Saturday, July 5, 2025 7/5/2025

Individual Variation in Effects of Traumatic Stress on Gray Matter Myelin

Award Number: R01MH115020
ORGANIZATION: NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF MENTAL HEALTH
OPDIV: NIH
AWARD CLASS: DISCRETIONARY
AWARD ACTIVITY TYPE: SCIENTIFIC/HEALTH RESEARCH (INCLUDES SURVEYS)
PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE START DATE: 01/11/2019
PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE END DATE: 10/31/2025

Group Awards By:

View Award Description

Individual Variation in Effects of Traumatic Stress on Gray Matter Myelin - PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT This research will examine maladaptive myelination as a potential mechanism underpinning the structural and functional brain abnormalities associated with exposure to traumatic stress. Specifically, we will explore the mechanisms behind persistent sensitivity to acute threat (“fear”: RDoC domain) arising from traumatic stress during early adulthood. Myelination most likely evolved to improve conduction velocity but in gray matter (GM), it reduces axonal sprouting, synaptic density, and neuroplasticity. Exciting recent findings have shown that myelin development in both cortical and subcortical gray matter is highly plastic and strongly influenced by new experiences and learning, even during adult life. Importantly, myelin-forming oligodendrocytes are sensitive to environmental stressors and therefore may provide a novel mechanism by which aberrant structural and functional changes arise in the brain. Human brain imaging data from our labs show that subjects with a range of PTSD symptoms secondary to adult trauma exposure have increased myelin content in the hippocampal (HP), frontal, and temporal GM. Importantly, myelin content predicted symptom severity over and above potential confounding variables. Furthermore, we found that adult traumatic stress exposure in rodents produces an increase in oligodendrocytes (OGs) and myelin content in the dentate gyrus (DG), a GM structure. Similar to human subjects, our preliminary data show that symptom severity (fear score) in rats is significantly correlated with DG OGs and myelin content. Overall, these findings provide a translational model to better understand the mechanisms of oligodendrocyte and myelin plasticity in the human. In this proposal, we will test the hypothesis that traumatic stress exposure during adulthood leads to increased myelination in cortical and subcortical GM in regions critical for fear memory. Specifically, we expect to see this increased myelination only in those that subsequently become sensitive to acute threat following stress exposure. Additionally, we hypothesize that increased myelination will constrain the proper functioning of the major intrinsic functional connectivity (IFC) networks. This integrated animal-human design enables an innovative multilevel and causal exploration. Additionally, we focus on a novel role for myelin plasticity in the adult brain as a mediator of trauma-induced acute threat symptoms. Aim 1 is focused on the question of whether hippocampal gray matter myelination predict post-trauma sensitivity to acute threat. Aim 2 is focused on the question of whether the effects of trauma exposure on cortical and subcortical GM myelination predict network connectivity and fear memory.


Issue Date FY	Funding FY	Legal Entity Name	Legal Entity Address	Legal Entity City	Legal Entity State	Legal Entity Zip Code	Legal Entity COUNTY	Legal Entity COUNTRY	Assistance Listing	Award Code	Budget Year	Action Date	Action Type	Action Amount

Issue Date FY: 2025 ( Subtotal = $0 )
2025	2023	NORTHERN CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE FOR RESEARCH AND EDUCATION, INC.	4150 CLEMENT ST # 151	SAN FRANCISCO	CA	94121	SAN FRANCISCO	USA	Mental Health Research Grants	000	5	10/10/2024	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$0
														Subtotal = $0

