Angela Bryan - US grants

APPLICANT'S ABSTRACT: Due to high rates of unprotected intercourse with multiple partners, adolescents are at great risk for sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) including the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) (American Association for World Health, 1998; Whaley, 1999). Alcohol use is commonly cited as a reason for high levels of risky sexual behavior among adolescents such as those involved in the criminal justice system (Brook, Balka, Abernathy, & Hamburg, 1994; Morris et al., 1998; Lowry, Holtzman, Truman, Kann, Collins, & Kolbe, 1994), largely because these adolescents evidence extremely high levels of both alcohol use and risky sexual behavior. However, the nature of this association has not been adequately demonstrated, the influence of third variables has often been neglected, and factors affecting the alcohol/risky sex connection have received little attention. The current research project will examine the complex association between alcohol and risky sexual behavior in a longitudinal design among a sample of 300 high-risk adolescents on probation. Hypotheses regarding both proximal and distal influences of alcohol on engaging in risky sexual behavior, as defined by engaging in vaginal intercourse without a condom, will be explored. Psychosocial determinants of condom use, personality characteristics, alcohol use history, and sexual behavior history will be assessed at an initial time point. A follow-up assessment of recent alcohol use and sexual behavior will be conducted six months after the initial measurement. The first specific aim is to establish whether a previously tested mediational model of intentions to use condoms (Bryan, Aiken, & West, 2000) predicts actual condom use behavior six months later among criminally-involved adolescents, irrespective of alcohol use. The second specific aim is to determine how quantity and frequency of alcohol use influences the relationships among model constructs and condom use by simultaneously estimating the model of condom use among heavy drinkers versus light drinkers/abstainers. The third specific aim is to examine the role of third variables that may account for the relationship between alcohol use and risky sex (e.g., impulsivity/sensation seeking, sex-related alcohol expectancies, and overall frequency of intercourse), and to assess via a within-subjects episodic methodology the degree to which alcohol use concurrent with sexual activity is proximally associated with lower rates of condom use. These findings will inform the development and implementation in the future of a theory-driven, empirically targeted HIV prevention intervention for adolescents with high rates of alcohol abuse and problems.

(Revised) DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Adolescents are at great risk for infectious diseases including the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Though the CDC reports that overall AIDS incidence is on the decline, there has been no comparable decline in the number of newly diagnosed HIV cases among young people aged 13-19, and young people of color are particularly at risk. Compared to the general adolescent population, adolescents involved with the criminal justice system are at higher risk for unintended pregnancy and infections. Alcohol use is commonly cited as a reason for risky behavior among high-risk adolescents such as those involved in the criminal justice system (e.g., Morris et al., 1998) and recent data from our research suggests that it is heavy alcohol use that is most strongly related to risky behavior (Bryan, Rocheleau, & Robbins, 2002a). The goal of this research is to design, implement, and test a successful HIV/Alcohol risk reduction intervention that is theory-based, empirically targeted to adolescents, and articulated to a criminal justice setting. The study compares a risk reduction intervention that incorporates an alcohol risk reduction component to a standard risk reduction intervention and a no treatment control condition. We hope to show that: 1) A combined risk reduction intervention will result in larger decreases in risky behavior, 2) The intervention will exert effects through reductions in alcohol use and changes in other mediators derived from a theoretically-based model of intentions and behaviors, and 3) A risk reduction intervention including an alcohol component will be especially effective for those adolescents with higher levels of existing alcohol problems. Finally, if the hypotheses are supported, the long-term objective will be to disseminate the intervention curricula and materials for use in adolescent detention facilities throughout the state.

