1989 |
Berntson, Gary G. |
R03Activity Code Description: To provide research support specifically limited in time and amount for studies in categorical program areas. Small grants provide flexibility for initiating studies which are generally for preliminary short-term projects and are non-renewable. |
Vocal Perception-Physiological &Neuroimaging Approaches
The proposed project will initiate a novel, interdisciplinary investigation into the ontogeny and phylogeny of neural and perceptual processes underlying vocal communication. Given the complexities of vocal communication and language, it is becoming increasingly clear that an understanding of vocal perception can only be achieved through a multidisciplinary effort. The present project will bring together experts from the fields of psychobiology, comparative behavior, electroencephalography, and linguistics, and will employ a wide range of methodological approaches. The ultimate goals are to gain a clearer understanding of 1) the constitutional and environmental contributions to the development of vocal perception, 2) the specific neural mechanisms and perceptual processes underlying vocal communication, 3) the features or attributes of acoustic stimuli to which these mechanisms may be tuned, and 4) the phylogenetic emergence of these perceptual mechanisms. The proposed work, representing a critical step in this direction, will examine the development of perceptual reactions of infant chimpanzees to natural and synthetic vocal stimuli, through the combined use of autonomic measures, cerebral event-related potentials (ERPs), and Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI). Autonomic responses to vocal stimuli will reveal basic patterns of functional reaction to the acoustic stimuli, and ERPs will provide indices of the neural events underlying stimulus processing. In addition, the ERP measures, coupled with MRI reconstructions, will provide critical information on the cerebral distribution of electrical activity evoked by the experimental stimuli. A further understanding of vocal processing in non-human primates may not only enhance our appreciation of social communication in these species, but may contribute to our understanding of the underlying neural and perceptual mechanisms for vocal perception in humans. Thus, information gained in these studies may lay important groundwork for an understanding of the neurodevelopmental bases of normal and dysfunctional speech perception in human children.
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1994 — 1995 |
Berntson, Gary G. |
R01Activity Code Description: To support a discrete, specified, circumscribed project to be performed by the named investigator(s) in an area representing his or her specific interest and competencies. |
Evaluative Processes
DESCRIPTION (Adapted from applicant's abstract): The broad goals of the proposed effort are to increase the understanding of the contributions of evaluative processes to behavior. Evaluative dispositions, as manifested by approach/avoidance tendencies or appetitive/aversive reactions, are ubiquitous in behavioral contexts, and can range from reflexive responses to simple stimuli, to generalized attitudinal dispositions to broad classes of stimuli. Of particular interest are the multiple levels of evaluative processes that may be operative in a given behavioral context, and the potential interactions among these processes. These issues will be addressed in chimpanzees, through studies of a potent TIE that appears to arise from competing evaluative dispositions to food arrays. The proposed studies will examine the social, perceptual, and incentive determinants of this task interference. The proposed effort will also test a conceptual model of the levels of evaluative processing, and will further develop this model. The loner- term goal is to elucidate the antecedents, consequents, and neurobiological mechanisms of evaluative processes. Given the unique phylogenetic status of chimpanzees, this species may be optimal for bridging the gap between the human and animal literatures on evaluative processes.
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1994 — 1997 |
Berntson, Gary G. |
M01Activity Code Description: An award made to an institution solely for the support of a General Clinical Research Center where scientists conduct studies on a wide range of human diseases using the full spectrum of the biomedical sciences. Costs underwritten by these grants include those for renovation, for operational expenses such as staff salaries, equipment, and supplies, and for hospitalization. A General Clinical Research Center is a discrete unit of research beds separated from the general care wards. |
Prader-Willi Syndrome--Benzodiazepines and Food Intake Patterns
This study examines further the nature of the food intake disturbances in Prader-Willi Syndrome (PWS), through normative macronutrient preference tests and standardized tests, and examines the effects of chlorodiazapines on food intake in these patients.
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1995 — 2002 |
Berntson, Gary G. |
R01Activity Code Description: To support a discrete, specified, circumscribed project to be performed by the named investigator(s) in an area representing his or her specific interest and competencies. |
Psychophysiology and Anxiogenesis
DESCRIPTION (applicant's abstract): The research proposed in this competitive renewal application would examine the role of the basal forebrain cortical cholinergic system in behavioral and cardiovascular features of fear and anxiety. The research is guided by two hypotheses: a) that rostral neurobehavioral mechanisms underlying fear and anxiety can modulate autonomic control, and b) that autonomically mediated visceral reactions can modulate the cortical processing of anxiety-related contexts via central ascending pathways. The latter includes the basal forebrain cortical cholinergic projection, which has been implicated in cardiovascular reactivity associated with fear and anxiety. The proposed work will further develop and test a neurobiological model of central systems underlying fear and anxiety. Specific emphasis is on the basal forebrain cholinergic system and its role in integrating behavioral and cardiovascular reactions. The work will identify relevant target sites of the basal forebrain cholinergic system in rats, by central infusions of a cholinergic-specific immunotoxin (192IgG-saporin), as well as cholinergic and adrenergic drugs and benzodiazepine receptor agonists, antagonists, and inverse agonists. Other proposed studies will clarify the behavioral conditions in which the basal forebrain cholinergic system is operative, and will test hypotheses concerning the ascending components of the model. These include an examination of the role of visceral afference in modulating behavioral and autonomic reactivity in anxiogenic contexts, by means of subdiaphragmatic vagotomy and other approaches. The proposed studies bear on the fundamental nature of anxiety and the underlying neural mechanisms that link behavioral processes and autonomic functions. These are important issues given the prevalence of anxiety disorders, and the fact that anxiolytic benzodiazepine receptor agonists are the most widely prescribed psychopharmacological agents worldwide. Because anxiety disorders are often associated with abnormal autonomic regulation, they represent a clear risk factor for cardiovascular disease and sudden cardiac death.
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