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Neural Architecture of Social Emotional Processing and Regulation in Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Dynamic Connectivity Perspective

Award Number: R01MH119069
ORGANIZATION: NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF MENTAL HEALTH
OPDIV: NIH
AWARD CLASS: DISCRETIONARY
AWARD ACTIVITY TYPE: SCIENTIFIC/HEALTH RESEARCH (INCLUDES SURVEYS)

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PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a severe and heterogeneous neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by core deficits in social and communication functions. In trying to delineate the underlying neural mechanisms of ASD, neuroimaging studies have focused on networks subserving social-emotional perception and social cognitive processes such as theory of mind (ToM). The role of social-emotional regulation (ER), a central component of effective and coherent social-emotional functioning with treatment implications, in ASD is understudied, albeit recent evidence points to abnormal ER as a potential mechanism for ASD core and non- core (e.g. anxiety) symptoms. Although understanding the neural networks underlying social-emotional perception, cognition and regulation has advanced, their temporal and structural architecture is not fully characterized in the typically developed brain and in ASD. This can be partially attributed to current methods that (1) ignore the dimensionality of ASD related symptoms, and (2) measure functional connectivity (FC; a measure characterizing neural networks) as a static process, ignoring the temporal dynamic interactions within and between networks. The current proposal focuses on the dynamic FC of the neural networks subserving social-emotion processing and regulation of happy and sad simulated social interactions as measured by functional MRI (fMRI) during an ecologically valid task. Two-hundred adults ages 18 to 40, 50 with high- functioning ASD and 150 mixed, non-ASD controls, will undergo a comprehensive assessment of social processing, ER as well as internalizing symptoms (e.g. depression and anxiety). During two MRI sessions they will view short video clips of actors talking about happy, sad or neutral situations while looking directly at the camera, simulating real-life social interactions. While the first session will entail passive viewing, during the second session participants will be asked to apply explicit ER reappraisal strategies they will be trained on. We will use multivariate validated approach that includes independent component analysis (ICA) and dynamic functional network connectivity (dFNC) to assess the temporal dynamic FC within and between social- emotional networks, and domain transition analysis (DTA) to assess the influence of explicit ER on these dFNC patterns (i.e. FC states). Since social processes and functioning, including ER, autistic traits and other related symptoms (e.g. anxiety) are dimensional constructs, we will take a dimensional (vs. categorical) analysis approach to test their predictive values on dynamic FC. If successful, this study will shed light on the neurobiological underpinnings of social-emotional processing and regulation across ASD and healthy individuals, with implications to development of new treatment strategies in this and other psychiatric populations.


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: 2023 ( Subtotal = $654,455 )
2023	2023	HARTFORD HOSPITAL	80 SEYMOUR ST	HARTFORD	CT	06102	CAPITOL	USA	Mental Health Research Grants	000	5	1/20/2023	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$654,455
														Subtotal = $654,455

Issue Date FY: 2022 ( Subtotal = $713,015 )
2022	2022	HARTFORD HOSPITAL	80 SEYMOUR ST	HARTFORD	CT	06102	CAPITOL	USA	Mental Health Research Grants	001	4	5/23/2022	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$71,302
2022	2022	HARTFORD HOSPITAL	80 SEYMOUR ST	HARTFORD	CT	06102	CAPITOL	USA	Mental Health Research Grants	000	4	1/19/2022	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$641,713
														Subtotal = $713,015

Issue Date FY: 2021 ( Subtotal = $722,331 )
2021	2021	HARTFORD HOSPITAL	80 SEYMOUR ST	HARTFORD	CT	06102	CAPITOL	USA	Mental Health Research Grants	000	3	1/29/2021	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$722,331
														Subtotal = $722,331

Issue Date FY: 2020 ( Subtotal = $762,670 )
2020	2020	HARTFORD HOSPITAL	80 SEYMOUR ST	HARTFORD	CT	06102	CAPITOL	USA	Mental Health Research Grants	000	2	2/5/2020	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$762,670
														Subtotal = $762,670

Issue Date FY: 2019 ( Subtotal = $740,886 )
2019	2019	HARTFORD HOSPITAL	80 SEYMOUR ST	HARTFORD	CT	06102	CAPITOL	USA	Mental Health Research Grants	001	1	9/24/2019	NEW	$0
2019	2019	HARTFORD HOSPITAL	80 SEYMOUR ST	HARTFORD	CT	06102	CAPITOL	USA	Mental Health Research Grants	000	1	3/27/2019	NEW	$740,886
														Subtotal = $740,886

Grand Total All Awards = $3,593,357

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Neural Architecture of Social Emotional Processing and Regulation in Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Dynamic Connectivity Perspective

Award Number: R01MH119069

ORGANIZATION: NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF MENTAL HEALTH

OPDIV: NIH

AWARD CLASS: DISCRETIONARY

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

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