The goal of the proposed SNRP at UHM-John A. Burns School of Medicine (JABSOM) is to develop a critical mass of neuroscientists who will focus their research efforts on health problems that are highly prevalent in Hawai'i, particularly among the under-represented minority populations. These neuroscientists are trained in a variety of disciplines and will contribute to and collaborate on five interdisciplinary projects proposed in this application. The scientific issues to be explored in the proposed research program will involve the understanding of neurotoxic effects of the major drugs of abuse in Hawaii [i.e. methamphetamine (Meth) and marijuana] and to learn whether prenatal methamphetamine exposure might affect neonatal brain development. The problems of Meth and marijuana abuse affect the underserved minorities, specifically Pacific islanders, and Asians, in Hawai'i more than other populations. Furthermore, although the population infected with HIV is relatively smaller compared to some major metropolitan areas, the rising infection rate among the Asian Pacific Islanders is a concern to the local Department of Health. Therefore, we will also explore possible mechanisms of brain injury in HIV. To achieve this goal, the following are the scientific objectives: 1) To evaluate changes in brain function in individuals with substance-dependence (specifically with methamphetamine and with marijuana);2) to evaluate possible brain changes in neonates with prenatal methamphetamine exposure;3) to develop in vivo markers of oxidative stress and determine whether changes in these markers are related to neurotoxicity in HIV subjects with or without Meth abuse. We also propose the following programmatic objectives: 1) to build strong interdisciplinary teams of researchers to study brain-related changes associated with substance abuse (especially methamphetamine and marijuana, which are highly prevalent in Hawaii) and with HIV/AIDS;2) to provide mentoring to junior investigators and graduate students, including medical students, residents and fellows, for their career development;3) to provide a forum for inter-disciplinary learning through bi-monthly research seminars and bi-monthly journal clubs. These scientific and programmatic objectives will be achieved through the four interdisciplinary projects, an administrative-clinical-training core and a technical core proposed in this application.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS)
Type
Specialized Center--Cooperative Agreements (U54)
Project #
3U54NS056883-05S1
Application #
8329894
Study Section
Special Emphasis Panel (ZNS1-SRB-P (21))
Program Officer
Ferrell, Courtney
Project Start
2007-09-01
Project End
2013-08-31
Budget Start
2011-09-01
Budget End
2013-08-31
Support Year
5
Fiscal Year
2011
Total Cost
$40,936
Indirect Cost
Name
University of Hawaii
Department
Internal Medicine/Medicine
Type
Schools of Medicine
DUNS #
965088057
City
Honolulu
State
HI
Country
United States
Zip Code
96822
Liang, Huajun; Chang, Linda; Chen, Rong et al. (2018) Independent and Combined Effects of Chronic HIV-Infection and Tobacco Smoking on Brain Microstructure. J Neuroimmune Pharmacol 13:509-522
Chang, Linda; Lim, Ahnate; Lau, Eric et al. (2017) Chronic Tobacco-Smoking on Psychopathological Symptoms, Impulsivity and Cognitive Deficits in HIV-Infected Individuals. J Neuroimmune Pharmacol 12:389-401
Wu, Dan; Chang, Linda; Akazawa, Kentaro et al. (2017) Mapping the critical gestational age at birth that alters brain development in preterm-born infants using multi-modal MRI. Neuroimage 149:33-43
Kogachi, Shannon; Chang, Linda; Alicata, Daniel et al. (2017) Sex differences in impulsivity and brain morphometry in methamphetamine users. Brain Struct Funct 222:215-227
Evans, Daniel S; Avery, Christy L; Nalls, Mike A et al. (2016) Fine-mapping, novel loci identification, and SNP association transferability in a genome-wide association study of QRS duration in African Americans. Hum Mol Genet 25:4350-4368
Hayama, Sara; Chang, Linda; Gumus, Kazim et al. (2016) Neural correlates for perception of companion animal photographs. Neuropsychologia 85:278-86
Akazawa, Kentaro; Chang, Linda; Yamakawa, Robyn et al. (2016) Probabilistic maps of the white matter tracts with known associated functions on the neonatal brain atlas: Application to evaluate longitudinal developmental trajectories in term-born and preterm-born infants. Neuroimage 128:167-179
Deng, Weiran; Zahneisen, Benjamin; Stenger, V Andrew (2016) Rotated stack-of-spirals partial acquisition for rapid volumetric parallel MRI. Magn Reson Med 76:127-35
Zahneisen, Benjamin; Keating, Brian; Singh, Aditya et al. (2016) Reverse retrospective motion correction. Magn Reson Med 75:2341-9
Chang, Linda; Akazawa, Kentaro; Yamakawa, Robyn et al. (2016) Delayed early developmental trajectories of white matter tracts of functional pathways in preterm-born infants: Longitudinal diffusion tensor imaging data. Data Brief 6:1007-15

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