Motivated Attention and Avolition in Individuals with Schizophrenia

描述(申请人提供)：这项以患者为导向的研究职业发展奖的目的是请求支持，为候选人提供认知和情感神经科学方面的培训，以指导他正在开发的专注于精神分裂症情绪处理缺陷的研究计划。越来越多的证据表明，情绪处理的异常可能是精神分裂症一些最持久和最令人衰弱的症状的基础：因此，更深入地了解情绪处理背后的行为和生物机制有可能极大地帮助我们理解这些症状，并更有效地开发药物治疗和心理治疗来解决这些症状。这项研究的主要目的是检查精神分裂症患者是否在注意加工方面表现出异常，这可能会显著影响对环境中积极情绪特征和消极特征的关注。此外，应聘者建议培养眼球跟踪和事件相关电位(ERP)方法的使用技能，以评估在情绪信息认知处理中至关重要的时间进程和神经回路。拟议的培训和研究计划旨在为候选人做好准备：a)设计理论驱动的任务来检查情绪和注意力的相互作用，以及b)使用这些任务来研究精神分裂症患者参与情感处理的功能障碍的神经回路。为了实现这些目标，应聘者将从事职业发展活动，重点是发展情感和认知神经科学文献和方法方面的专业知识，以及ERP分析和神经生理学方面的专业知识，以便有效地收集和解释ERP数据。James M.Gold博士和Gunvant Thaker博士指导了这项工作，提供了情感和认知神经科学角度的专业知识，在行为、眼动和ERP范例方面使用精神分裂症样本的重要经验，以及整合行为和神经生理方面的表现的实践。这种培训将使应聘者发展必要的技能和专业知识，以建立一条独立的研究路线，检查有助于精神分裂症发展的认知、情感和神经机制。 与公共卫生相关：精神分裂症是一种精神疾病，影响世界约1%的人口。很大比例的精神分裂症患者在病程的某个时候会出现“阴性症状”(如精神分裂、快感缺乏)；然而，很少有治疗方法可以补救这些症状。鉴于阴性症状与社会和功能结果高度相关，对与这些症状相关的神经机制进行研究至关重要，目的是利用这一知识来指导新的治疗方法。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The purpose of this Mentored Patient-Oriented Research Career Development Award is to request support to provide the candidate with training in cognitive and affective neuroscience to guide his developing research program focusing on deficits in emotional processing in schizophrenia. There is growing evidence that abnormalities in emotional processing may underlie some of the most persistent and debilitating symptoms of schizophrenia: thus, greater insight into the behavioral and biological mechanisms underlying emotional processing has the potential to significantly inform our understanding of these symptoms, and to more effectively develop both pharmacotherapy and psychotherapy treatments to address these symptoms. The primary aim of the research is to examine whether individuals with schizophrenia demonstrate abnormalities in attentional processing, which could significantly influence focus on emotionally positive versus negative features of the environment. In addition, the candidate proposes to develop skills in the use of Eye-Tracking and Event Related Potential (ERP) methodologies in order to assess the time-course and neural circuitry that is critically involved in the cognitive processing of emotional information. The proposed training and research plans are designed to prepare the candidate to: a) design theoretically driven tasks to examine emotion and attention interactions, and b) use these tasks to investigate dysfunctional neural circuitry involved with affective processing in individuals with schizophrenia. To achieve these goals, the candidate will pursue career development activities that focus on development of expertise in affective and cognitive neuroscience literature and methodology, and in ERP analysis and neurophysiology in order to effectively collect and interpret ERP data. Drs. James M. Gold and Gunvant Thaker mentor this work, providing expertise in affective and cognitive neuroscience perspectives, significant experience working with schizophrenia samples in both behavioral, eye- movement, and ERP paradigms, and practice in integrating behavioral and neurophysiological aspects of performance. This training will enable the candidate to develop the skills and expertise necessary to establish an independent line of research examining cognitive, emotional, and neural mechanisms that contribute to the development of schizophrenia. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: Schizophrenia is a psychiatric disorder that affects approximately 1% of the world's population. A large proportion of individuals with schizophrenia experience "negative symptoms" (e.g., avolition, anhedonia) at some point in the course of their illness; however, there are few treatments available to remediate these symptoms. Given that negative symptoms are highly associated with social and functional outcomes, it is of critical importance to conduct research into the neural mechanisms associated with these symptoms, with the aim of using this knowledge to inform novel treatments.