Huabei Jiang

Research topics

Matched from this investigator's NIH project titles and abstracts.

• Decision Making and Reward
• Addiction and Substance Use
• Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience
• Neuroimaging
• Sleep and Circadian Rhythms
• Emotion and Affective Neuroscience
• Human Factors and Attention

Active NIH awards

• Fetal alcohol exposure and cerebrovascular development

  5R01AA028200-05

  NIAAA · FY 2025 · $436K

  In the United States, fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD) represent the leading preventable cause of birth defects and neurodevelopmental delay with life-long implications. FASD affects an estimated 40,000 infants in the US each year, with 2-5% of younger school-age children having FASD. Currently, prediction of FASD during pregnancy is not available, and there are no readily available cures against FASD. It is widely believed that early detection of FASD and its subsequent intervention strategies are critical to allow earliest and most effective therapeutic interventions. While fetal alcohol exposure targets multiple organs and systems, the brain constitutes the most severely affected organ, exhibiting both structural and functional abnormalities. As neuronal development critically depends on the oxygen delivery, nutritional supply and waste removal by cerebral circulation, recent studies have been paying increasing attention to the fetal cerebral circulation as a critical target of maternal alcohol consumption. However, the timing and mechanisms that govern fetal cerebrovascular response to alcohol remain elusive. One of the major obstacles that preclude rapid advancement of the studies on fetal cerebral circulation is lack of high-resolution imaging technique that would be suitable for imaging of small lab animal species. Current proposal is put forth by the collaborating teams of bioengineers and cerebrovascular physiologists with the overall goal of delivering a high-speed 3D photoacoustic tomography (PAT) that will allow non-invasive, simultaneous visualization of all the embryos in a mouse utero and track their development into adulthood longitudinally to study the association between alcohol exposure-induced changes in fetal hemodynamics and cerebrovascular outcome after birth. Another obstacle to developing effective treatments to alleviate symptoms and develop preventive measures against FASD is a relatively limited knowledge on relevant targets for alcohol, including targets within fetal cerebral arteries. In this regard, current proposal will focus on cerebral artery mitochondria. Critical role of mitochondria in regulating cerebral artery function is well documented, and there is no doubt that mitochondrial is one of the major sensors for alcohol as shown in liver and neurons. In our recent pioneered work we documented persistent up-regulation of fetal cerebral artery proteome in response to alcohol exposure during mid- pregnancy. However, systematic studies on cerebral artery mitochondria alterations in response to prenatal alcohol exposure remain to be performed and the role of alcohol targeting of fetal cerebral artery mitochondria remains to be established. To overcome these obstacles in the field, we propose to complete three related Aims: (1) We will optimize a high-speed PAT system for 3D high-resolution brain imaging of rodents; (2) We will develop advanced software for improved PAT 3D image reconstruction and analysis; (3) We will trace cerebrovascular morphological and functional changes following fetal alcohol exposure into adulthood, with the focus on fetal cerebral vessel density, artery diameter and mitochondrial function.

• Mechanisms underlying the reduction in alcohol intake in response to low intensity targeting of the reward circuit

  5R01AA030572-03

  NIAAA · FY 2025 · $343K

  Alcohol use disorder (AUD) remains a major issue in the United States (US) despite the various laws, campaigns, and preventative efforts. Alcohol is by far the most commonly-abused drug across the lifespan. According to 2015 data from The National Survey on Drug Use and Health, there are currently 138 million alcohol users in the US, with almost half of drinkers reporting problem drinking (binge or heavy alcohol consumption), and 15.7 million reporting an AUD. A host of pharmaceutical targets have been identified, but treatment efficacy and abstinence rates both remain low due to factors such as cost, negative physiological effects, and requirements of long-term commitment to treatment. Thus, new directions for addiction treatment are needed. In one such direction, recent advances in ultrasound technology have enabled the non-invasive modulation of deep brain systems such as the reward circuit. We propose a novel combination of low intensity focused ultrasound (LIFU) with photoacoustic tomography (PAT) localization to modify the activity of the two primary components of the reward system, the ventral tegmental area and nucleus accumbens. Our preliminary work has demonstrated that this approach reduces alcohol intake and preference when administered once daily in either region. Thus, in the proposed studies, we will examine the mechanisms by which LIFU reduces alcohol intake, the longevity of this effect, and potential side effects of this treatment on the brain. We will first optimize our protocol for maximum efficacy in the deep brain regions of the reward circuit. Next, we will assess a variety of behaviors related to affect and to alcohol-seeking in order to identify the neurological processes on which LIFU is exerting its effects. Finally, we will assess the molecular effects in the brain following LIFU treatment, in order to identify those neuronal changes that may explain the behavioral shifts, and to determine whether there are any adverse effects on neuronal function following chronic LIFU treatment. For these studies, we will use male and female crossed high-alcohol-preferring mice, in order to identify whether there are sex-dependent differences in the effects of LIFU on alcohol-seeking, or in the neuronal effects of LIFU. These studies will provide an essential foundation of knowledge for the use of LIFU to reduce AUD, and will open the door to a wide spectrum of further studies examining other substance use disorders, and use of LIFU in traditionally difficult to treat populations, such as adolescents, or for disorders commonly comorbid with AUD, such as sleep disorders.