Issue Date FY: 2023 ( Subtotal = $664,256 )
2023	2023	NORTHERN CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE FOR RESEARCH AND EDUCATION, INC.	4150 CLEMENT ST 151 NC	SAN FRANCISCO	CA	94121	SAN FRANCISCO	USA	Mental Health Research Grants	001	5	11/4/2022	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$597,831
2023	2023	NORTHERN CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE FOR RESEARCH AND EDUCATION, INC.	4150 CLEMENT ST 151 NC	SAN FRANCISCO	CA	94121	SAN FRANCISCO	USA	Mental Health Research Grants	002	5	1/19/2023	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$66,425
2023	2022	NORTHERN CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE FOR RESEARCH AND EDUCATION, INC.	4150 CLEMENT ST 151 NC	SAN FRANCISCO	CA	94121	SAN FRANCISCO	USA	Mental Health Research Grants	000	4	10/26/2022	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$0
														Subtotal = $664,256

Issue Date FY: 2022 ( Subtotal = $684,032 )
2022	2022	NORTHERN CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE FOR RESEARCH AND EDUCATION, INC.	4150 CLEMENT ST 151 NC	SAN FRANCISCO	CA	94121	SAN FRANCISCO	USA	Mental Health Research Grants	001	4	5/16/2022	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$68,403
2022	2022	NORTHERN CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE FOR RESEARCH AND EDUCATION, INC.	4150 CLEMENT ST 151 NC	SAN FRANCISCO	CA	94121	SAN FRANCISCO	USA	Mental Health Research Grants	000	4	10/28/2021	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$615,629
														Subtotal = $684,032

Issue Date FY: 2021 ( Subtotal = $802,360 )
2021	2021	NORTHERN CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE FOR RESEARCH AND EDUCATION, INC.	4150 CLEMENT ST 151 NC	SAN FRANCISCO	CA	94121	SAN FRANCISCO	USA	Mental Health Research Grants	000	3	1/29/2021	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$802,360
														Subtotal = $802,360

Issue Date FY: 2020 ( Subtotal = $888,667 )
2020	2020	NORTHERN CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE FOR RESEARCH AND EDUCATION, INC.	4150 CLEMENT ST 151 NC	SAN FRANCISCO	CA	94121	SAN FRANCISCO	USA	Mental Health Research Grants	000	2	11/19/2019	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$799,801
2020	2020	NORTHERN CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE FOR RESEARCH AND EDUCATION, INC.	4150 CLEMENT ST 151 NC	SAN FRANCISCO	CA	94121	SAN FRANCISCO	USA	Mental Health Research Grants	001	2	2/3/2020	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$88,866
														Subtotal = $888,667

Issue Date FY: 2019 ( Subtotal = $814,223 )
2019	2019	NORTHERN CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE FOR RESEARCH AND EDUCATION, INC.	4150 CLEMENT ST 151 NC	SAN FRANCISCO	CA	94121	SAN FRANCISCO	USA	Mental Health Research Grants	001	1	8/23/2019	SUPPLEMENT FOR EXPANSION	$32,766
2019	2019	NORTHERN CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE FOR RESEARCH AND EDUCATION, INC.	4150 CLEMENT ST 151 NC	SAN FRANCISCO	CA	94121	SAN FRANCISCO	USA	Mental Health Research Grants	000	1	1/11/2019	NEW	$781,457
2019	2019	NORTHERN CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE FOR RESEARCH AND EDUCATION, INC.	4150 CLEMENT ST 151 NC	SAN FRANCISCO	CA	94121	SAN FRANCISCO	USA	Mental Health Research Grants	002	1	9/24/2019	NEW	$0
														Subtotal = $814,223

Grand Total All Awards = $3,853,538

Top

All Categories

About

Search

Reports

Data Submission

Award Information

Individual Variation in Effects of Traumatic Stress on Gray Matter Myelin

Award Number: R01MH115020

ORGANIZATION: NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF MENTAL HEALTH

OPDIV: NIH

AWARD CLASS: DISCRETIONARY

AWARD ACTIVITY TYPE: SCIENTIFIC/HEALTH RESEARCH (INCLUDES SURVEYS)

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE START DATE: 01/11/2019

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE END DATE: 10/31/2025

Federal Websites

Department of Health & Human Services

HHS Operating Divisions

HHS Staff Divisions

Download A Document Viewer