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Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Adminis

Assertive Community Treatment

NYS Office of Mental Health

8360 - Individual Placement Services (IPS) Initiative The IPS Initiative provides funding to Assertive Community Treatment (ACT) teams and eligible Community Oriented Recovery and Empowerment (CORE) Services Psychosocial Rehabilitation (PSR) designated providers to cover the cost of employment services that cannot be reimbursed by Medicaid. Providers will fully implement the Individual Placement and Support (IPS) model of supported employment, including community job development, rapid job placement, and job coaching. ACT is an evidenced-based practice that offers treatment, rehabilitation, and community integration services to individuals diagnosed with serious mental illness (SMI) using a person-centered, recovery-based approach to care. Services are provided by a mobile, multi-disciplinary team in community settings. The goal of ACT services is to assist individuals in achieving their meaningful goals and life roles. As an alternative to incarceration, the ACT team will support recovery, reduce utilization of inpatient services and criminal recidivism, and promote community safety and public health.

NCCIH - National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health

PROJECT SUMMARY: Rates of depression continue to rise and the mental health impact of COVID-19 has only accelerated trends. While mental health apps, specifically mindfulness apps, are not a panacea, they are popular tools that millions are turning to today for easy access, affordable, and low-stigma help. But increased reliance on mindfulness apps has not been supported by rigorous scientific evidence exemplified by few studies employing appropriate control conditions. Thus, this research is designed to focus on using 100% remote but robust methodology to assess the efficacy of mindfulness apps by applying a novel precision medicine framework. Our study first assesses the impact of the Digital Working Alliance by matching people with depression with a mindfulness app that may better support their personalized needs. We will compare those randomized to the to this matching condition to a digital placebo to better evaluate the efficacy of these mindfulness apps. For the first six weeks, participants will be asked to use the mindfulness app or digital placebo daily, and if not engaged, will receive reminders, allowing for the analysis of clinical outcomes during ideal usage patterns. For an additional six weeks, participants will be asked to use the app or digital placebo naturally, allowing for the elucidation of naturalistic usage patterns and evaluation if these usage patterns impact clinical outcomes. Across the entire study, we will capture smartphone-based digital phenotypes of behaviors (eg sleep, step, screen time), environments (eg home time, greenspace exposure), and symptoms (longitudinal ecological momentary assessment) to create personalized and predictive models of response that can be utilized to better understand factors impacting the efficacy of mindfulness apps, and in the future, better tailor apps to each person.

NIMH - National Institute of Mental Health

PROJECT SUMMARY Human subjects research with novel neural devices raises unique ethical issues, such as post-trial responsibilities, privacy of brain data, and atypical risks such as changes to personality. To manage the discrepancy between research practices and ethics oversight, in 2018 the NIH added a mandatory neuroethics section to a subset of neuroscience grants in addition to the standard protection of human subjects component. However, despite the unique nature of this requirement, to date there have been no systematic efforts to assess stakeholders’ experiences with and attitudes toward these mandates. This represents both a critical gap and opportunity. Without empirical research evaluating the impact of neuroethics mandates, we risk implementing ineffective requirements, lack the information needed to make useful modifications, and remain unaware of their strengths and weaknesses. Furthermore, given that there is no established pathway nor guidance for investigators to address neuroethics requirements, examining researchers’ experiences offers a valuable opportunity to understand how they devise neuroethics plans as well as barriers they might encounter when implementing them. The overall objective of this short-term R21 exploratory proposal is to assess the impact of mandatory NIH neuroethics guidelines on the ethical design and conduct of brain-related research and to identify effective strategies that investigators have utilized to address neuroethics in their research. This will be achieved through two complementary aims that involve interviewing researchers who have been funded through NIH grants requiring neuroethics sections (Aim 1) and surveying those who review neuroethics components of grant applications (Aim 2). This project directly addresses the broad area of RFA-MH-25-171 (“enhance integration of neuroethics and neuroscience”). The expected outcomes of this two-year exploratory R21 project are a set of multistakeholder perspectives on the impact of neuroethics mandates and recommendations for improving them, an identification of strategies that researchers have utilized to address neuroethics mandates, and a determination of areas of unmet needs regarding resources for addressing neuroethics requirements. Our findings will benefit funders, by providing insights into the impact of neuroethics requirements and recommendations for improving them; researchers, by providing a set of effective strategies that have been used to address neuroethics sections; neuroethicists, by determining areas of unmet need regarding neuroethics resources; and the public, by identifying pathways for enhancing the ethical conduct of neurotechnology research. This project is significant because it has the potential to impact the way that the ethics is integrated and assessed across BRAIN Initiative research and in other scientific endeavors.