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant) Regular physical activity has been implicated in the prevention of a number of cancers including those of the colon, breast, endometrium, and prostate (Kaaks & Lukanova, 2002), and is potentially associated with the prevention of other cancers as well (Friedenreich, 2001). Despite the benefit of regular physical activity in the prevention of cancer as well as other debilitating illnesses, 79% of the U.S. population do not get the recommended amount of physical activity as defined by 30 minutes of regular activity 5 or more days per week, and 40% of the population is completely sedentary (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (USDHHS), 1998). The long-term objective of the proposed research is to advance a conceptualization of the biological, physiological, and psychological determinants of exercise behavior with the express purpose of developing more effective prevention and intervention efforts that are designed to promote exercise behavior among sedentary individuals, and to prevent cancers associated with sedentary lifestyle. The goal of the present application is to establish readily identifiable phenotypic markers for the reinforcing effects of exercise by rigorously testing theory-based hypotheses regarding individual differences in the effects of exercise on mood states. Using a laboratory study and a longitudinal follow-up, the proposed study will address three hypotheses: 1) That a single bout of cardiovascular exercise as compared to a bout of sedentary activity will increase positive mood and decrease negative mood, 2) That body temperature and/or cortisol release moderate the effects of acute exercise on positive and negative mood, and 3) That more positive mood changes in the laboratory predict actual exercise behavior prospectively. We expect that greater increases in positive mood/decreases in negative mood--potentially moderated by body temperature or cortisol--will be associated with a higher level of exercise behavior. Once we identify endophenotypes that are narrowly defined, associated with the broad phenotype (i.e., regular exercise behavior), and related to an underlying biological mechanism, we can use these endophenotypes in future research to search for and identify specific genetic mechanisms underlying individual differences in voluntary exercise motivation and behavior. The ultimate goal of this research is to develop exercise promotion interventions for sedentary individuals that incorporate knowledge about individual differences in the experience of immediate reward after exercise.

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Young people under the age of 25 are at great risk for sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) including the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) (CDC, 2004). Further, the highest rates of many common STDs occur in young people between the ages of 15 and 24 (CDC, 2000). Adolescents aged 13-19 are the only age group for whom the number of newly diagnosed HIV cases in women (64%) exceed the number of newly diagnosed men (36%). Adolescents involved with the criminal justice system exhibit high levels of risky sexual behavior, resulting in high rates of unintended pregnancy and STDs among criminally-involved adolescents. Marijuana use is particularly common among criminally-involved youth, and has been characterized in the RFA to which this application responds as an "emerging drug of abuse in relation to HIV risk for highly vulnerable youth" (DA-04-012). Recent research supports this claim, finding stronger associations between marijuana use and risky sexual behavior than between alcohol use and risk sex among high risk adolescents (Kingree et al., 2000; Kingree & Betz, 2003). The goal of the proposed research is to utilize a two-year longitudinal design to increase our understanding of the relationship of marijuana use to risky sexual behavior among highly vulnerable youth aged 14-17 years, who are using or are at high-risk for using marijuana, and who are vulnerable to sexually transmitted diseases including HIV. In addition, the proposed research will begin to fill a crucial gap in research on adolescent HIV risk behavior - the role of gender in sexual risk behaviors and the potential moderating role of gender in the marijuana/risky sex connection. The proposed research is expected to have significant implications for the development and testing of theory-based and empirically targeted gender-specific HIV prevention research will lay the foundation for future work that seeks to develop an intervention that specifically targets the differential social and psychological barriers to condom use experienced by adolescent males and females, and includes targeted content focused on the relationship of high levels of marijuana use to risky sex in this population.

21+ years old; Adult; Behavior; CDC; CRISP; Cancers; Cardiovascular Diseases; Centers for Disease Control; Centers for Disease Control (U.S.); Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (U.S.); Characteristics; Computer Retrieval of Information on Scientific Projects Database; Development; Diabetes Mellitus, Adult-Onset; Diabetes Mellitus, Ketosis-Resistant; Diabetes Mellitus, Non-Insulin-Dependent; Diabetes Mellitus, Noninsulin Dependent; Diabetes Mellitus, Slow-Onset; Diabetes Mellitus, Stable; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2; Diabetes Mellitus, Type II; Disease; Disorder; Exercise; Exercise, Physical; Funding; Genetic; Goals; Grant; Human, Adult; Incidence; Institution; Intervention; Intervention Strategies; Investigators; Knowledge; Life Style; Lifestyle; MODY; Malignant Neoplasms; Malignant Tumor; Maturity-Onset Diabetes Mellitus; Mediator; Mediator of Activation; Mediator of activation protein; NIDDM; NIH; National Institutes of Health; National Institutes of Health (U.S.); Non-Insulin Dependent Diabetes; Non-Insulin-Dependent Diabetes Mellitus; Physical activity; Physiologic; Physiological; Population; Printing; Rate; Reporting; Research; Research Personnel; Research Resources; Researchers; Resources; Source; T2D; T2DM; Type 2 diabetes; Type II diabetes; United States Centers for Disease Control; United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; United States National Institutes of Health; Work; adult human (21+); adult onset diabetes; base; behavior change; cancer prevention; cardiovascular disorder; disease/disorder; interventional strategy; ketosis resistant diabetes; malignancy; maturity onset diabetes; neoplasm/cancer; psychologic; psychological; sedentary

health behavior; psychophysiology; exercise; behavioral /social science research tag; human subject; clinical research;

