18. GOALS FOR KIRSCHSTEIN-NRSA FELLOWSHIP TRAINING AND CAREER This fellowship will support my doctoral dissertation project in neuroscience and my final year of medical school as part of the combined MD-PhD program (MSTP) at the University of Iowa. My goals for this fellowship are to gain proficiency in the theoretical and practical basis of cognitive neuroscience research and to become qualified for residency training in psychiatry. My long-term goal is to understand the role of emotion in neuropsychiatric disorders such as addiction using the approach of cognitive neuroscience. My dissertation project will look at the neural substrates of cue-induced smoking urge. I have a strong interest in the problem of cue-induced urge because of its importance in addiction, but also because it represents a unique type of subjective emotional experience (feeling) supported by a set of discreet neural processes. The laboratory in which I will complete this work is focused explicitly on the neural substrates of feeling. My project will focus on the role of visceral representation in the feeling of cue-induced urge. My approach will combine cue-exposure with functional neuroimaging, autonomic psychophysiology [continued] 19. NAME AND DEGREE(S) Antoine Bechara, M.D., Ph.D. 20. POSITION/RANK Associate Professor 21. RESEARCH INTERESTS/AREAS Cognitive Neuroscience of Emotion Substance Abuse i]_'] ::lri._']olm: -.:,_n:0--]zo:_'y,-__ 22. DESCRIPTION Cue-induced urge is a hurdle to quitting cigarette smoking. The overall aim of this project is to understand the role of visceral representation in cue-induced smoking urge. The model for this process is based upon Damasio's framework for emotion, which points to visceral representation as a central component in the process of feeling emotion. Cue-induced urge is associated with cue-induced visceral responses. The insular cortex is hypothesized to map cue-induced visceral responses and convey this representation to conscious experience as a feeling of urge. This hypothesis will be tested in two studies. The first study will combine positron emission tomography, autonomic psychophysiology and self-report measurement in order to reveal the neural correlates of cue-induced smoking urge and to quantify the relationships between insular cortex activity, visceral responses and feelings of urge. The second study will look at the effects of focal lesions in smokers in order to determine if the insular cortex is necessary for visceral responses and/or feelings of urge. PHS 416-1 (Rev. 06/02) Form Page 2 Part I Personal Data on Kirschstein-NRSA Individual Fellowship Application I NAMEOFAPPLICANT(Last,firstm, iddleinitia/) Continuation Page I Naqvi, Nasir H. Continuation of Item 18: Goals for Kirchstein-NRSA Fellowship Training and Career and the lesion method - techniques that are applicable to a range of problems in emotion and addiction research. A significant part of my training thus far has been to learn psychophysiological techniques, including skin conductance measurement, electrocardiography, electrogastrography and facial electromyography, in order to examine the relationship between patterns of bodily response and distinct feelings during the recall of emotional life experiences. This work is in support of Damasio's neurobiological framework for feeling, which is the basis for the model of cue-induced urge proposed in my dissertation project. My advisor, Antoine Bechara, is an investigator in the Division of Cognitive Neuroscience of the Department of Neurology, which is headed by Dr. Damasio. My training will draw from Dr. Bechara's experience in applying neuropsychological and psychophysiological techniques to questions in emotion and substance abuse research. Dr. Bechara has published extensively in these areas. It will also benefit from the resources of the Division as a whole. These include expertise in experimental design, neuroanatomy and functional neuroimaging, as well as an intellectual environment that encourages technical innovation and theoretical exploration. In graduate school, through classes and independent study, I have had the opportunity to read extensively about emotion, motivation, drug addiction, learning and memory, and executive function at the molecular, cellular and systems levels. I have also taken classes in neuroanatomy, statistics and human physiology to support the techniques that I will employ in my dissertation work. During this fellowship, I will take classes in statistics, computer science and experimental design that will provide further background in quantitative methods. I will attend seminars through the Department of Neurology and the Neuroscience Graduate Program and will also attend conferences in the areas of neuroscience and drug addiction in order to present my work, to expand my knowledge base and to pursue collaborations. My preclinical work as a medical student has given me a detailed understanding of the human body that has informed my interest in the relationship between bodily processes and emotion. My clinical experiences, especially in psychiatry, have shown me that there is an important place for cognitive neuroscience research in the study of mental illness. They have also been highly rewarding on a personal level. Upon completing my dissertation, I will return to medical school to complete my clerkships with an eye for the application of basic research to the problems of clinical medicine. After completing the MD-PhD program, I will pursue residency training in psychiatry in order to gain experience with clinical assessment, pharmacology and psychotherapy. I plan to continue my research training in residency and fellowship, acquiring further expertise with cognitive neuroscience methods such as functional MRI and electroencephalography. My ultimate aim is to be an academic psychiatrist working on developing treatments for neuropsychiatric disorders such as addiction - treatments that combine pharmacotherapy and psychotherapy. I believe that the most effective treatments will be based upon an understanding of how these therapeutic modalities interact in the brain, and that cognitive neuroscience offers the clearest approach to this understanding. PHS 416-1 (Rev. 06/02) Page 3 Continuation page Kirschstein-NRSA Individual Fellowship Application Table of Contents ========================================Section End===========================================
| Naqvi, Nasir H; Gaznick, Natassia; Tranel, Daniel et al. (2014) The insula: a critical neural substrate for craving and drug seeking under conflict and risk. Ann N Y Acad Sci 1316:53-70 |
| Naqvi, Nasir H; Rudrauf, David; Damasio, Hanna et al. (2007) Damage to the insula disrupts addiction to cigarette smoking. Science 315:531-4 |
| Naqvi, Nasir H; Bechara, Antoine (2006) Skin conductance responses are elicited by the airway sensory effects of puffs from cigarettes. Int J Psychophysiol 61:77-86 |
| Naqvi, Nasir H; Bechara, Antoine (2005) The airway sensory impact of nicotine contributes to the conditioned reinforcing effects of individual puffs from cigarettes. Pharmacol Biochem Behav 81:821-9 |