NIH

Significance to the VA: Complications following major cancer surgery occur in over 30% of cases and have a major impact on quality of life and disease-free survival. Having two or more psychosocial risks independently confers a 3.4-fold increase in the odds of a postoperative complication. While this association has been established, it is not yet known which psychosocial risks are most associated with surgical complication and which risks are acutely modifiable. Psychosocial vulnerability in the immediate postoperative period substantially complicates care delivery. Housing instability and other psychosocial risk factors (food insecurity, mental health comorbidities, and criminal justice involvement) are not routinely screened for in surgically treatable disease. The long-term goal of this proposal is to address gaps in cancer surgery care by developing psychosocial support interventions that reduce surgical complications ultimately improve cancer survival. Innovation and Impact: Although preoperative optimization programs recognize the importance of risk stratification and potential psychosocial needs, there is limited evidence for which risk factors to target and to what degree these risks are modifiable. This study will inform the best means to identify psychosocial risks among patients undergoing cancer surgery using existing VA data and identify those factors most strongly associated with perioperative complications. We intend to use these findings in future work to then identify a broad set of intervenable psychosocial risk factors for veterans undergoing cancer surgery. Specific Aims & Methodology AIM 1. Compare detection of housing instability and other psychosocial risk factors in veterans undergoing major cancer surgery using structured data elements versus natural language processing (NLP). Using a national cohort (10,000+ per year of analysis, 2008-2022) of elective cancer surgery patients, housing instability and other psychosocial risk factors will be assessed using conventional definitions of these risks in VA structured data fields. Identification of housing instability and other psychosocial risk factors will also be performed using an internally developed NLP algorithm that incorporates a supervised machine learning algorithm. Finally, 100 discordant cases (structured vs. NLP) will be used to compare performance. AIM 2. Compare the association of postoperative complications and alternative measures of housing instability and other psychosocial risk factors in veterans undergoing major cancer surgery. We will use the enhanced cohort from Aim 1 that combines surgical outcomes data with new definitions of housing instability and other psychosocial risk factors to test for the independent association between psychosocial risk and worse outcomes after surgery. AIM 3. To tailor and pilot via expansion of an existing intervention (renamed Surgical Vulnerability Program, SVP) to mitigate the effects of perioperative psychosocial risk on postoperative complications following major cancer surgery. Informed by Aims 1 and 2, we will recruit 30 patients enriched with psychosocial risks identified by the outperforming approach and tailor an existing intervention better support these patients through the perioperative period. Care partners will be interviewed to evaluate feasibility, acceptability, and perceived utility. Pathway to Translation/Implementation: A more accurate delineation of psychosocial risks and a clear association with postoperative complications will better characterize preoperative surgical risk as well as its potential modifiability. A “better” designation of psychosocial risk will facilitate targeting social support interventions in the pre- and postoperative period that mitigate their impact on surgical outcomes. Moreover, the use of NLP algorithms to identify novel psychosocial risk factors prior to surgery will allow for high- throughput, nationwide risk stratification and opportunity to intervention.

NIDA - National Institute on Drug Abuse

PROJECT SUMMARY Some studies suggest that cannabis is a safer substitute for other substances, including for those with substance use disorders (SUD). Historically, sober living houses (SLHs) have been abstinence-based environments for individuals in recovery to live with others in recovery, yet mixed evidence regarding cannabis substitution along with rapidly changing laws have left SLHs in a difficult position regarding policies related to cannabis use among residents. Furthermore, few studies have examined cannabis use among specific populations of individuals with SUD or among those embarking on recovery from SUD. The proposed study, Assessing the Role of Cannabis in Sober Living Houses will address these issues via three specific aims: Aim 1 will examine how cannabis use is related to alcohol or other drug use, mental health, and recovery capital outcomes among SLH residents. Aim 2 will assess why individuals who live in SLHs use cannabis, medical cannabis use, how these are related to outcomes, and how these align with their recovery and living in an abstinence-based environment. Aim 3 will identify the range of current cannabis use policies and practices in SLHs and begin to develop an SLH policy assessment tool. This study requires the recruitment of SLHs (N=35), SLH managers, and SLH residents (N=400; 200 in recent cannabis use group, 200 in non-recent cannabis use group). Aim 1 involves following a prospective cohort of 400 residents, where exposure is defined by cannabis use in the past 30 days, and collecting data longitudinally over three time points across 12 months from both the use and non-use groups. Aim 1 analyses are all quantitative. Aim 2 is mixed methods and involves (1) quantitative analyses assessing how reasons and motivations for cannabis use are related to outcomes and (2) qualitative interviews focused on motivations for cannabis use and views regarding cannabis’ role in recovery. A focus of Aim 2 is medical cannabis use. Finally, Aim 3 involves qualitative interviews with house managers to document SLH cannabis policies. After analyses for all aims are complete, we will hold focus groups with house managers, residents, and our community advisory board to interpret findings, develop future research questions, and begin forming recommendations for dissemination to SLHs. The definition of SUD recovery is evolving, and how cannabis use might affect specific subpopulations of individuals with SUD, e.g., SLH residents, remains an open question as research on cannabis use in other populations might not apply to this population. Thus, if SLHs base policies on research from other populations, some residents might risk their recovery efforts. As more states legalize cannabis and the tension increases between proponents of abstinence and harm reduction, the question of how SLH operators should address cannabis is becoming more pressing. This project will also be the first to document cannabis use policies in SLHs, including issues and challenges faced by house managers in implementing these policies. Findings will enable service providers to develop policies that best support SLH residents and managers.