[unreadable] DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Alcohol use is clearly an important behavioral cofactor for HIV and STD infection. Young people under the age of 25 continue to be the segment of the population in the U.S. at highest risk for HIV and other STDs (CDC, 2005a). Young people of color (CDC 2005a; The Allan Guttmacher Institute, 2004), and young people involved with the juvenile justice system (Teplin, Mericle, McClelland & Abram, 2003) are subgroups of those under 25 at highest risk for negative outcomes as a result of risky sexual behavior. The relationship of alcohol use to risky sexual behavior appears to be particularly strong for high risk adolescents including those involved in the criminal justice system (Guo et al., 2006; NIAAA, 2006; 2007; NIDA, 2004; Wilsnack et al., 1997; Teplin, 2005). Previous work on the relationship between alcohol use and risky sexual behavior has focused almost exclusively on psychosocial variables. Basic biological factors that influence risky sexual behavior among adjudicated adolescents in the context of alcohol use have yet to be identified. Recent work has identified specific neuronal regions (e.g., VM-PFC, Bechara, 2004; ACC, Rueda, Posner, & Rothbart, 2005; OFC, Ursu & Carter, 2005) and genetic mechanisms (e.g., DRD4, Swanson et al., 2007) that may be associated with high risk behavior. The goal of the proposed study is to develop and test an integrative model of alcohol-related sexual risk behavior that incorporates both traditional psychosocial predictors of risk behavior and underlying genetic and neurocognitive predispositions that contribute to risk behavior. We propose to test the relationships proposed in the model in the context of a randomized controlled trial that contrasts a theory-based group-level alcohol and sexual risk reduction MET intervention (SRRI+ETOH) versus an attention placebo control. We will also utilize cutting edge technology in terms of genetic assays and a mobile functional magnetic resonance imaging system. We hope to show that: 1) genetic factors (e.g., DRD4) moderate the effectiveness of the intervention, 2) these same genetic factors (e.g., DRD4) are associated with variability in the neurocognitive components of risk taking behavior, 3) the effects of the DRD4 on risky behavior will be mediated by neurocognitive factors, and 4) neurocognitive factors will contribute to the prediction of risky sexual behavior over and above traditional psychosocial variables. Achieving these goals will have practical implications for HIV/STD risk reduction programming for high risk adolescents in the criminal justice system as well as enormous basic scientific importance in the fields of cognitive neuroscience and imaging genetics. [unreadable] [unreadable] Adolescents involved with the criminal justice system are younger at first intercourse, have a greater number of sex partners, and lower rates of condom use and use alcohol more than their non criminally-involved counterparts. This high level of alcohol use and sexual risk results in higher rates of unintended pregnancy and STDs including HIV/AIDS. This research is designed to understand the genetic and neurocognitive predispositions that contribute to these risk behaviors, and help us to design better interventions to decrease alcohol-related sexual risk behavior in this population of highly vulnerable young people. [unreadable] [unreadable] [unreadable]

