Sleep and the Neural Basis of Emotion Processing in Childhood

项目总结/摘要 对影响情感脑回路发展的过程的研究对于阐明情感脑回路的作用至关重要。 精神障碍的神经生物学基础。成年人的机械证据显示睡眠- 适应性情绪处理的中枢脑区之间的依赖性功能“断开”（即， 调节和表达）表明睡眠丧失是一个基本目标。幼儿的数据也类似， 但并不存在。幼儿期是睡眠和情绪加工成熟的敏感期 以及通常首先检测到两个域中的干扰的时间。此外，流行病学 研究结果显示，儿童睡眠不足是普遍存在的，与并发的情绪问题有关， 并预测了后来的情绪和注意力障碍。尽管我们最近的实验结果表明， 急性睡眠不足会导致幼儿的非适应性情绪处理， 这种睡眠依赖性效应是未知的。此外，绝大多数关于睡眠和情感的基础研究 底物利用了睡眠剥夺或睡眠限制方案。我们将采用睡眠延长 在长期睡眠受限的儿童中，这是一种高度可转化的方法，具有重大的公共卫生意义。 这项R21探索性/发展性研究项目将研究实验性睡眠延长是否会影响睡眠质量。 儿童改变了神经和行为机制，而睡眠不足是导致睡眠不足的危险因素。 情绪/行为问题。5. 0 - 5. 9岁慢性睡眠不足的儿童（≥ 6小时/晚≤9小时/晚） 月）将被随机分配到睡眠延长组或活动对照组。扩展组父母 将参加为期1个月的个性化行为睡眠干预，以促进目标睡眠时间 在开始2周睡眠延长计划（8周方案）之前改善。大脑和行为 评估将在基线和睡眠扩展后进行。其中包括结构磁共振，功能磁共振成像和在- 扫描视频的面部表情在一个任务引发消极和积极的情绪，并在- 情绪处理和执行功能的家庭测试。将检验以下假设：1） 与对照组儿童相比，扩展组儿童的负面情绪敏感性降低， 积极情绪敏感度，通过fMRI激活积极/消极情感系统测量，扫描仪内 任务完成过程中的面部情绪表达，以及家庭行为评估;以及2）扩展 与对照组相比，儿童将表现出更多的调节/环境之间的功能连接， 处理系统和积极/消极的影响系统在任务完成。拟议的研究是在 符合NIMH的几个战略目标，该方法包括跨越许多领域的措施， 研究领域标准项目的结构。这项工作的结果对于开发一个 对儿童早期睡眠-情绪联系的机械理解，并将为早期预防提供信息， 针对有情绪/行为问题的儿童的干预计划。

PROJECT SUMMARY / ABSTRACT Research on processes influencing the development of affective brain circuits is critical to elucidating the neurobiological substrates of psychiatric disorders. Mechanistic evidence from adults showing a sleep- dependent functional “disconnect” between brain regions central to adaptive emotion processing (i.e., regulation and expression) suggests that sleep loss is a fundamental target. Similar data in young children, however, do not exist. Early childhood is a sensitive period in the maturation of sleep and emotion processing and also a time when disturbance in both domains is commonly first detected. Further, epidemiological findings reveal that insufficient sleep in childhood is prevalent, associated with concurrent emotional problems, and predicts later mood and attentional disorders. Although our recent experimental findings indicate that acute sleep loss results in non-adaptive emotion processing in young children, the neural systems underlying such sleep-dependent effects are not known. Also, the vast majority of basic research on sleep and affective substrates has utilized sleep deprivation or sleep restriction protocols. We will instead employ sleep extension in chronically sleep-restricted children, a highly translatable approach with significant public health implications. This R21 Exploratory/Developmental research project will examine whether experimental sleep extension in children alters the neural and behavioral mechanisms by which short sleep is a risk factor for emotional/behavioral problems. Children ages 5.0-5.9 years with chronic insufficient sleep (≤9 h/night for ≥6 months) will be randomized to either a sleep Extension or to an active Control group. Extension group parents will participate in a 1-month individualized behavioral sleep intervention to promote targeted sleep duration improvements before beginning a 2-week sleep Extension schedule (8 week protocol). Brain and behavioral assessments will occur at Baseline and post sleep Extension. These include structural MR, fMRI and in- scanner video of facial emotion expressions during a task eliciting negative and positive emotions, and in- home testing of emotion processing and executive function. The following hypotheses will be tested: 1) Extension compared to Control group children will show decreased negative emotion sensitivity and increased positive emotion sensitivity as measured by fMRI activation of positive/negative affect systems, in-scanner facial emotion expressions during task completion, and in-home behavioral assessments; and 2) Extension compared to Control group children will exhibit increased functional connectivity between regulatory/context- processing systems and positive/negative affect systems during task completion. The proposed research is in line with several strategic goals of the NIMH, and the approach includes measures that span a number of constructs of the Research Domain Criteria Project. The results of this work are critical to developing a mechanistic understanding of sleep – emotion links during early childhood and will inform early prevention and intervention programs targeting children with emotional/behavioral problems.