NIMH - National Institute of Mental Health

PROJECT SUMMARY Motor and vocal tics are defined by repetitive, uncontrollable movements or sounds and are a common feature of childhood developmental disorders. Although tics impact the lives of 1-2% of children and increase the risk for disabling neurological and psychiatric conditions later in life, tic disorder research has been hindered because of the small number of patients enrolled in research studies. To improve the lives of tic disorder patients and address this burden to public health, it is critical that we expand our research to larger populations. This proposal addresses this limitation by introducing the use of existing electronic health record data as a cost-effective way to analyze detailed patient information across the lifespan of individuals with tic disorders. We have assembled a research team that is well suited to perform these studies, including researchers and specialized clinicians with extensive experience in analyzing electronic health record data and expertise in the diagnosis and treatment of complex neurodevelopmental conditions, including tic disorders. First, we will design an algorithm to identify individuals with evidence of a tic disorder diagnosis by systematically searching for specific patient characteristics across the medical records of 3.8 million patients. We will then evaluate the performance of this algorithm using clinical expertise and a validated set of tic disorder patient records. Next, we will use information from medical records to examine whether delays in early childhood development are observed in tic disorder patients. Pediatric milestone data is collected on all children at well-care visits from birth to early childhood and includes direct reporting from parents and physicians assessing the child's ability to achieve standardized motor, social, and language skills (e.g. sitting, crawling, walking, smiling, pointing, name-recognition). This dataset provides a rare opportunity to examine whether individuals with tic disorders show developmental delays that predate the onset of tic symptoms. Lastly, we will look at whether the timing of developmental milestone attainment is associated with specific health outcomes in tic disorder patients. The deliverables from this study include cu ration of a large dataset of clinically validated tic disorder patients that will serve as a valuable resource for future investigations. Additionally, this study will provide the first systematic evaluation of developmental milestone attainment in tic disorder patients at this scale. By harnessing the power of large-scale electronic health record data, we can evaluate the clinical features underlying tic disorders across the lifespan, ultimately leading to better-informed personalized care and decreased burden on patients and their families.

NYS Office of Mental Health

1380 ? Assisted Competitive Employment (Non-Licensed Program) ACE services may include brief pre-vocational support along with ongoing mental health supports in order to obtain and sustain integrated, competitive employment, or support for promotion or to find new employment. This program is for individuals not receiving ACCES-VR Employment services. ACE provides these individuals with vocational rehabilitation and support services, both at the work site and off-site, while addressing challenges due to the person?s mental health issues. Evidence based practices such as IPS (Individualized Placement and Supports) are recommended. Financial/Benefits Counseling may be provided. The goal of supported employment is for individuals to work a minimum of 10 hours per week in an integrated, competitive job, with leeway for absence due to illness, vacation, or temporary work stoppages. See Glossary for definitions of "Competitive Employment" and "Integrated Employment". To be considered employed part time, participants should be scheduled to work a minimum of 10 hours each week. Units of Service: Count the total number of staff hours (combine direct and indirect).

