COGNITIVE AND NEURAL MECHANISMS OF DECISION MAKING

这个子项目是许多研究子项目中利用 资源由NIH/NCRR资助的中心拨款提供。子项目和 调查员(PI)可能从NIH的另一个来源获得了主要资金， 并因此可以在其他清晰的条目中表示。列出的机构是 该中心不一定是调查人员的机构。 该项目的总体目标是评估娱乐MDMA(“摇头丸”)使用者可能受损的判断和决策神经认知机制，以及这些有缺陷的机制与安全驾驶机动车所需的复杂战略和战术决策操作的关系。年轻人广泛使用摇头丸令人担忧，特别是因为其相关的交通事故风险。流行病学研究和个案研究表明，判断力受损和冒险程度较高是与摇头丸有关的交通事故最有可能的诱因。研究还表明，娱乐性摇头丸的使用、可能的5-羟色胺神经毒性、决策能力下降、冲动控制和其他执行功能机制，以及对驾驶行为的潜在影响之间存在联系。这些问题在摇头丸的娱乐使用停止后似乎仍然存在很长时间，这表明神经药理损害可能是长期的或永久性的。虽然摇头丸的残留认知效应在非吸毒者中得到了广泛的研究，但这些研究主要集中在记忆、分散注意力、语义识别、言语推理和学习的机制上。关于摇头丸如何直接影响禁欲使用者的判断/决策、工作记忆和冲动控制机制，人们知之甚少。因此，本研究将检验摇头丸使用者认知和驾驶行为的一系列假说。总体假设是，娱乐使用MDMA，以及在较小程度上使用其他药物(例如大麻)，将产生残余的认知影响，进而导致驾驶任务中的判断错误。这些判断上的错误与额叶功能的神经心理测试所衡量的特定执行功能的下降直接相关。阐明摇头丸对判断、决策和冲动控制的残余影响，除了在促进认知神经科学的基础知识方面的明显价值外，还有几个重要的实践后果。

This subproject is one of many research subprojects utilizing the resources provided by a Center grant funded by NIH/NCRR. The subproject and investigator (PI) may have received primary funding from another NIH source, and thus could be represented in other CRISP entries. The institution listed is for the Center, which is not necessarily the institution for the investigator. The overall aim of this project is to assess the neurocognitive mechanisms of judgement and decision-making that may be impaired in recreational MDMA ("Ecstasy") users, and the relationship of these defective mechanisms to the complex strategical and tactical decision-making operations needed to safely drive a motor vehicle. the widespread use of Ecstasy by young people causes concern, especially due to its associated risk of traffic accidents. Epidemiological research and case studies have shown that impaired judgement and higher risk taking are the most likely contributors to Ecstasy-related traffic accidents. Research also shows that there is a link between recreational Ecstasy use, possible serotonin neurotoxicity, decline in decision-making, impulse control, and other mechanisms of executive functions, and a potential impact on driving behavior. These problems seem to remain long after the recreational use of Ecstasy has ceased, suggesting that the neuropharmacological damage may be long lasting or permanent. Although the residual cognitive effects of Ecstasy have been studied extensively in drug free Ecstasy users, these studies have focused primarily on mechanisms of memory, divided attention, semantic recognition, verbal reasoning and learning. Very little is known about how Ecstasy impacts directly the mechanisms of judgement/decision-making, working memory, and impulse control, in abstinent users. Therefore, this study will test a series of hypotheses on cognition and driving behavior in Ecstasy users. The overall hypothesis is that recreational use of MDMA, and to a lesser extent other drugs (e.g. cannabis), will produce residual cognitive effects that in turn result in errors in judgement during the driving task. These errors in judgement are directly related to decline in specific executive functions as measured by neuropsychological tests of frontal lobe functions. Elucidation of the residual effects of Ecstasy on judgement, decision-making, and impulse control has several important practical consequences, in addition to its obvious value in advancing fundamental knowledge in cognitive neuroscience.