I AS WELL AS ON BEHALF OF FELLOW
NIH STAFF WOULD LIKE TO WELCOME
ALL OF YOU TO THE OPEN SESSION
OF THE EMOTIONAL WELL-BEING HIGH
PRIORITY RESEARCH NETWORK'S
ANNUAL INVESTIGATORS MEETING.
BRIEFLY, TO THOSE OF YOU JOINING
US BY NIH VIDEOCAST, YOU MAY
POST A QUESTION USING THE
VIDEOCAST FORM AT ANY TIME AND
WE WILL ASK QUESTIONS DURING THE
TWO Q & A SESSIONS THIS MORNING.
FOR THE SMALL AMOUNT JOINING BY
ZOOM, IF YOU COULD PLEASE MUTE
YOURSELF UNLESS SPEAKING, RAISE
YOUR DIGITAL HAND AND WAIT UNTIL
YOU'RE CALLED AND KEEP YOUR
VIDEO ON WHILE YOU ARE SPEAKING.
WE ARE █FORTUNATE TO BEGIN THIS
MORNING WITH WELCOME REMARKS
FROM TWO DIRECTORS FROM NIH
INSTITUTES AND CENTERS THAT HAVE
SUPPORTED THE EMOTIONAL
WELL-BEING NETWORKS, DR. HELENE
LANGEVIN, DIRECTOR OF THE
NATIONAL CENTER FOR
COMPLEMENTARY INNOVATIVE HEALTH
AND DR. AMY KELLEY, DIRECTOR OF
THE NATIONAL INSTITUTE ON AGING.
UNFORTUNATELY DR. ALISON
CERNICH, DEPUTY DIRECTOR COULD
NOT MAKE IT AT THE LAST MINUTE
THIS MORNING BUT DR. TRACY KING
WILL BE PROVIDING REMARKS ON HER
BEHALF.
SO FIRST, I'D LIKE TO INTRODUCE
DR. HELENE LANGEVIN TO GIVE HER
OPENING REMARKS.
>> THANK YOU SO MEC MUCH, ERIN D
THE WHOLE VILLAGE THAT SORT OF
CONTRIBUTED TO MAKING THIS
MEETING IN PERSON HAPPEN, SO
NICE TO SEE SO MANY OF YOU.
AND TO ALL OF YOU THAT GOES ON
ZOOM AS WELL.
IT'S MY GREAT PLEASURE TO
WELCOME YOU TO THIS INVESTIGATOR
MEETING OF THE EMOTIONAL
WELL-BEING NETWORKS.
IT'S BEEN REALLY SO EXCITING
OVER THE LAST YEARS TO SEE ALL
THE RESEARCH THAT'S GENERATED BY
THESE SIX NETWORKS.
INCLUDING ONTOLOGY, METHODOLOGY,
MECHANISMS, BIOMARKERS,
TECHNOLOGY, AND AS WELL AS
IMPORTANTLY THE DEVELOPMENT AND
VALIDATION OF THESE WELL-BEING
MEASURES.
DEVELOPING HOW TO EXACTLY DEFINE
AND MEASURE EMOTIONAL
WELL-BEING, IT'S MORE RELEVANT
THAN EVER.
WHEN THESE NETWORKS STARTED
SEVERAL YEARS AGO, WE HAD A
SENSE THIS WAS SOMETHING THAT
REALLY NEEDED TO HAPPEN, AND THE
MORE THE TIME PASSES, AND AS I
WILL SHOW YOU IN A MINUTE, I
MEAN, THIS IS NOW, YOU KNOW,
WELL-BEING HAS BECOME PART OF
THE CONVERSATION IN SO MANY
PLACES.
SO THE WORK OF THIS GROUP IS
ABSOLUTELY KEY.
I'M GOING TO TALK A LITTLE BIT
ABOUT THE IMPORTANCE OF
EMOTIONAL WELL-BEING IN THE
CONTEXT OF WELL-BEING IN
GENERAL, AND ALSO OF HEALTH.
IN FACT, THE WORDS HEALTH AND
WELL-BEING ARE SO OFTEN
PRONOUNCED TOGETHER.
IT'S ALMOST LIKE THEY'VE BECOME
ONE WORD.
AND THEY'RE SO OFTEN MENTIONED
IN THE SAME BREATH, IN
DISCUSSIONS ABOUT GOALS FOR
PUBLIC HEALTH, FOR HEALTHCARE
PROGRAMS, ET CETERA, THAT -- BUT
THERE REMAINS A LOT OF QUESTIONS
ABOUT HOW IS HEALTH RELATED TO
WELL-BEING?