NIH

Attention deficits (AD) frequently co-occur with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The presence of AD is associated with greater PTSD clinical severity and poorer clinical outcomes. Knowledge regarding the mechanism underlying this association is limited, though the emerging evidence has indicated that executive function deficit (EFD) is strongly correlated with AD and PTSD symptoms. While treatments developed for PTSD have existed for years, a substantial portion of individuals do not fully respond to conventional treatment. Accumulating evidence suggest that attention deficit (AD) and EFD may be a driving force for PTSD treatment resistance. However, treatment of executive impairment in PTSD is very limited. As a result, untreated co- occurring AD and EFD in PTSD poses severe negative impacts on patients’ functional recovery, treatment outcomes, and quality of life (QoL). Given that up to 50% of patients do not respond well to the first-line pharmacological PTSD treatments, it is imperative to seek novel treatment strategies to improve EF that may improve both standard treatment response and QoL, social function. The proposed study directly addresses this knowledge gap by testing the efficacy of atomoxetine (ATX) in improving EF and attention among Veterans with PTSD, which will further improve Veterans’ QoL and social function. ATX represents a promising novel candidate pharmacotherapy for individuals with PTSD. ATX is a non-stimulant selective norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor (SNRI), approved by the FDA for the treatment of ADHD. Studies suggest that ATX, unlike stimulants, lacks addictive properties and shows efficacy in the treatment of comorbid depression and anxiety, which is ideal in the treatment of PTSD. Data from our preliminary study provides encouraging support for the therapeutic potential of ATX in improving EF in Veterans with comorbid PTSD/ADHD. Our recent research uncovered a higher rate of ADHD among veterans with PTSD, and the comorbid AD symptoms were correlated with PTSD severity and poorer treatment outcomes. Treatment with ATX showed significant symptoms reduction in ADHD and improvement in inhibitory function in Veterans with ADHD/PTSD. In the proposed study, we will focus on ATX in improvement of EF and attention, and further psycho-social life function and QoL. We will (1) employ a randomized, double-blind design that will consist of 12 weeks of treatment with ATX or placebo medication; (2) use standardized, repeated dependent measures to rigorously assess AD and EFD symptomatology; (3) measure impairment in associated mental and behavioral health problems (e.g., attention deficit, depression, anxiety, suicidality, QoL, family/social functioning); and (4) use response inhibition task GoNogo, working memory and attention tests Digit Span and Trail Making to investigate the underlying pathophysiology of PTSD and prognostic indicators of treatment outcome. To achieve these goals, we have assembled a multidisciplinary team of investigators with expertise in PTSD, ADHD clinical trials, and human laboratory paradigms who have successfully collaborated in the past and are uniquely qualified to implement this type of investigation. The proposed project is directly responsive to the mission of the VA-RRD “to maximize Veterans’ functional independence, quality of life and participation in their lives and community.” Successful completion of this study will provide a platform for a large multi-center trial to further confirm the important role of EF in PTSD treatment outcomes. The findings from this study will provide critically needed evidence to help inform clinical practice guidelines on the treatment of PTSD. The outcome of the proposed research will be significant, because it provides a knowledge base to allow for development of new PTSD intervention strategies. More importantly, this clinical trial may immediately benefit Veterans by enhancing their cognitive function, reducing AD related disability, and further improving quality of life for veterans who suffer from PTSD.

NIMH - National Institute of Mental Health

Project Summary/Abstract Decision making is a core cognitive process underlying myriad behaviors in day-to-day life. While great strides have been made in uncovering elements of the neural processes underlying decision making, key questions remain, especially related to the type of complex multi-attribute decisions that are common in the real world. Our novel task isolates each piece of information related to the value of options and requires subjects to view these attributes of options one at a time. Because of this design, we can monitor attention throughout and study the neural responses at each stage. This task also presents the distinct advantage of being viable for both human subjects and non-human primates. Already, we have gained key insights from recordings of neuronal activity in the pre-supplementary motor area (preSMA) of macaques performing the task. We found that preSMA neurons encode action value signals that accumulate information about the options. We also discovered that the focus of attention plays a key role in the value estimation process in these neurons. Attention both uniformly enhances the activity of neurons when the option in their preferred spatial position is attended and increases the gain of value representation in these neurons. With fundamentally the same task, we have collected data from patients undergoing intracranial recordings as part of their treatment for medically intractable focal epilepsy. With broad coverage of the brain across the population of patients, we have been able to identify a number of brain regions involved in different aspects of the task. Now, we can combine the advantages of both data sets to make additional progress. First, in Aim 1, I will implement a computational model for Attention Modulated Multi- Attribute Decisions (AM-MAD) consistent with the observed activity patterns in the preSMA data. This model will allow us to test the hypothesis that the observed forms of attentional modulation of value representation serve to prevent premature choices by allowing attended options to overcome inhibition. In Aim 2, broader networks for value estimation and option selection will be identified from the human sEEG data using a set of dimensionality reduction tools. This approach should reveal whether similar attentional modulation of value representation is present in corresponding areas in humans, as well as how these factors influence activity in other areas. Finally, in Aim 3, I will use new tools that have been developed for causal inference and are ideally suited to multi- channel intracranial recordings. This will allow us to study the flow of information through large-scale networks in the brain and test whether regions that show activity changes related to specific aspects of the task are directly interacting, e.g. whether activity in premotor areas is driven by both attention- and value-encoding frontal areas. With this additional information, the AM-MAD model will be refined with more detail about value and attention- related inputs. Together, this will serve to both advance our understanding of the neural mechanisms of attention in multi-attribute decision making and establish a set of tools that will be broadly applicable for studying cognitive processes across species and recording modalities.