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Adolescents are at great risk for sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) including HIV/AIDS, and are one of few HIV risk groups for whom HIV/AIDS incidence is not declining (CDC, 2005a). Compared to the general adolescent population, adolescents involved with the criminal justice system are younger at first intercourse, have a greater number of sex partners, and lower rates of condom use, resulting in higher rates of unintended pregnancy and STDs (e.g., Teplin, Mericle, McClelland & Abram, 2003). Data from our previous research efforts suggests that it is heavy alcohol use in concert with sexual activity, rather than heavy alcohol use generally, that is most strongly related to lack of condom use (Bryan, Ray, & Cooper, in press). Further, we have demonstrated initially higher rates of condom use at follow-up among adolescents who participated in a combined sexual risk reduction + alcohol risk reduction intervention as compared to a sexual risk reduction only intervention and an information only control intervention in our prior NIAAA-supported randomized controlled intervention with incarcerated adolescents, (R01 AA013844-01; Schmiege, Broaddus, Bryan, et al., 2008). The goal of the proposed study is to build on those successful findings, and on our ongoing work (RO1 DA019139-01) and that of others (Lebeau-Craven et al., 2003; Kingree & Betz, 2003) which suggests that marijuana use is more prevalent than alcohol use generally and during sex than is alcohol use among criminally-involved adolescents. In addition, NIDA has noted that marijuana is a specific drug of abuse that may be an emerging risk factor for HIV and STDs, but one for which there is little basic or intervention research. In this continuation, we propose to conduct a second randomized controlled trial to compare an expanded sexual risk reduction intervention that includes both an alcohol component and a marijuana component, to a sexual risk reduction intervention that includes only an alcohol component, and a sexual risk reduction only condition. Each of these interventions includes a standard theory-based didactic presentation of sexual reduction intervention material and a group motivational enhancement therapy component focused on alcohol and marijuana, alcohol use only, or sexual risk behavior only. We hope to show that: 1) combining both substances into one intervention further increases its efficacy at decreasing sexual risk behavior because of its broad coverage of the three most highly prevalent risk behaviors (alcohol, marijuana, and unprotected sex) in this population, 2) it is the substance use content, and not the group MET modality that is responsible for this increased efficacy, and 3) the intervention exerts its effects through theoretically-based mediators. The relative success of these interventions will have implications for HIV/STD risk reduction programming for high risk adolescents in the criminal justice system.

Coastal Mississippi is experiencing an economic boom in the technology-intensive industries of aerospace, shipbuilding, geospatial, advanced materials, and marine science sectors. The workforce needs of these industries are targeted by Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College, which is preparing 125 academically talented but financially needy STEM majors for job placement or transfer to STEM programs at baccalaureate institutions. Potential students from underrepresented groups are recruited for enrollment. STEM majors are supported through an early alert system and team building initiative to improve their success and program completion. Students enrolled through this STEM initiative are also given leadership training and opportunities to connect with industry leaders and enroll in university-parallel programs that ensure their ability to meet articulation agreements for seamless transfer.

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): It is estimated that approximately one in eight women will be diagnosed with breast cancer at some point during their lifetimes. The evidence for an association between physical activity and reduced risk of breast cancer is convincing, however, the optimal amount of physical activity for reducing breast cancer risk, in terms of intensity, duration, and frequency, as well as the mechanism by which exercise produces these beneficial effects, remains unclear. Our research group has shown preliminary correlational data linking increased physical activity to decreased DNA methylation-a potential biomarker for cancer risk-among healthy adults. The causal effect of exercise-and in particular exercise volume, intensity, and duration-on methylation needs to be explored in a carefully controlled experimental design. Further, no research has been done on the duration of exercise-induced methylation changes, which is another critical issue with respect to the public health implications of exercise recommendations. Thus while there is a clear epidemiological link between physical activity and reduced risk of developing breast cancer, and increasing evidence for the influence of physical activity on DNA methylation effects on breast cancer development, the next step is to better understand the dose response relationship of exercise on the epigenetic modifications that may ultimately put a woman at risk for breast cancer. The purpose of the proposed study is to explore the influence of exercise on preclinical and easily obtained biomarkers of DNA methylation that are potentially associated with risk for the development of breast cancer. We hope to demonstrate a dose response relationship in exercise volume controlling for both intensity and duration of exercise, such that increases in exercise volume will be associated with greater changes in DNA methylation, providing evidence of a mechanistic and causal link between behavior (participation in aerobic exercise) and epigenetic changes in DNA that are likely to be associated with breast cancer risk. We will focus this application on sedentary women, a group at higher risk for the development of breast cancer than regularly exercising women, and on DNA methylation on the CpG islands of genes associated with breast cancer, as in our previous work.

