Cognitive Control of Emotion in Autism

描述(由申请人提供)：这项指导研究科学家发展奖(K23)将使候选人能够独立地进行自闭症情绪调节发展的研究，结合临床和大脑研究结果。候选人是一名有执照的儿童临床心理学家，专门研究自闭症，也曾接受过遗传学培训。她的短期目标是继续进行认知和情感神经科学机制方面的培训，这些机制是儿童和青少年情绪调节发展的基础，功能磁共振成像(FMRI)的使用，以及引发情绪和测量情绪反应的方法。培训将通过以下方式完成：(A)与医学博士南希·明休(Nancy Minshew)、医学博士凯文·佩尔弗里(Kevin Pelphrey)和医学博士罗纳德·达尔(Ronald Dahl)以及一个由内部和外部顾问组成的专家团队举行会议和指导阅读；(B)正式课程；(C)参加地方和国家会议、期刊俱乐部和研究会议；以及(D)在监督下使用功能磁共振成像方法收集和分析数据以及情绪调节研究的实践经验。匹兹堡大学医学院和卡内基梅隆大学将是这次培训的主要地点，提供神经科学和精神病学研究方面的卓越结合。培训的一个关键组成部分是参与拟议研究的所有方面，该研究利用功能磁共振成像来探索自闭症患者对情绪的认知控制。情绪调节的这一特殊组成部分之所以被选为重点，是因为申请者的临床印象是，坚持不懈往往会导致自闭症患者的破坏性情绪崩溃，而且其他人群的研究表明，与情绪调节相关的注意力偏差可能非常容易治疗。在匹兹堡国立卫生研究院自闭症卓越中心(Pi Minshew)的基础设施内，拟议的研究将包括120名12至18岁的儿童，他们患有或不患有高功能自闭症/阿斯伯格综合症。参与者将在扫描仪中观看令人恐惧的和中性的电影剪辑。将使用多种方法来捕捉情绪反应；最值得注意的是，参与者将在他们使用扫描仪的整个时间内不断地对他们的情绪状态进行评级。这项研究的目的是：描述坚持在自闭症患者对负面刺激的情绪反应中的作用；调查杏仁核和前额叶皮质在情绪反应中的功能及其相互作用；收集关于年龄和共病情绪、焦虑和注意力不集中症状对自闭症情绪反应个体差异的影响的初步数据。从这项研究中获得的对情绪调节的洞察，以及申请者将通过相关培训获得的技能，将使申请者处于有利地位，进行自闭症情绪调节的研究，该研究将具体说明改变机制，以告知治疗进展并解释对治疗的不同反应。 与公共健康相关：自闭症患者情绪调节不良往往会导致“情绪崩溃”和社会功能恶化。这项研究将确定自闭症中存在问题的情绪调节的特定组成部分，以及与这些困难相关的潜在大脑机制。然后，这些信息可以被用来开发新的治疗方法，以改善自闭症患者的情绪和社会功能。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): This Mentored Research Scientist Development Award (K23) will enable the candidate to independently conduct research on the development of emotion regulation in autism that integrates clinical and brain findings. The candidate is a licensed child clinical psychologist, specialized in autism, who also has prior genetics training. Her short-term goals are to pursue training in the cognitive and affective neuroscience mechanisms underlying the development of emotion regulation in childhood and adolescence, the use of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), and methods for eliciting emotion and measuring emotional reactivity. Training will be accomplished via (a) meetings and guided readings with mentors Nancy Minshew, M.D., Kevin Pelphrey, Ph.D., and Ronald Dahl, M.D., and an expert team of internal and external consultants; (b) formal coursework; (c) attendance at local and national conferences, journal clubs, and research meetings, and (d) supervised hands-on experiences in the collection and analysis of data using fMRI methodologies and research on emotion regulation. The University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and Carnegie Mellon University will be the primary sites of this training, offering a combination of excellence in neuroscience and psychiatric research. A key component of the training is participation in all aspects of the proposed study, which utilizes functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging to explore the cognitive control of emotion in ASD. This particular component of emotion regulation was chosen as the focus based on the applicant's clinical impressions that perseveration often leads to disruptive emotional meltdowns in ASD, and because research in other populations suggests that attentional biases related to emotion regulation may be highly amenable to treatment. Within the infrastructure of the Pittsburgh NIH Autism Center of Excellence (PI Minshew), the proposed research will include 120 12 to 18 year old children, with and without high-functioning autism/Asperger's. Participants will view fear-inducing and neutral film clips while in the scanner. Multiple methods will be used to capture emotional reactivity; most notably, participants will continuously rate their emotional status throughout their time in the scanner. The study aims to: characterize the role of perseveration in emotional responses to negative stimuli in autism; investigate the functioning of the amygdala and pre- frontal cortex, and their interactions, during emotional responses; and gather preliminary data on the impact of age and comorbid mood, anxiety, and inattention symptoms on individual differences in emotional responding in autism. Insights into emotion regulation gained from this study, and the skills that the applicant will attain through the related training, will place the applicant in a strong position to conduct research on emotion regulation in autism that will specify mechanisms of change to inform treatment development and explain varying response to treatment. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: Poor emotion regulation in autism often leads to "meltdowns" and worsening of social functioning. This research will identify specific components of emotion regulation that are problematic in autism, and the underlying brain mechanisms related to these difficulties. This information can then be used to develop novel treatments to improve emotional and social functioning in autism.