National Institutes of Health

<p>The <i>Eunice Kennedy Shriver </i>National Institute for Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), with the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (<a href="https://www.nidcd.nih.gov/">NIDCD</a>), National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (<a href="https://www.niehs.nih.gov/">NIEHS</a>), National Institute of Mental Health (<a href="https://www.nimh.nih.gov/index.shtml">NIMH</a>), and National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (<a href="https://www.ninds.nih.gov/">NINDS</a>), intends to publish a Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) for the Autism Centers of Excellence (ACE) to solicit applications for research that will build on the progress and momentum of the past 23 years of ACE research and that takes advantage of cutting-edge technologies and methods.</p><p>Applications are not being solicited at this time. This Notice is being provided to allow potential applicants sufficient time to develop meaningful collaborations and responsive projects.&nbsp; This NOFO will utilize the <a href="https://grants.nih.gov/grants/funding/ac_search_results.htm?text_curr=p50&amp;Search_Type=Activity">P50</a> - Research Program Projects and Centers&nbsp;activity code. Investigators with expertise and insights into this area of research are encouraged to begin to consider applying for this new NOFO. In addition, collaborative investigations combining expertise in scientific disciplines will be encouraged, and these investigators should also begin considering applying for this opportunity. Grant authorities that allow the <i>Eunice Kennedy Shriver </i>National Institute of Child Health and Human Development&nbsp;to forecast this opportunity are as follows: Public Health Service Act, Section 301, 448 and 487, as amended, Public Laws 78-410 and 99-158, as amended, 42 U.S.C. 241; 42 U.S.C. 285g; 42 U.S.C. 288; Small Business Research and Development Enhancement Act of 1992, Public Law 102-564, Public Law 118-47.</p>

National Institutes of Health

The Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute for Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), with the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD), National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), and National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), intends to publish a Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) for the Autism Centers of Excellence (ACE) to solicit applications for research that will build on the progress and momentum of the past 23 years of ACE research and that takes advantage of cutting-edge technologies and methods.Applications are not being solicited at this time. This Notice is being provided to allow potential applicants sufficient time to develop meaningful collaborations and responsive projects. This NOFO will utilize the P50 - Research Program Projects and Centers activity code. Investigators with expertise and insights into this area of research are encouraged to begin to consider applying for this new NOFO. In addition, collaborative investigations combining expertise in scientific disciplines will be encouraged, and these investigators should also begin considering applying for this opportunity. Grant authorities that allow the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development to forecast this opportunity are as follows: Public Health Service Act, Section 301, 448 and 487, as amended, Public Laws 78-410 and 99-158, as amended, 42 U.S.C. 241; 42 U.S.C. 285g; 42 U.S.C. 288; Small Business Research and Development Enhancement Act of 1992, Public Law 102-564, Public Law 118-47.

National Institutes of Health

The Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute for Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), with the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD), National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), and National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), intends to publish a Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) for the Autism Centers of Excellence (ACE) Network to solicit applications for research that will build on the progress and momentum of the past 23 years of ACE research and that takes advantage of cutting-edge technologies and methods. The ACE network has used R01 funding mechanism to allow multisite collaborations since the beginning of the ACE program in 2007. Each ACE Network will consist of a multi-site project focusing on a specific topic of research for R01 support through this FOA. Each ACE Network will submit one R01 application that includes sub-awards to the collaborating sites.Applications are not being solicited at this time. This Notice is being provided to allow potential applicants sufficient time to develop meaningful collaborations and responsive projects. This NOFO will utilize the R01 Research Project Grant activity code. Investigators with expertise and insights into this area of science are encouraged to begin to consider applying for this new NOFO. In addition, collaborative investigations combining expertise in scientific disciplines will be encouraged, and these investigators should also begin considering applying for this application. Grant authorities that allow the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development to forecast this opportunity are as follows: Public Health Service Act, Section 301, 448 and 487, as amended, Public Laws 78-410 and 99-158, as amended, 42 U.S.C. 241; 42 U.S.C. 285g; 42 U.S.C. 288; Small Business Research and Development Enhancement Act of 1992, Public Law 102-564, Public Law 118-47.

National Institutes of Health

<p>The<i> Eunice Kennedy Shriver</i> National Institute for Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), with the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (<a href="https://www.nidcd.nih.gov/">NIDCD</a>), National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (<a href="https://www.niehs.nih.gov/">NIEHS</a>), National Institute of Mental Health (<a href="https://www.nimh.nih.gov/index.shtml">NIMH</a>), and National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (<a href="https://www.ninds.nih.gov/">NINDS</a>), intends to publish a Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) for the Autism Centers of Excellence (ACE) Network to solicit applications for research&nbsp;that will build on the progress and momentum of the past 23 years of ACE research and that takes advantage of cutting-edge technologies and methods. &nbsp;The ACE network has used R01 funding mechanism to allow multisite collaborations since the beginning of the ACE program in 2007. &nbsp;Each ACE Network will consist of a multi-site project focusing on a specific topic of research for R01 support through this FOA. Each ACE Network will submit one R01 application that includes sub-awards to the collaborating sites.</p><p>Applications are not being solicited at this time. This Notice is being provided to allow potential applicants sufficient time to develop meaningful collaborations and responsive projects.&nbsp;This NOFO will utilize the&nbsp;R01 Research Project Grant&nbsp;activity code. Investigators with expertise and insights into this area of science are encouraged to begin to consider applying for this new NOFO. In addition, collaborative investigations combining expertise in scientific disciplines will be encouraged, and these investigators should also begin considering applying for this application. Grant authorities that allow the <i>Eunice Kennedy Shriver </i>National Institute of Child Health and Human Development&nbsp;to forecast this opportunity are as follows: Public Health Service Act, Section 301, 448 and 487, as amended, Public Laws 78-410 and 99-158, as amended, 42 U.S.C. 241; 42 U.S.C. 285g; 42 U.S.C. 288; Small Business Research and Development Enhancement Act of 1992, Public Law 102-564, Public Law 118-47.</p>