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): A better understanding of how neurobiological mechanisms influence social, emotional, and economic functioning among older adults could significantly improve quality of life in this population. The proposed research will involve both a cross-sectional and longitudinal component, and will test an integrative neurobiological model of the effects of aerobic exercise on social, emotional, and economic functioning, and the extent to which these effects are mediated by changes in functional network connectivity in the default mode and fronto-parietal control networks. The first specific aim of the study is to characterize age-related differences in network connectivity, and the relationship of these differences to executive functioning, and subsequent social, emotional, and economic functioning. The second specific aim is to examine whether a 6- month self-directed aerobic exercise intervention will attenuate age-related disruptions in brain network connectivity, executive functioning and consequently in social, emotional and economic functioning. A third exploratory aim will examine potential moderators of the effect of aerobic exercise on network connectivity. To accomplish these aims, we will collect data from 40 sedentary young adults (ages 25-35) and 265 sedentary older-adults (ages 65 or older). All participants will complete a battery of neurocognitive assessments including tests of executive function, psychosocial self-report measures, collateral (by a spouse or close relative) reports of social, emotional, and economic functioning, physiological measures of cardiovascular fitness (VO2 max test), and functional network connectivity via magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Older adult participants will be randomly assigned to a 6-month aerobic exercise program or 6-month stretching and toning control program and be followed up at 3 months to track changes in psychosocial variables, as well as to receive a booster session to ensure proper adherence to the exercise prescription. Older adult participants will complete a second MRI scan and assessment of cardiovascular fitness (VO2 max test) at the final 6-month visit. At this time, these participants will complete te same battery of executive function, socio-emotional and economic functioning, and neurocognitive assessments completed at baseline. The proposed longitudinal and cross-sectional research on aerobic exercise, neurobiological mechanisms (e.g., functional connectivity and core executive functioning) and social, emotional, and economic functioning outcomes in older adults is expected to have significant clinical and scientific implications.

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Accumulating evidence from the animal literature, healthy populations, and schizophrenia studies suggests that regular exercise positively affects integral functions such as neurogenesis, synaptic plasticity and cognition. Likewise, preliminary evidence suggests that aerobic activity has been associated with improved quality of life and a lower level of symptoms in patients with schizophrenia. Because exercise has been found to stimulate human medial temporal neurogenesis, and related abnormalities have been widely observed in studies of schizophrenia, physical activity may be in an important intervention. During the psychosis prodrome, a period immediately preceding formal onset of psychotic disorders, adolescents experience subtle attenuated symptoms coupled with cognitive deterioration and a global decline in socio-occupational functioning and anywhere between 10-35% go on to transition to a psychotic disorder such as schizophrenia in a two-year period. Despite the promise of exercise interventions, and the critical role medial temporal lobe abnormalities play in etiological models of psychosis, there have been no experimental studies of aerobic exercise in ultra-high risk youth (UHR). Understanding the potential benefits of aerobic exercise in UHR youth is integral as the prodrome is a viable period of intervention in which considerable brain development is still occurring. Further, as there have been challenges associated with many of the available interventions, and an increasing level of potential found in neuroplasticity-based interventions, understanding the effect of exercise on respective brain-behavior holds considerable promise. Experimental research is sorely needed to determine if prescribed aerobic exercise can stimulate medial-temporal neurogenesis and ameliorate cognition and symptoms/functioning in this vital group. In the proposed study, an expert team of experienced prodromal and exercise investigators will follow a group of 15 UHR adolescent and young adults (ages 16-24) through a 12 week exercise trial to determine which level of exercise intensity/frequency is tolerable for participants and optimal for improving aerobic fitness (65% of VO2max and 2 sessions per week versus 85% intensity and 3 sessions per peek) and if improvements in aerobic fitness (i.e., VO2max, VO2peak, ventilatory threshold) are associated with increases in medial temporal structure volume (hippocampus and parahippocampal gyrus) and accompanying improvements in cognitive function (i.e., including tasks known to recruit heavily on medial temporal structures) as well as symptomatology and social/role functioning. If the benchmarks are met, this data will be used to streamline a three-year rater-blind controlled trial (15 UHR-exercise, 15 UHR waitlisted-control) to determine the efficacy of the intervention in promoting medial temporal health as well as accompanying cognitive, clinical, and socio-occupational function improvement. Participants will be followed up to 24-months to determine if the intervention has an affect on clinical course and transition to psychosis. Taken together, this study is important for understanding the lessons necessary for planning a future large-scale trial, and has the potential to shed light on a promising new treatment for UHR youth.

