制的潜在过程；(3)开发新的社会、行为和药物预防和治疗策略，以减轻压力、提高自我控制力，预防和减少成瘾行为；(4)促进来自不同学科的有兴趣的学生和科学家的职业发展和指导，开展关于压力、自我控制、成瘾和相关慢性病的跨学科合作研究；以及(5)向专业受众和公众传播研究结果，包括与社区合作，共同解决压力、自我控制和成瘾行为研究提出的新的社会、卫生政策和生物伦理问题。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Tobacco smoking, alcohol consumption and overconsumption of rich and high fat 'comfort' foods are the top three causes of preventable death and disease in the US today. The persistent and compulsive engagement in these addictions despite serious health, social and legal consequences is a common feature. Emerging data indicate that self control mechanisms are critical in perpetuating this compulsive engagement in addictive behaviors. Stress, which plays a key role in addiction, other psychiatric illnesses and in many chronic diseases, also facilitates lapses in self control. Although research on the links between stress and addiction, stress and psychiatric disorders and stress and chronic diseases exists, systematic research on the interactions between stress, self control and addiction have been rare. This three-way interplay between stress, self control and addiction is complex, and requires an interdisciplinary (ID) conceptual framework with collaborative team-based approaches of study that include the multiple brain, body, behavioral and social systems. We therefore propose an interdisciplinary research consortium on stress, self control and addiction (IRCSSA) that brings together over 50 leading scientists who conduct research relevant to a number of NIH Institutes (NIMH, NIA, NIDA, NIAAA, NHLBI, NCI, NICHD, NIDDK, NIEHS, NINDS, NIDCD). These experts representing 20 disciplines that span 5 schools (Medicine, Arts and Sciences, Management, Nursing and Public Health) and three academic Institutions will collaborate as a team to: (A) identify mechanisms underlying the development of stress-related effects on self-control in the addictive behaviors of smoking, drinking and overeating; (B) evaluate self-control mechanisms in the pathophysiology of chronic stress and addiction, and (C) develop social, behavioral and pharmacological strategies to increase self-control and decrease these addictive behaviors. These goals will be accomplished using animal models (non-human primate and rodents) and human studies that include children and adults. Achieving these goals will have a direct impact in reducing morbidity and mortality resulting from each of these disorders. The goals will be achieved by addressing the following specific aims: (1) To establish an interdisciplinary research consortium by bringing together leading biological, behavioral and social scientists to examine the mechanisms underlying stress, self-control and addictive behaviors; (2) To conduct programmatic, team-based collaborative research to understand the processes underlying stress and self control that promote and maintain compulsive smoking, drinking and overeating; (3) To develop new social, behavioral and pharmacological prevention and treatment strategies to decrease stress, increase self-control and prevent and decrease addictive behaviors; (4) To foster career development and mentoring of interested students and scientists from varied disciplines in collaborative, interdisciplinary research on stress, self control, addiction and related chronic diseases; and (5) To disseminate research findings to professional audiences and the public, including partnering with the community to collaboratively address emerging social, health policy and bioethical issues raised by studies of stress, self-control and addictive behaviors.