Teenage Stimulant Use: Neurally Plausible Spontaneous and Protective Processes

青少年使用兴奋剂：神经上合理的自发和保护过程

• 批准号: 8299094
• 负责人: Alan W Stacy
• 金额: $ 58.02万
• 依托单位: CLAREMONT GRADUATE UNIVERSITY
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 财政年份: 2009
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2009-09-15 至 2015-07-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/8299094
• 关键词: Accounting; Addictive Behavior; Address; Adolescence; Adolescent; Adolescent Development; Age; Association Learning; Basic Science; Behavior; Behavioral; Buffers; Cocaine; Cognitive; Collaborations; Decision Theory; Development; Discipline; Drug abuse; Drug usage; Epidemiology; Evaluation; Evaluation Studies; Evolution; Future; Growth; Habits; Health; Illicit Drugs; Intervention; Knowledge; Laboratories; Link; Marijuana; Measurement; Measures; Mediating; Mediation; Mediator of activation protein; Memory; Methamphetamine; Methods; Modeling; Neurosciences; Pattern; Pharmaceutical Preparations; Population; Population Study; Populations at Risk; Prevention Research; Prevention program; Process; Research; Risk; Risk Behaviors; Source; Surveys; Target Populations; Testing; Youth; adolescent drug use; base; behavior change; computerized; drug of abuse; executive function; field study; innovation; longitudinal design; neuropsychological; novel; operation; predictive modeling; prevent; prospective; protective effect; relating to nervous system; theories

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Use of illicit stimulants (particularly methamphetamine) is at an alarmingly high level in certain populations of youth. Illicit stimulants are extremely habit forming and hazardous. Their use often portends an ominous future for youth who have progressed beyond gateway drugs to this hard-drug class. Yet, there is insufficient knowledge about the processes underlying the development of adolescent stimulant use. The proposed research focuses on several of the most promising processes consistently uncovered in multiple independent lines of basic research but not previously applied to adolescent stimulant use. Two sets of processes of focus are: a) spontaneous or implicit cognitive processes, which encode and activate learned associations promoting drug use; and b) protective, specific executive functions that inhibit or at least dampen the effects of such associations on behavior. These processes have been well researched in neuroscience, basic research on memory, and decision theory, and they have been increasingly applied to other drugs of abuse in a host of studies during the past several years. The present project offers a novel line of inquiry that not only studies the main effects of these processes on teenage stimulant use and use trajectories, but tests a new synergistic (interaction) model derived from recent dual-process models that receive converging support from basic research and several studies on other addictive behaviors. In addition to the advance of predictive models of drug abuse, dual-process models can help explain more specific drug patterns, for example: a) Why do some youth progress from gateway illicit drugs (e.g., marijuana) to illicit stimulants, while others from the same at-risk population appear to be protected from this progression? b) What mediates habitual levels of use and strong predictive effects of previous drug habits? c) What processes supported by extensive basic research best predict growth in stimulant use after initial trials? d) Which specific executive functions show the best protective effects on primary drugs of abuse in at-risk adolescents? To address these and other related questions, the project's major study employs a [three-wave], intensive longitudinal design using validated, primarily lab-based assessments across ages during which drug use progression to illicit stimulants is most likely in an at-risk teenage population. Despite this risk, the target population is quite amenable to mobile lab-based, computerized assessment and future intervention, as thoroughly documented in the application. The studied processes are relevant to future interventions, because they are sufficiently specific and have been delineated thoroughly in several independent lines of previous research. Thus, clear implications can emerge from the evaluation of the studied alternative models of teenage stimulant use. The integration of validated lab-based methods and processes into an "indicated" population study of youth helps the project have potentially substantial implications for innovation in theories of drug use as well as future interventions that could target the studied processes. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: Project Narrative: Use of illegal stimulants (particularly methampehtamine) is at an alarmingly high level in certain populations of youth. This project uses theories and validated methods developed in basic research to pinpoint some of the likely causes of use of illegal stimulants and other major drugs of abuse in an at-risk youth population during ages in which onset of stimulant use is most likely. Understanding why certain youth use this drug, while others appear to be "protected" within the same at-risk population, is critical for determining how best to prevent this highly addictive and hazardous behavior.

描述（由申请人提供）：在某些青少年群体中，非法兴奋剂（特别是甲基苯丙胺）的使用水平高得惊人。非法兴奋剂极易上瘾且危险。对于那些已经从入门毒品发展到这一硬性毒品类别的年轻人来说，它们的使用往往预示着不祥的未来。然而，对于青少年使用兴奋剂的发展过程还缺乏足够的了解。拟议的研究重点关注在多个独立的基础研究中不断发现的几个最有前途的过程，但之前并未应用于青少年兴奋剂的使用。两组重点过程是：a）自发或内隐的认知过程，编码并激活促进药物使用的习得关联； b) 保护性的、特定的执行功能，抑制或至少减弱此类关联对行为的影响。这些过程在神经科学、记忆基础研究和决策理论中得到了深入研究，并且在过去几年的大量研究中，它们越来越多地应用于其他药物滥用。本项目提供了一条新颖的探究路线，不仅研究这些过程对青少年兴奋剂使用和使用轨迹的主要影响，而且测试了一种新的协同（相互作用）模型，该模型源自最近的双过程模型，该模型得到了基础研究的汇聚支持以及一些关于其他成瘾行为的研究。除了药物滥用预测模型的进步之外，双过程模型还可以帮助解释更具体的药物模式，例如：a) 为什么一些青少年从入门非法药物（例如大麻）发展到非法兴奋剂，而其他人则从相同的高危人群似乎可以免受这种进展的影响？ b) 是什么调节了习惯性使用水平和对先前吸毒习惯的强烈预测作用？ c) 广泛的基础研究支持的哪些过程最能预测初步试验后兴奋剂使用的增长？ d) 哪些具体的执行功能对高危青少年的主要滥用药物表现出最佳的保护作用？为了解决这些和其他相关问题，该项目的主要研究采用了[三波]密集纵向设计，使用经过验证的、主要基于实验室的跨年龄段评估，在此期间，高危青少年最有可能吸毒发展为非法兴奋剂人口。尽管存在这种风险，但目标人群非常愿意接受基于移动实验室的计算机化评估和未来干预，正如应用程序中详细记录的那样。研究的过程与未来的干预措施相关，因为它们足够具体，并且已在先前研究的几个独立领域中进行了彻底的描述。因此，对所研究的青少年兴奋剂使用替代模型的评估可以得出明确的结论。将经过验证的基于实验室的方法和流程整合到青少年的“指定”人口研究中，有助于该项目对药物使用理论的创新以及针对研究过程的未来干预措施产生潜在的重大影响。公共卫生相关性： 项目叙述：某些青少年群体中非法兴奋剂（特别是甲基苯丙胺）的使用率高得惊人。该项目利用基础研究中开发的理论和经过验证的方法来查明高危青少年群体在最有可能开始使用兴奋剂的年龄段使用非法兴奋剂和其他主要滥用药物的一些可能原因。了解为什么某些青少年使用这种药物，而其他青少年似乎在同一高危人群中受到“保护”，对于确定如何最好地预防这种高度成瘾和危险的行为至关重要。