AND HOW IS WELL-BEING RELATED TO
HEALTH?
IS WELL-BEING PART OF HEALTH OR
IS HEALTH PART OF WELL-BEING OR
ARE THEY PART OF EACH OTHER
SOMEHOW?
SO IF YOU DON'T MIND BEARING
WITH ME FOR A FEW MINUTES, I
WANT TO POSE A FEW QUESTIONS FOR
US TO PONDER OVER, AND I'D LIKE
TO REALLY -- FOR US TO THINK
ABOUT THAT IN THE CONTEXT OF OUR
DISCUSSIONS TODAY.
SO FOR EXAMPLE, I'M GOING TO
GIVE YOU A COUPLE EXAMPLES THAT
I THINK ARE A LITTLE BIT
PROVOCATIVE.
ONE, THERE'S A BIG INITIATIVE
GOING ON AT THE V.A. NOW THAT'S
VERY, VERY KIND OF ENTRENCHED
AND IT IS THEIR WHOLE HEALTH
PROGRAM, AND THE WHOLE HEALTH
PROGRAM IS BASED ON VERY
IMPORTANT QUESTIONS INSTEAD OF
SAYING WHAT'S THE MATTER WITH
YOU, IT'S SAYING, WHAT MATTERS
TO YOU.
AND WELL-BEING IS AT THE CENTER
OF THIS PROGRAM.
AND SO THE WAY THAT WELL-BEING
IS BEING DEFINED AT THE V.A. IS
INTO FIVE DOMAINS.
YOU CAN SEE THERE'S SOCIAL,
ENVIRONMENTAL, HEALTH, ECONOMIC,
AND VOCATIONAL-EDUCATIONAL.
YOU CAN SEE HERE THAT IN THIS
PARTICULAR CONSTRUCT, HEALTH IS
AN -- AND EMOTIONAL HEALTH IS
PART OF WELL-BEING.
HERE'S ANOTHER EXAMPLE.
THE WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION,
LONG-STANDING VERY USED
DEFINITION.
HOW IS HEALTH DEFINED?
A STATE OF COMPLETE PHYSICAL,
MENTAL AND SOCIAL WELL-BEING,
AND NOT MERELY THE ABSENCE OF
DISEASE OR INFIRMITY.
SO IN THIS CONSTRUCT, ON THE
LEFT, WELL-BEING AND EMOTIONAL
WELL-BEING PART OF THIS IS PART
OF HEALTH, IS AN IMPORTANT
COMPONENT OF HEALTH.
SO HOW DO WE RECOGNIZE THESE TWO
THINGS, RIGHT?
AND AS I WAS SORT OF THINKING
ABOUT THIS MYSELF, IT OCCURRED
TO ME JUST AS I WAS MAKING THESE
SLIDES THAT A LOT OF THE
COMPONENTS THAT WE SEE ON THE
RIGHT-HAND SIDE AS PART OF
WELL-BEING, WE IN OUR
CONVERSATIONS ABOUT HEALTH, WE
TEND TO CALL THEM DETERMINANTS,
RIGHT?
THESE SOCIAL -- WHAT WE CALL THE
SOCIAL DETERMINANTS OF HEALTH.
ENVIRONMENTAL, SOCIAL,
EDUCATION, ECONOMIC.
AND THEN THERE'S THE
HEALTH-RELATED BEHAVIORS THAT
ARE KIND OF IN BETWEEN, RIGHT?
THEY'RE PART OF HEALTH, THEY'RE
PART OF THE DETERMINANTS,
THEY'RE SORT OF IN BETWEEN
THERE.
SO YOU CAN SEE, IT'S JUST A
DIFFERENT WAY TO THINK ABOUT THE
SAME THINGS.
BUT I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT THAT
WE DON'T GET CONFUSED WITH OUR
LABELS, AND IT'S IMPORTANT THAT
WE CREATE A CONVERSATION THAT
CAN TRANSLATE BETWEEN THESE
DIFFERENT VIEWPOINTS.
THAT'S NOT GOING TO BE EASY.
SO IT'S ALMOST LIKE HEALTH AND
WELL-BEING ARE NOT REALLY -- THE
RELEVANT QUESTION IS NOT SO MUCH
WHICH IS PART OF WHICH.
THEY'RE PART OF EACH OTHER.