NIMH - National Institute of Mental Health

Project Summary Schizophrenia (SZ) involves distinct changes in brain network organization, in which disrupted oscillatory communication between brain regions is thought to contribute to a breakdown in cognitive and perceptual processes. In addition to widespread changes in central nervous system (CNS) activity, SZ involves distinct alterations in the rhythmic activity of the autonomic nervous system (ANS). A growing body of evidence suggests that physiological cycles such as heart rate, respiration, and heart rate variability (HRV) interact with the rhythms of the brain and may help coordinate oscillatory communication within brain networks. Whether and how ANS dysfunction in SZ mechanistically contributes to disorganized brain activity and cognition remain to be explored. SZ is characterized by prominent changes in the parasympathetic branch of the ANS, which can be indexed by the cyclical fluctuations in heart rate associated with respiration, known as high-frequency (HF) HRV. HF-HRV is robustly associated with psychological health and cognitive functioning and is consistently found to be lower in SZ. Our group recently showed that, rather than simply reflecting shared neural systems supporting physiological and psychological regulation, the associations between HF-HRV and psychological functioning may be due in part to a causal influence of cardiac autonomic rhythms on brain activity. We observed that HF-HRV oscillations modulate EEG oscillations through phase-amplitude coupling (PAC), a well-established mechanism of oscillatory organization in the brain that appears to extend to brain- body interactions. Crucially, directions of effects were stronger from heart-to-brain than brain-to-heart. We also found that HRV-EEG coupling is lower in individuals with SZ and that this deficit is associated with impaired sustained attention. Our findings suggest that dysregulated neural activity and cognitive dysfunction are due in part to disrupted body-to-brain communication in SZ. To further probe the causal mechanisms through which autonomic rhythms influence brain activity, the proposed study will examine whether increasing HF-HRV can lead to changes in oscillatory activity and cognitive functioning in patients with first-episode SZ and healthy comparison (HC) participants. Prior research shows that simply reducing respiratory rate results in immediate and sizeable increases in HF-HRV. In the proposed study, SZ and HC participants will complete a series of tasks measuring cognitive functioning before and after completing a slow-paced breathing exercise, with EEG, EKG, and respiration measured throughout. We hypothesize that increasing HF-HRV through slow-paced breathing will lead to increased HRV-EEG coupling, increased oscillatory connectivity within relevant brain networks, and cognitive improvements. We aim to clarify how autonomic rhythms influence brain activity and cognition and to bridge largely separate literatures on ANS and CNS dysfunction in SZ. Ultimately, understanding how psychological health depends on the integrated functioning of the brain and body may introduce new treatment avenues for SZ and other mental illnesses.

