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Naomi Eisenberger, PhD
Research Overview:
Why is it that our social relationships have such a profound impact on our emotional and physical well-being? Why does feeling connected to those we love feel so good, whereas feeling estranged from them cause so much pain? In my laboratory, we use behavioral, physiological, and neuroimaging techniques to understand how our need for social connection has left its mark on our minds, brains, and bodies. The following are some of the topics that we are currently investigating:
The Neural Basis of Social Rejection:
When people feel rejected or left out, they often describe their feelings with physical pain words, complaining of “hurt feelings” or “broken hearts.” Our research has shown that feeling socially excluded activates some of the same neural regions that are activated in response to physical pain, suggesting that social rejection may indeed be “painful.” To follow up on this research, we are currently examining the genetic determinants of rejection sensitivity as well as whether the fear of rejection relies on different neural circuitry than the experience of it.
The Neural Basis of Social Connection:
We all know the feeling that we have when we feel truly connected to someone else. However, we know very little about the neural circuitry that underlies this feeling or the physiological processes that accompany it. We are currently investigating the neural and physiological substrates associated with feeling “social warmth,” the positive, contented experiential state associated with being in the company of close others.
Social Support and Health:
Over the past several decades, researchers have repeatedly shown that having social support is beneficial for physical health whereas not having it increases the risk of morbidity and mortality. Although social support is a robust predictor of physical health, comparable to other risk factors such as smoking and high blood pressure, little is known about how social support influences health. In our lab, we use neuroimaging techniques to examine the neural processes that translate perceptions of social support or a lack thereof into the health outcomes that follow.
4444 Franz Hall Los Angeles CA 90095
Benjamin Ellingson, PhD
As Director of the UCLA Brain Tumor Imaging Laboratory and Co-Director of the UCLA Center for Computer Vision and Imaging Biomarkers (CVIB) his research focuses on the development, testing, validation, and implementation of advanced MR and PET imaging biomarkers for brain pathology and response evaluation in clinical trials. He possess a broad background in biomedical engineering, image processing, MR and PET imaging physics, functional and molecular imaging, bioelectronics, medical instrumentation, and statistical parameter mapping. He has been co-author on more than 100 peer-reviewed original research articles relating to advanced neuroimaging and medical imaging physics. He has wide-ranging experience in designing and implementing multicenter neuroimaging trials. This includes trials in primary and metastatic brain cancers; neurotrauma including traumatic brain injury (TBI), traumatic spinal cord injury (SCI), and degenerative spinal disease; psychiatric diseases including schizophrenia; epilepsy, tuberous sclerosis complex, and other neurodegenerative diseases; and chronic pain syndromes including cervical spondylotic myelopathy, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), chronic headaches, and urological chronic pelvic pain syndrome (UCPPS). He is also the principal investigator for the imaging core in numerous industry-funded therapeutic clinical trials in brain tumors, chronic pain, epilepsy, and schizophrenia.
In this proposal, he will be Co-Lead of Project 2 and will be responsible for the design and analysis of all brainstem and brain MRI experiments, including optimization of protocols for both 3T and 7T imaging. His laboratory will post-process anatomic and diffusion MR imaging data, and work closely with Neuroimaging and Bioinformatics Core to identify sex-related differences in the brain and brainstem within IBS patients and the association with clinical symptoms and gut microbial parameters.
Publications
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/myncbi/1t5OXTmr85Skz/bibliography/50293169/public/
924 Westwood Blvd Ste # 615 Los Angeles CA 90095-7319 United States
Helena Ennes, MD
Eric Esrailian, MD
Dr. Esrailian attended the University of California at Berkeley and graduated with a major in Integrative Biology and a minor in English. He subsequently graduated from the Loma Linda University School of Medicine and completed a residency in internal medicine at the University of Southern California.
He was named intern, junior resident, and senior resident of the year during all three years of his residency training. He completed his gastroenterology fellowship at UCLA where he also obtained a Masters of Public Health degree with the assistance of an NIH sponsored training grant. He is also a graduate of the Executive Program in Management from the UCLA Anderson School of Management. Dr. Esrailian served on the Medical Board of California from 2010-2011 after being appointed by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Dr. Esrailian’s primary clinical interests include gastrointestinal endoscopy, inflammatory bowel diseases, gastrointestinal hemorrhage, and functional gastrointestinal diseases such as irritable bowel syndrome. In addition to disease areas within gastroenterology and internal medicine, Dr. Esrailian has a particular interest in the development of biomedical innovations, value in health care, medical education, and initiatives towards patient-centered care.
In 2012, the School of Medicine awarded him the Lincy Foundation Chair in Clinical Gastroenterology. He is closely involved in growth strategy and strategic planning efforts for the UCLA Health System and the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. He also works to facilitate community engagement with a number of other schools and departments within the UCLA campus and its Los Angeles community partners, and he is on the UCLA campus steering committee for the Centennial Campaign.
Christopher Evans, PhD
Dr. Chris Evans is currently Director of the UCLA Brain Research Institute and the Stefan Hatos Professor directing the Shirley and Stefan Hatos Center for Neurophamacology in the UCLA Semel Institute. Dr. Evans is also director of a NIH-funded center – The Center for Opioid Receptors and Drugs of Abuse or CSORDA. CSORDA, with continuous NIH funding for over 25 years.
Selected References:
Gioiosa, L. Chen, X. Watkins, R. Klanfer, N. Bryant, C. D. Evans, C. J. Arnold, A. P. Sex chromosome complement affects nociception in tests of acute and chronic exposure to morphine in mice. Horm Behav. 2008; 53(1): 124-30.
Walwyn, W. Evans, C. J. Hales, T. G. Beta-arrestin2 and c-Src regulate the constitutive activity and recycling of mu opioid receptors in dorsal root ganglion neurons. J Neurosci. 2007; 27(19): 5092-104.
Kho, S. T. Lopez, I. A. Evans, C. Ishiyama, A. Ishiyama, G. Immunolocalization of orphanin FQ in rat cochlea. Brain Res. 2006; 1113(1): 146-52.
Bryant, C. D. Roberts, K. W. Byun, J. S. Fanselow, M. S. Evans, C. J. Morphine analgesic tolerance in 129P3/J and 129S6/SvEv mice. Pharmacol Biochem Behav. 2006; 85(4): 769-79.
Walwyn, W. M. Wei, W. Xie, C. W. Chiu, K. Kieffer, B. L. Evans, C. J. Maidment, N. T. Mu opioid receptor-effector coupling and trafficking in dorsal root ganglia neurons. Neuroscience. 2006; 142(2): 493-503.
MacDonald Research Laboratories, Room 2760 675 Charles Young Drive Los Angeles CA 90095