• Mechanisms underlying the reduction in alcohol intake in response to low intensity targeting of the reward circuit

  5R01AA030572-02

  NIAAA · FY 2024 · $355K

  Alcohol use disorder (AUD) remains a major issue in the United States (US) despite the various laws, campaigns, and preventative efforts. Alcohol is by far the most commonly-abused drug across the lifespan. According to 2015 data from The National Survey on Drug Use and Health, there are currently 138 million alcohol users in the US, with almost half of drinkers reporting problem drinking (binge or heavy alcohol consumption), and 15.7 million reporting an AUD. A host of pharmaceutical targets have been identified, but treatment efficacy and abstinence rates both remain low due to factors such as cost, negative physiological effects, and requirements of long-term commitment to treatment. Thus, new directions for addiction treatment are needed. In one such direction, recent advances in ultrasound technology have enabled the non-invasive modulation of deep brain systems such as the reward circuit. We propose a novel combination of low intensity focused ultrasound (LIFU) with photoacoustic tomography (PAT) localization to modify the activity of the two primary components of the reward system, the ventral tegmental area and nucleus accumbens. Our preliminary work has demonstrated that this approach reduces alcohol intake and preference when administered once daily in either region. Thus, in the proposed studies, we will examine the mechanisms by which LIFU reduces alcohol intake, the longevity of this effect, and potential side effects of this treatment on the brain. We will first optimize our protocol for maximum efficacy in the deep brain regions of the reward circuit. Next, we will assess a variety of behaviors related to affect and to alcohol-seeking in order to identify the neurological processes on which LIFU is exerting its effects. Finally, we will assess the molecular effects in the brain following LIFU treatment, in order to identify those neuronal changes that may explain the behavioral shifts, and to determine whether there are any adverse effects on neuronal function following chronic LIFU treatment. For these studies, we will use male and female crossed high-alcohol-preferring mice, in order to identify whether there are sex-dependent differences in the effects of LIFU on alcohol-seeking, or in the neuronal effects of LIFU. These studies will provide an essential foundation of knowledge for the use of LIFU to reduce AUD, and will open the door to a wide spectrum of further studies examining other substance use disorders, and use of LIFU in traditionally difficult to treat populations, such as adolescents, or for disorders commonly comorbid with AUD, such as sleep disorders.

• Mechanisms underlying the reduction in alcohol intake in response to low intensity targeting of the reward circuit

  1R01AA030572-01A1

  NIAAA · FY 2023 · $367K

  Alcohol use disorder (AUD) remains a major issue in the United States (US) despite the various laws, campaigns, and preventative efforts. Alcohol is by far the most commonly-abused drug across the lifespan. According to 2015 data from The National Survey on Drug Use and Health, there are currently 138 million alcohol users in the US, with almost half of drinkers reporting problem drinking (binge or heavy alcohol consumption), and 15.7 million reporting an AUD. A host of pharmaceutical targets have been identified, but treatment efficacy and abstinence rates both remain low due to factors such as cost, negative physiological effects, and requirements of long-term commitment to treatment. Thus, new directions for addiction treatment are needed. In one such direction, recent advances in ultrasound technology have enabled the non-invasive modulation of deep brain systems such as the reward circuit. We propose a novel combination of low intensity focused ultrasound (LIFU) with photoacoustic tomography (PAT) localization to modify the activity of the two primary components of the reward system, the ventral tegmental area and nucleus accumbens. Our preliminary work has demonstrated that this approach reduces alcohol intake and preference when administered once daily in either region. Thus, in the proposed studies, we will examine the mechanisms by which LIFU reduces alcohol intake, the longevity of this effect, and potential side effects of this treatment on the brain. We will first optimize our protocol for maximum efficacy in the deep brain regions of the reward circuit. Next, we will assess a variety of behaviors related to affect and to alcohol-seeking in order to identify the neurological processes on which LIFU is exerting its effects. Finally, we will assess the molecular effects in the brain following LIFU treatment, in order to identify those neuronal changes that may explain the behavioral shifts, and to determine whether there are any adverse effects on neuronal function following chronic LIFU treatment. For these studies, we will use male and female crossed high-alcohol-preferring mice, in order to identify whether there are sex-dependent differences in the effects of LIFU on alcohol-seeking, or in the neuronal effects of LIFU. These studies will provide an essential foundation of knowledge for the use of LIFU to reduce AUD, and will open the door to a wide spectrum of further studies examining other substance use disorders, and use of LIFU in traditionally difficult to treat populations, such as adolescents, or for disorders commonly comorbid with AUD, such as sleep disorders.

Earlier awards

• Fetal alcohol exposure and cerebrovascular developmentFY 2024 · $436K
• Fetal alcohol exposure and cerebrovascular developmentFY 2023 · $436K