Department of Labor

AWARD PURPOSE THE PURPOSE OF BOOST GO IS TO PREPARE YOUNG ADULTS FOR EMPLOYMENT THROUGH EDUCATION AND TRAINING, PAID WORK EXPERIENCES, MENTORSHIP, AND LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT WITH DELIVERY OF EVIDENCE-BASED PRACTICES INTERVENTIONS. ACTIVITIES PERFORMED BOOST GO WILL SUPPORT JUSTICE INVOLVED YOUNG ADULTS FOR EMPLOYMENT AND VIOLENCE PREVENTION BY 1. HELPING YOUNG ADULTS TO INCREASE THEIR CONFLICT RESOLUTION SKILLS AND DEVELOP STRATEGIES TO PREVENT AND AVOID VIOLENCE. THIS WILL BE ACHIEVED IN PARTNERSHIP WITH SKY RANCH BEHAVIORAL SERVICES TO PROVIDE VIOLENCE PREVENTION, MENTORING, AND LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT THROUGH DELIVERY OF EVIDENCE-BASED INTERVENTIONS OF AGGRESSION REPLACEMENT TRAINING® ART) AND MENTORS IN VIOLENCE PREVENTION (MVP) CURRICULUM DESIGNED BY UNIVERSITY OF NORTHERN IOWA CENTER FOR VIOLENCE PREVENTION (CVP). PARTNERS WILL COLLABORATE TO RECRUIT AND TRAIN MULTICULTURAL MENTORS WITH LIVED EXPERIENCE. 2. PREPARING YOUNG ADULTS FOR THE WORLD OF WORK BY HELPING YOUNG ADULTS IDENTIFY CAREER INTERESTS, ATTAIN RELEVANT SKILLS, AND GAIN WORK EXPERIENCE. BOOST GO WILL ENSURE PARTICIPANTS RECEIVE COMPREHENSIVE EMPLOYMENT AND CAREER SERVICES UTILIZING STEP ON UP® CAREER READINESS AND GROWTH FOCUSED CASE MANAGEMENT (GFCM), RESULTING IN A CUSTOMIZED INDIVIDUAL DEVELOPMENT PLAN (IDP). PARTICIPANTS WILL GAIN WORK EXPERIENCE IN EMPLOYMENT, APPRENTICESHIP, INTERNSHIP; AND/OR ON-THE-JOB TRAINING WITH HIGH PRIORITY EMPLOYER PARTNERS HIGH DEMAND CAREERS, BASED ON CURRENT LABOR MARKET INFORMATION (LMI) AND IOWA WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT TO INCLUDE CHILDCARE, CONSTRUCTION, FOOD/MEAT PROCESSING, HEALTH CARE, MAINTENANCE/ SAFETY, COMMERCIAL TRUCKING, WAREHOUSE LOGISTICS/OPERATIONS, AND WELDING. WRAPAROUND SERVICES TO ADDRESS HOUSING, MENTAL HEALTH, ADDICTION, CHILDCARE, LEGAL SERVICES, WILL BE CUSTOMIZED TO EACH INDIVIDUAL. DELIVERABLES OUTCOMES WILL EXCEED ALL REQUIRED PERFORMANCE OUTCOMES TO INCLUDE A 73% EMPLOYMENT RATE- SECOND QUARTER AFTER EXIT, 65% EMPLOYMENT RATE- FOURTH QUARTER AFTER EXIT, 6,000 MEDIAN EARNINGS, 60% CREDENTIAL ATTAINMENT, 73% MEASURABLE SKILL GAIN, LESS THAN 3% ARRESTS FOR VIOLENT CRIMES, AND LESS THAN AN 8% RECIDIVISM RATE. INTENDED BENEFICIARY BOOST GO WILL REACH AND SERVE 180 YOUNG ADULTS 18-24 YEARS OLD MOST IMPACTED BY POVERTY AND CRIME, WITH PRIORITY ON REACHING MINORITY COMMUNITIES IN THE CENSUS TRACTS. SUBRECIPIENT ACTIVITIES N/A

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Adminis

The purpose of this program is to establish new, or enhance existing, mobile crisis teams that serve children, youth, and adults experiencing mental health or substance use crises. Its focus is the expansion of behavioral health crisis response capacity and the development of structured partnerships that reduce reliance on law enforcement and emergency departments for behavioral health crises.

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Adminis

Behavioral Health Mobile Crisis Team Partnerships

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Adminis

Behavioral Health Partnerships for Early Diversion of Adults and Youth

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Adminis

The purpose of this program is to develop and implement a program to divert youth and/or adults with mental health or co-occurring disorders who are at risk of criminal and/or juvenile justice involvement to community-based services before arrest or booking.

Bell Canada

Bell Let's Talk has committed $155M to mental health initiatives. The Community Fund provides grants for local mental health programs across Canada.

NIAMS - National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT Pediatric Amplified Musculoskeletal Pain Syndrome (AMPS) is becoming increasingly common, affecting between 11 – 38% of youth. AMPS is associated with significant stress, psychological impairment, and functional disability, resulting in tremendous healthcare costs. Moreover, AMPS conditions often persist into adulthood, increasing lifetime risk for psychiatric and medical comorbidities and earlier mortality. There is a critical lack of understanding of the processes involved in the onset, maintenance, and exacerbation of chronic pain conditions in youth, hampering efforts to develop interventions, which are currently limited and ineffective for a significant subset of patients. Comprehensive understanding of the biopsychosocial factors underlying chronic pain disorders like AMPS are needed to inform the development of novel, effective prevention and treatment approaches. Data suggest that altered stress physiology (e.g., allostatic load) may play a role in chronic pain conditions, with possible intergenerational implications. Parallel lines of research indicate that adversity exposure (e.g., abuse, violence), neurobiological functioning, and psychological impairment across youth-parent dyads contribute to the onset and maintenance of pain. The overall goal of the proposed project is to test an intergenerational model of chronic amplified musculoskeletal pain syndrome (AMPS) in youth and their biological mother/birthing parent that incorporates these constructs to elucidate mechanisms responsible for AMPS, thereby identifying potential prevention and intervention targets. The project aims will be accomplished by following a cohort of pediatric AMPS patient-parent dyads (N = 170) and healthy control – parent dyads (N = 85) over a 2-year period, repeatedly assessing pain characteristics (e.g., intensity, frequency), stress exposures, neurobiological functioning (conceptualized as allostatic load), psychological impairment, and psychosocial- biobehavioral resilience. Analyses will (a) identify the combination of neurobiological stress measures in isolation and cumulatively (as allostatic load) most predictive of AMPS symptoms in youth; (b) define correspondence of these measures in parent-child dyads; (c) identify parental characteristics (e.g., adversity history, parent mental health, parent stress neurobiology, parent-child relationship quality) most predictive of AMPS symptoms in youth; (d) identify psychosocial and biobehavioral resilience characteristics (e.g., coping style, social support, physical activity) that buffer the effects of intergenerational adversity exposure on pain characteristics; and (e) compare neurobiological stress processes in chronic pain patients and sociodemographically-matched healthy controls. The findings may be translated into the development of mechanistically informed prevention and treatment methods that target the most influential modifiable biopsychosocial pathways involved in AMPS and stress physiology and that may be personalized based on individual and familial risk profiles for maximum benefit. Studying these phenomena in youth-parent dyads is critical given that the majority of research in this area has focused on adult populations or with individually focused (i.e., pediatric pain patients) cross-sectional designs.

