Biofeedback of real-time fMRI to control activity in the orbitofrontal cortex

描述(由申请人提供)：强迫症是一种相对常见的和衰弱的疾病，与眶前皮质的多动有关。目前的治疗方法对许多人无效，需要开发新的(最好是低风险的)临床干预措施。此外，眼眶前额叶皮质活动亢进与强迫症相关的神经生物学基础尚不清楚。拟议的研究项目通过开发一种方案来解决这些问题，该方案通过使用实时功能磁共振成像(RT-fMRI)数据的生物反馈来训练受试者控制与污染相关的焦虑相关的眼眶前额皮质区域的活动。RT-fMRI数据的生物反馈是一种新技术，它将受试者大脑特定区域的活动时间模式作为反馈信号提供给受试者。受试者可以试验不同的认知策略，以确定哪些策略有效地影响感兴趣区域的大脑活动，从而获得对目标大脑区域的更大控制。这项拟议的研究项目考察了RT-fMRI数据的生物反馈是否能够使健康受试者更好地控制与污染相关的焦虑相关的眼眶额叶皮质区域。如果是这样的话，这项新技术可能会为强迫症患者带来一种低风险、非侵入性的临床干预。此外，还将在生物反馈前后检查眼眶额叶皮质和大脑其他区域之间的功能连接模式，以确定哪些脑区与眼眶额叶皮质的相互作用与受试者控制该区域活动的能力有关。这将使我们了解眼眶前额活动模式中与生物反馈相关的变化背后的网络动力学。尽管这项研究项目的重点是开发一种专门用于治疗和研究强迫症的方案，但该方法作为一种治疗干预措施和作为一种广泛的神经精神障碍的研究工具都有很大的前景。然而，RT-fMRI数据的生物反馈是一项非常新的技术，需要像拟议的项目这样的发展研究来充分发挥其潜力。 与公共健康相关：实时脑成像可以提供有关特定大脑区域活动的信息，几乎是在活动发生时(只有几秒钟的延迟)。通过向人们提供这些信息作为反馈信号，我们的目标是训练他们控制大脑特定区域的神经活动，并检查这种培训导致大脑区域之间的相互作用如何变化。这项拟议的研究将这种方法发展为一种治疗和研究强迫症的工具，尽管它对广泛的精神障碍具有潜在的治疗和研究效用。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Obsessive-compulsive disorder is a relatively common and debilitating disorder associated with hyperactivity in the orbitofrontal cortex. Current treatments are ineffective for many individuals and the development of new (preferably low-risk) clinical interventions are needed. Furthermore, the neurobiological basis of hyperactivity in orbitofrontal cortex associated with obsessive-compulsive symptoms is not well understood. The proposed research project addresses these issues by developing a protocol to train subjects to control activity in a region of their orbitofrontal cortex associated with contamination-related anxiety using biofeedback of real-time functional magnetic resonance imaging (rt-fMRI) data. Biofeedback of rt-fMRI data is a new technique in which the temporal pattern of activity in a specific region of a subject's brain is provided as a feedback signal to the subject. The subject can experiment with different cognitive strategies to identify those that are effective in influencing brain activity in the region of interest, thereby gaining greater control over the target brain region. The proposed research project examines whether biofeedback of rt-fMRI data can enable healthy subjects to develop greater control over the area of their orbitofrontal cortex associated with contamination-related anxiety. If so, this new technique may yield a low- risk, non-invasive clinical intervention for patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder. In addition, patterns of functional connectivity between the orbitofrontal cortex and other regions of the brain will be examined before and after biofeedback to identify those brain areas whose interactions with the orbitofrontal cortex are related to the ability of subjects to control activity in this area. This will inform our understanding of the network dynamics underlying biofeedback-related changes in orbitofrontal activity patterns. Although this research project is focused on developing a protocol specifically for treating and studying obsessive-compulsive disorder, the methodology has great promise as both a treatment intervention and as a research tool for a broad range of neuropsychiatric disorders. Biofeedback of rt-fMRI data is, however, a highly novel technique, and developmental studies such as the proposed project are needed to realize its full potential. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: Real-time brain imaging can provide information regarding activity in specific brain areas almost as it is occurring (with only several seconds delay). By providing people with this information as a feedback signal, we aim to train them to control neural activity in particular regions of their brains and to examine how interactions between brain areas change as a result of such training. The proposed research develops this method as a tool for treating and studying obsessive-compulsive disorder in particular, although it has potential therapeutic and investigative utility for a wide range of mental disorders.