The educational aim of the proposed Mentored Research Scientist Development Award (MRSDA) is to train the candidate in functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and cardiovascular behavioral medicine research methods. Training in these two research methods will support the candidate's long-term professional objective of understanding the central nervous system regulation of cardiovascular reactions to stress in humans. Because individuals who show large increases in blood pressure during stress are at an increased risk for atherosclerosis and hypertension, an enhanced understanding of the central regulation of cardiovascular stress reactions will increase our knowledge about the origins of a risk factor for the leading worldwide cause of death: cardiovascular disease. To accomplish the educational aim of the proposed MRSDA, the candidate will (1) complete coursework in neuroscience, statistics, and research ethics; (2) attend methodology workshops on fMRI, neuroimaging data analysis, and behavioral medicine; (3) be instructed by expert mentors and consultants on fMRI methodology and central cardiovascular control; and (4) execute an fMRI study on the central control of blood pressure reactions to stress. This fMRI study has two Specific Aims:
Aim 1 is to test the hypothesis that larger blood pressure reactions to laboratory stressors are associated with concurrently greater activation (as revealed by greater blood oxygen level-dependent [BOLD] signal intensities) in cortical (ventromedial prefrontal, insular, and anterior cingulate) and subcortical (amygdala and hypothalamus) brain systems that putatively support stressor processing and cardiovascular regulation.
Aim 2 is to test the hypothesis that individuals who have shown large-magnitude blood pressure reactions to stress in the past will also show greater activation in these cortical or subcortical brain systems than a matched sample of low cardiovascular-reactive individuals during stress. By supporting interdisciplinary training and research in fMRI and cardiovascular behavioral medicine, the proposed MRSDA will foster a new course of study on the central nervous system origins of a salient risk factor for cardiovascular disease. ? ?
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