This is a request for a Core Grant to Enhance Neuroscience Transfer (CoGENT) from the New York State Psychiatric Institute. Ten qualifying Base Grants in the mood and anxiety disorders research area have been selected. These grants represent a diversity of expertise, technologies, and scientific approaches, ranging from basic to treatment studies. Included are studies involving neuroimaging, electrophysiology, genetic markers, study of CSF neurotransmitter metabolites and proteins, treatment of refractory patients, treatment of the elderly, and consideration of comorbid disorders and ecologically-valid research designs. The main goal of the proposed CoGENT is to link these technologies and diverse areas of expertise so that multiple studies can benefit. In particular, we are dedicated to neuroimaging, electrophysiology, applying modern neuroscience technologies such as advanced brain protein chemistry, and genetic marker analysis to treatment research. In so doing, we hope to be able to speed the effort toward placing our understanding of psychopathology and treatment on a firm neuroscience platform. The proposed CoGENT builds upon strengths accumulated during nearly two decades of funding through the Mental Health Clinical Research Center (MHCRC) program. Specifically, three cores that have proven both successful and invaluable from our MHCRC have been revised and are included in this proposal. They are the Laboratory and Technical Support (LTS) Core (formerly the Biological Studies Unit), the Centralized Normal Control Recruitment (CNCR) Core, and the Biostatistics, Data Management, and Networking (BDMN) Core. These three cores will support the ten Base Grants, provide common resources that will facilitate technology and knowledge transfer among scientists, and encourage the development of novel research studies and approaches.
