PROJECT SUMMARY
American Indian (AI) populations have had the largest increase in suicide rates of any ethnic group in that past
decade and have high rates of mental health concerns such as post-traumatic stress, substance use, anxiety,
and mood disorders. However, previous research and preliminary analyses demonstrated that AIs actually
display lower levels of mental health concerns than broader populations when accounting for increased levels
of risk factors, (e.g., trauma exposure). Extant literature indicates that factors associated with AI culture are
protective against poor mental health. Yet, little is known about how cultural factors (e.g., enculturation, social
support) play a protective role. There are no published studies examining neural underpinnings of the
protective role of AI cultural factors. Filling this gap is a critical step in supporting an experimental therapeutics
approach to developing culturally informed prevention and intervention efforts. Cognitive control is a
neurocognitive function that is implicated across numerous psychiatric disorders, can be assessed with
validated behavioral and neuroimaging tasks, and has been well-delineated in regard to underlying neural
circuitry. The aims of the proposal are to (a) determine whether cultural protective factors relate to behavioral
and neural indicators of cognitive control, as measured during electroencephalography and functional magnetic
resonance imaging and (b) develop an experimental, cultural identification paradigm to serve as the basis for
future culturally-informed neuroscientific research and intervention/prevention efforts.
A community based participatory research (CBPR) framework will be used to recruit participants who have
completed multimodal neural and behavioral indicators of cognitive control, clinical interviews, self-report
measures of psychopathology symptoms and global functioning as part of a previous study. They will complete
self-report measures of enculturation, social support, global functioning and a cultural enhancement induction
paradigm developed using a CBPR framework. These data will provide an essential foundation for developing
culturally informed, evidence-based intervention and prevention efforts aimed at reducing the mental health
disparities among AIs. The proposed training plan will expand Dr. White expertise in neuroscientific
mechanisms of cognitive control through mentorship, coursework, and hands-on training in advanced statistical
methods, multimodal (EEG/fMRI) neuroimaging, clinical neuroscience, and culturally informed research. He
has assembled a team of mentors well suited to provide the required diversity of expertise he needs to achieve
independence. Dr. Martin Paulus will provide expertise neuroimaging and advanced data analytic expertise.
Dr. Aupperle will bring extensive experience related to neuroimaging and clinically relevant neuroscience
approaches. Dr. Lowe will provide expertise and experiences in AI culturally informed research. The training
and associated research will be conducted at LIBR, a state-of-the-art institute dedicated to neuroimaging
research aimed at developing more effective treatments for neuropsychiatric disorders.