Project Summary As U.S. states decriminalize and legalize cannabis, its use is on the rise. Given the popular conception and some empirical evidence that cannabis users experience increased caloric intake during acute intoxication, there are concerns that higher rates of recreational marijuana use could exacerbate the current public health crisis of obesity and associated metabolic disease; chiefly type 2 diabetes. Paradoxically, however, cross sectional data demonstrate associations between chronic marijuana use and lower body mass index (BMI), prevalence of obesity, insulin resistance, and rates of type 2 diabetes, despite data supporting higher caloric intake acutely. Preliminary data from our lab suggest that different cannabinoids present in marijuana strains (e.g. ?9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD)) render differential biologic effects on processes relevant to type 2 diabetes like insulin resistance via effects on inflammatory markers. Critically, there is huge diversity in the amounts and ratio of THC and CBD commercially available and widely used in states like Colorado and their impact on obesity processes is not known. Variations in the underlying inflammatory state that may result from the potency or constituent components of cannabis as it is now used likely relate to variability in insulin sensitivity, a critical biomarker of type 2 diabetes. We propose to carefully study the effects of cannabinoids on inflammatory cytokines and insulin sensitivity in cannabis users across the weight spectrum. Our global hypothesis is that the inflammatory effects of cannabis use vary as a function of the ratio of CBD to THC, and that inflammation may be a pathway by which cannabis influences insulin sensitivity and, thus, risk for type 2 diabetes. Data from this rigorously designed study may shed light on the cannabis use/metabolic disease paradox. The goal is to test the effects of three real world commercially-available cannabis strains that differ markedly in their ratio of CBD to THC. To that end, we will test the effects of three different cannabis products: a CBD product (14% CBD, 0% THC), a THC product (14% THC, 0% CBD), and a THC+CBD product (7% THC, 7% CBD) on inflammation and insulin sensitivity both acutely and chronically. We employ two observational designs: a study of acute effects with infrequent users who have been abstinent at least three months and a study of more sustained effects in cannabis users assigned to four weeks of use of one of three cannabis flower strains versus a matched control group who do not use cannabis. Blood levels of THC and CBD will be measured before, during, and after the exposure period in both cases, and associations between THC and CBD in blood and both inflammation and insulin sensitivity will be measured. Results from these studies will provide critical and timely data to the public and health professionals regarding the effects of cannabis use, including differential effects of various strains, on diabetogenic processes. These data are urgently needed in order to inform individual and policy level decisions in order to reduce the harm of cannabis use.

Project Summary The population of older adults in the U.S. is increasing dramatically, doubling from 48 million to 88 million by the year 2050. As more Americans live longer, the challenge is to assure that quality of life is being maintained along with quantity of life. Research is beginning to focus on understanding the changing physiology underlying normal human aging, as well as expand on behavioral and pharmacological strategies that may assist older adults to maximize their later years, and recent surveys suggest that some may believe that legalized cannabis products have a role to play. Simultaneously, the increasing legalization and acceptance of cannabis is occurring at a rapid pace. Older adults are the fastest growing group of cannabis users in the U.S., with prevalence up by 250% for in some age groups, who perceive virtually no risk of using cannabis monthly (85.3%) or even weekly (79%). National Surveys also showed that older adults were more likely to use cannabis for medicinal purposes than for recreational purposes, and common reasons for use include pain, anxiety, depression, and insomnia. There are obvious and critical questions that this situation poses. First, do older adults experience relief from their symptoms and does this depend on the constituent cannabinoids of the product they are using? Second, are there impacts on neurocognition and motor control that might be harmful, or even potentially beneficial, and do these, too, depend on the cannabinoid profile of the products being used? Third, how can we assist older adults in decision-making regarding cannabis? The overarching goal of this grant application is to leverage our innovative mobile pharmacology laboratory approach and existing aging research infrastructure to better understand the effects of legal market cannabis in adults aged 60 and over. To that end, the proposed research will utilize a prospective, patient-centered observational design to recruit and assess older adults who are interested in using cannabis for pain, trouble sleeping, or negative affect and a comparison group who are not interested in cannabis use. Users will choose and use one of three types of edible cannabis products (i.e., a CBD dominant product, a THC+CBD product, or a THC dominant product) for a total of three months. The proposed research has three aims. First, we will explore the effects of edible cannabis of varying composition among older adults who desire to use cannabis to treat their pain, trouble sleeping, or negative affect (depression/anxiety) as compared to a non-sing comparison group assessed by changes in the Patient Global Impression of Change scale. Second we will explore the effects of edible cannabis use of varying composition on neurocognition and motor control both acutely and over time among older adults. Finally, we will examine the process by which older adult cannabis users decide what type of cannabis product they prefer. Pursuit of these aims has tremendous