Vincent P. Clark - US grants

DESCRIPTION: (provided by applicant) Our long term goal is to apply functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRl), event-related potentials (ERPs), structured interviews and neuropsychological testing for the prediction of relapse to cocaine use in abstinent cocaine dependent patients. The objectives of this application are to study the effects of cocaine dependence on brain activity and cognition, and test which measures, or combination of measures, best predicts relapse. The rationale behind this research is that the amplitude of the frontal P300 ERP component has been found to be a reliable predictor of relapse to cocaine abuse in abstinent cocaine-dependent patients in treatment. However, the specific neural and cognitive factors that underlie this finding are unknown. FMRI has a spatial resolution that is ideal for imaging the neural architecture of the human brain, and could provide an improved measure of relapse potential. Newly developed methods for performing event-related fMRI will be used to obtain the anatomical locations of neural fields that respond to the same stimuli that generate the P300 ERP component. Recently abstinent cocaine dependent patients will be recruited from local treatment programs after two weeks of abstinence. Abstinence will be verified over a six-month period. Healthy non-drug-dependent volunteers will also be studied. Neuropsychological testing will examine the behavioral consequences of neurophysiological differences found between groups. The combination of ERP, fMRI and neuropsychological methods will provide a precise analysis of changes in brain activity, and their consequences for cognitive task performance, during cocaine withdrawal in humans. It is anticipated that information obtained in the present series of experiments will be useful in understanding the mechanisms of cocaine dependence and relapse, and in improving treatments for this disorder.

Current computing systems that support research on sensitive data, such as personally identifiable information, are frequently single-purpose and rely on ad-hoc approaches to data protection and management. This project develops system called SAMPRA: Scalable Analysis, Management, and Protection of Research Artifacts. SAMPRA's goal is to provide a compliant research computing platform that supports diverse, inter-disciplinary, collaborative research on protected data. SAMPRA leverages modern virtualization technology to enable the decentralized management of protected computing enclaves that can be customized to the needs of each specific research project. In addition, the project trains researchers and students on best practices for managing and analyzing protected data, and technical staff on how to customize environments to the needs of individual research groups.

SAMPRA investigates multiple techniques to meet these goals, with the overall technical goal of understanding the technical and administrative tradeoffs between isolating and sharing protected research infrastructure services. First, SAMPRA systematically virtualizes hardware, software, and network resources to provide a flexible system architecture that supports research computing with varying analysis, management, and protection needs. SAMPRA also provides virtual data transfer nodes to interface protected environments with external data acquisition systems, with the goal of supporting modern data-intensive research projects using central institutional resources. The project develops exemplar computing, data analysis, and data management virtual environments, and integrating these with institutional systems for managing protected data. These exemplar systems are also the examples used in workshops that train researchers on the use of SAMPRA to support research.

This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

Project Summary/Abstract This Phase III (P-III) COBRE project will extend the cores that have been successfully leveraged in our Phase I (P-I) and Phase II (P-II) COBRE projects and sustain these unique resources in New Mexico through the im- plementation of a business plan. Over the past eight years we have built up infrastructure and created a cutting edge brain imaging center, our P-II project is just over half-way through and is even more successful than our P- I was at this point in time. The Mind Research Network (MRN) houses an Elekta Neuromag 306-channel MEG System, a high density EEG lab, a 3T Siemens Trio MRI scanner, and a mobile 1.5T Siemens Avanto MRI scanner. Additional resources include a centralized neuroinformatics system, a strong IT management plan, and state-of-the-art image analysis expertise and tools. This P-III COBRE center will continue our momentum and move the cores we have developed into a position of long term sustainability. We will continue with the technical cores established during the P-II project including multimodal data acquisition (MDA), algorithm and data analy- sis (ADA), and biostatistics and neuro-informatics (BNI). These cores have begun to serve MRN and the greater community, as well as other institutions including extensive collaborations with IDeA funded projects in New Mexico and other states. We believe this P-III COBRE is extremely well-positioned to establish and sustain New Mexico as one of the premier brain imaging sites. We include an extensive pilot project program (PPP) that is built on the successful pilot programs implemented as part of the earlier COBRE phases. This includes an ex- tensive educational, mentoring, and faculty development program to carefully mentor and position faculty who use the cores to maximize their potential to successfully compete for external funding, thus fulfilling the ultimate goals of the COBRE program. 2