NIH

Background: Employment is a major social determinant of health. In Veterans with substance use disorders (SUDs), employment is associated positive health and wellbeing. However, many Veterans with SUDs are unemployed and the majority do not have access to quality employment supports. In response, national VA policy by the Office of Mental Health and Suicide Prevention (OMHSP) mandated the implementation of empirically based supported employment (SE) services into SUD specialty treatment settings (SE-SUD) at 156 VA sites. SE was originally developed, tested, and used to help people with serious mental illness attain community work, hence, this SE-SUD initiate is a new application of this recovery service. To date, SE-SUD implementation has been slow, and the nature and effects of the rollout on Veteran outcomes are unknown. Significance: This project advances the President’s National Drug Control Strategy that emphasizes the employment needs of Americans with SUDs. The study will also further the goals of the 2016 Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act promoting the study and utilization of patient centered, behavioral approaches in opioid use disorders (OUD). SE-SUD represents a novel approach to enhance wellness in this population. In addition, this study tackles a chief social determinant of health, employment, in a marginalized population that has been historically underserved regarding their employment needs. Innovation & impact: Leveraging multiple sources of system-wide VA and non-VA community data and incorporating an array of stakeholder input and data, this project will used the expanded RE-AIM framework to study SE-SUD implementation outcomes, in addition to key contextual factors that impact these outcomes. Additionally, guided by the FRAME model, this is one of the first studies to examine the extent and nature of practice modifications as they are applied in the real world as related to patient outcomes involved in a complex integrative service in SE. Innovative methods, including configurational analyses, will identify causal relationships between modifications and employment outcomes. These findings will inform novel directions for other health services interventions that seek to address social determinants of health by optimizing practice through a balance of maintaining quality guidelines with empirically driven, planned adaptation s. Specific Aims: Aim 1 will assess the RE-AIM domains of SE-SUD adoption, factors driving adoption, and reach. The results will produce a range of high and low reach sites that will be the focus of intensive data collection in Aim 2, in which implementation process will be described and SE-SUD fidelity and modifications used by providers will be examined. Aim 3 will prospectively examine the effects of SE-SUD on Veteran outcomes. Lastly, the relationship between modifications, fidelity, and Veteran outcomes will be assessed. Methods: This study will use convergent parallel mixed methods design. Aim 1 will integrate national survey and administrative data to determine SE-SUD adoption, factors driving adoption, and reach. Using a case summary matrix approach, Aim 2 will combine data from site visits, chart reviews, and interviews at 24 sites to assess SE-SUD implementation process, fidelity, and modifications. Using an interrupted time series design, Aim 3 will examine effects of SE-SUD on Veteran outcomes across 9 months (primary endpoint) in a national sample of 180 unemployed Veterans receiving SE-SUD. Outcomes include employment, health, recovery, and suicidality. Configurational analysis will identify SE modifications associated with favorable Veteran outcomes. Next steps/Implementation: In close collaboration with OMHSP partners, BEST-SE findings will inform future policy changes regarding the integration of SE services into multi-tiered SUD treatment settings and practice guidelines that promote Veteran outcomes accompanied by empirically defined modifications that fit local context. The study will also provide information and tools to improve national uptake and maintenance of SE- SUD and will inform the ability of SE-SUD to improve employment in a vulnerable Veteran population.

European Commission - HORIZON

Boosting mental health of young cancer survivors through the European Cancer Patient Digital Centre (ECPDC). Call: Supporting the implementation of the Cancer Mission. Programme: HORIZON. Keywords: Man-machine-interfaces, Mental health, Patient care, Quality-of-life. Open call from the EU Funding & Tenders Portal.