AND SO THAT'S WHY I THINK THIS
IS KIND OF THIS IMAGE IS MORE
APT, I THINK, FOR US TO REALLY
START, YOU KNOW, THINKING ABOUT
IT.
AND THE REASON THIS IS SO
IMPORTANT IS THAT -- THIS TOPIC
OF WELL-BEING AND HEALTH, OF
COURSE, IS OF INTEREST NOT ONLY
TO NICCH BUT MANY OTHER FEDERAL
AGENCIES.
I'VE ALREADY MENTIONED THE V.A.
THEIR PROGRAM ON WHOLE HEALTH IS
REALLY -- NOT ONLY ARE THEY
IMPLEMENTING IT ALREADY IN
HEALTHCARE, IT'S THERE, BUT
THEY'RE ALSO DEVELOPING A BRIEF
WELL-BEING MEASURE THAT CAN BE
USED TO ASSESS HOW WELL VAT RANS
VETERANSARE ABLE TO ENGAGE IN WT
MATTERS TO THEM AND THEY'RE IN
THE MIDDLE OF DEVELOPING THIS
AND IMPLEMENTING THIS.
AT THE SAME TIME, THE OFFICE OF
DISEASE PREVENTION AND HEALTH
PROMOTION, THE ODPHP IN
PARTNERSHIP WITH THE SURGEON
GENERAL'S OFFICE, THE OFFICE OF
THE ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF
HEALTH, OASH, THE CDC, THE V.A.
AND NICCH AND OTHERS HAVE ALL
BEEN EXPLORING WAYS TO
UNDERSTAND MEASURE AND
ULTIMATELY ENHANCE WELL-BEING IN
ORDER TO INFORM THE HEALTHY
PEOPLE INITIATIVE, INCLUDING
IMPLEMENTATION OF THE OVERALL
HEALTH AND WELL-BEING MEASURE IN
THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE HEALTHY
PEOPLE 2040 PLAN.
NOW THIS IS A WHOLE LOT OF
JARGON, BUT IT IS BASICALLY
TELLING YOU THAT THE TOPIC OF
WELL-BEING IS FRONT AND CENTER
IN THE AGENDA FOR MANY DIFFERENT
FEDERAL AGENCY, AND THIS IS
GOING TO HAVE IMPORTANT
REPERCUSSIONS DOWN THE LINE.
SO ALL THIS WORK THAT THE
WELL-BEING RESEARCH NETWORKS ARE
DOING IS AND WILL CONTINUE --
WILL GROW IN IMPORTANCE, IN MY
OPINION, TO INFORM THESE
BURGEONING INITIATIVES
GOVERNMENT-WIDE BECAUSE WHEN WE
SHOW UP AT THESE MEETINGS AND WE
SAY, WE HAVE A GROUP, WE HAVE A
NETWORK THAT'S ALREADY DOING
THIS SCIENTIFICALLY AND IS
REALLY GETTING INTO AND USING
SCIENTIFIC METHODS TO TRY TO
REALLY BRING SOME CLARITY TO THE
AREA, THEY LISTEN.
AND THE RIGOR THE RESEARCH IS
KEY.
THIS IS SO IMPORTANT AND THIS IS
WHAT THIS GROUP CAN MEAN, CAN
BRING.
SO THROUGHOUT THIS MEETING, I
ENCOURAGE YOU TO BE ATTENTIVE TO
HOW WORDS ARE BEING USED, AND
HOW BY WORKING TOGETHER, WE CAN
HELP BRING CLARITY TO A COMPLEX
AND CHALLENGING AREA.
SO THANK YOU ALL FOR BEING HERE,
AND I LOOK FORWARD TO HEARING
FROM ALL OF YOU TODAY.
[APPLAUSE]
>> WELL, GOOD MORNING.
I WILL ALSO JUST ECHO A WELCOME
TO ALL OF YOU WHO ARE HERE IN
THE ROOM AS WELL AS THOSE OF YOU
WHO ARE JOINING US ONLINE.
I'M AMY KELLEY, DEPUTY DIRECTOR
AT THE NATIONAL INSTITUTE ON
AGING, AND IT IS REALLY JUST A
PRIVILEGE TO BE HERE WITH YOU
ALL TODAY FOR THIS IMPORTANT
DISCUSSION.
IT'S BECAUSE ALL OF YOU IN YOUR
COMMUNITY OF NETWORKS THAT WE'RE
MAKING SUCH GRATED A VANS IN THE
STUDY OF EMOTIONAL WELL-BEING
AND REALLY THAT PIV TO PIVOTALN
HEALTH ACROSS THE LIFE COURSE,
SO I JUST APPRECIATE EVERYBODY
TAKING THE TIME TO BE HERE WITH
US AND TO SHARE ALL THAT YOU ARE
DOING.
