Biological Correlates of Traumatic Stress

描述（由申请人提供）：这是一份更新病人导向研究（K24）“创伤应激生物学相关”中期职业研究者奖的申请，申请对象是J. Douglas Bremner, m.d.，允许他继续在创伤应激生物学相关领域为初级研究者提供指导。申请人的研究将脑成像应用于创伤后应激障碍（PTSD）的研究，使用磁共振成像（MRI）显示创伤后应激障碍的海马体积较小，使用正电子发射断层扫描（PET）显示创伤后应激障碍中涉及内侧前额皮质，海马和杏仁核的神经回路的改变。申请人的其他研究应用了动物研究结果，显示血清素再摄取抑制剂（SSRIs）促进神经发生（受压力抑制），表明SSRIs导致海马体积增加5%，海马基于陈述性记忆功能改善30%。目前的研究正在使用成像技术来研究创伤后应激障碍治疗反应的神经相关性以及压力和抑郁的神经和心肌相关性。申请人在进行研究方面非常有成效，在他的早期职业生涯中，以及在他的T32“神经成像科学培训计划（TPINS）”的第一个阶段，他指导了43名学员。神经成像科学培训计划（TPINS）、埃默里大学神经科学研究生计划以及其他资源，包括疾病控制中心（CDC）、行为神经科学中心和耶基斯区域灵长类动物中心，为受训人员的研究和发展提供了极好的机会。埃默里大学的学院和合作氛围为学员创造了绝佳的体验。在美国排名前25位的大学中，埃默里大学的少数族裔学生和教师比例最高，这为少数族裔提供了绝佳的培训机会。申请人提供的导师将为开展创伤应激生物学相关领域的下一代研究提供重要的新一代研究人员。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): This is an application for a renewal of Mid-Career Investigator Award in Patient Oriented Research (K24) "Biological Correlates of Traumatic Stress" for J. Douglas Bremner, M.D., to allow him to continue to provide mentoring to junior investigators in the area of biological correlates of traumatic stress. Studies by the applicant have applied brain imaging to the study of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to show smaller hippocampal volume in PTSD, and positron emission tomography (PET) to show alterations in a neural circuit involving medial prefrontal cortex, hippocampus and amygdala in PTSD. Other studies by the applicant applied animal findings showing that serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) promote neurogenesis (which is inhibited by stress) to show that SSRIs result in a 5% increase in hippocampal volume and 30% improvement in hippocampal-based declarative memory function. Current studies are using imaging to study neural correlates of response to treatment in PTSD and neural and myocardial correlates of stress and depression. The applicant has been very productive in performing research and has mentored 43 trainees during his early career and in the first period of this K24 in conjunction with his T32 "Training Program in Neuroimaging Sciences (TPINS)". The Training Program in Neuroimaging Sciences (TPINS), Graduate Program in Neuroscience at Emory, and other resources, including the Center for Disease Control (CDC), Center for Behavioral Neuroscience, and Yerkes Regional Primate Center, represent excellent opportunities for research and the development of trainees. There is a collegial and collaborative atmosphere at Emory that creates as excellent experience for trainees. Emory University has the highest proportion of minority students and faculty of any of the top 25 universitites in the US, offering an excellent opportunity for training in an area particularly relevant for minorities. The mentorin provided by the applicant will provide an important new crop of investigators to conduct the next generation of research in the field of biological correlates of traumatic stress. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: Traumatic stress is an important and pervasive public health concern, with early traumas such as childhood abuse leading to long-term negative effects on mental and physical health. The current program provides mentoring for trainees from a variety of backgrounds, including physicians and junior scientists, to train in the area of biological correlates of traumatic stress. This highly productive program of research and training offers to provide important findings in the field of biological correlates of traumatic stress, as well as to furnish the next generation of scientists and research physicians who will make important contributions to this field in the future. The program holds promise for the advancement of the treatment of patients suffering from mental and physical health correlates of exposure to traumatic stress.