FIRST, I JUST WANTED TO START
WITH A LITTLE BIT OF THE RECENT
HISTORY OF THIS GROUP OF
NETWORKS, SO AS MANY OF YOU ARE
AWARE, BACK IN 2019, THE
NATIONAL CENTER OF COMPLEMENTARY
AND INTEGRATIVE HEALTH, THE
NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF CHILD
HEALTH AND HUMAN DEVELOPMENT, AS
WELL AS THE NATIONAL INSTITUTE
ON AGING, TOGETHER RELEASED THE
REQUEST FOR APPLICATIONS FOR
THIS HIGH PRIORITY EWB NETWORKS,
EMOTIONAL WE WEB NETWORKS.
SO THAT RFA LED TO THE FORMATION
OF THESE SIX NETWORKS YOU CAN
SEE HERE, WITH FUNDING AND
CO-FUNDING FROM NIH PARTNERS.
ALL OF WHOM REALLY INVESTED IN
THE NETWORK COLLABORATIONS TO
ADVANCE SCIENCE AND EMOTIONAL
WELL-BEING.
SO I WANTED TO GO THROUGH JUST A
COUPLE OF QUICK SLIDES, SOME OF
WHAT I SEE AS THE IMPORTANT
ADVANCES TO SHARE WITH YOU SOME
HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE NETWORK SO
FAR.
FIRST IS THIS PUBLICATION FROM
PARK AND COLLEAGUES IN 2022.
THIS PROVIDES AN EWB ONTOLOGY.
SO TRYING TO GET A NEW AND MORE
INTEGRATED CONCEPTUALIZATION OF
EMOTIONAL WELL-BEING SO THAT WE
CAN BRING GREATER CLARITY AND
MORE COHESIVE FOUNDATION TO THE
SCIENCE AND TO THE FUTURE WORK.
I ALSO AM HIGHLIGHTING HERE ONE
OF EIGHT OPINION PIECES OR
COMMENTARIES THAT WERE FEATURED
ALONG WITH THE PARK ARTICLE.
THIS PIECE, WHICH WAS AUTHORED
BY SOME NIH LEADERS, REALLY
PROMPTS FURTHER CONSIDERATION OF
THE ISSUES THAT ARE RELATED TO
OPERATIONALIZING THESE MEASURES.
NEXT, A COUPLE OF PUBLICATIONS
THAT I WANTED TO HIGHLIGHT IS
THAT WE'VE SEEN MULTIPLE
SYSTEMATIC REVIEWS COMING OUT
FROM THE EFFORTS OF NETWORK
INVESTIGATORS.
I'M FEATURING TWO HERE THAT ARE
ON THE SUBJECTIVE AND THE NEURAL
MEASURES OF EMOTIONAL
WELL-BEING, BUT AGAIN, I JUST
WANT TO REITERATE THAT THESE ARE
JUST A SMALL TASTE OF THE WORK
THAT IS BOTH CURRENT AND ONGOING
IN-PROGRESS EFFORTS.
I ALSO WANTED TO HIGHLIGHT SOME
OF THE NETWORK CONVENINGS, AND
JUST LAST WEEK, WE SAW THE
EMOTICON AND THE M3EWB NETWORKS
HOLD AN EMOTIONAL WELL-BEING
RESEARCH SUMMIT THAT WAS
SCHEDULED RIGHT BEFORE THE
SOCIETY OF BEHAVIORAL MEDICINE
ANNUAL MEETING IN PHILADELPHIA.
THERE'S MANY OTHER EXAMPLES OF
CONVENINGS THAT THE NETWORKS
HAVE PLANNED AND IMPLEMENTED.
THESE INCLUDE SEMINARS, GRANTEE
RETREATS, WORKSHOPS, ACTIVITIES
THAT ARE SPECIFICALLY DESIGNED
AROUND CAREER DEVELOPMENT AND
MENTORSHIP.
AND THEN THE LAST PIECE I WANTED
TO HIGHLIGHT OF EXCITING
NETWOINFORMATION FROM THE NETWOS
DISSEMINATION.
WE HAVE SEEN WORK TO PROMOTE
DISSEMINATION OF NEW AND
EMERGING EWB SCIENCE.
THIS HAS INCLUDED A
COLLABORATION WITH THE STORY
FORM SCIENCE TEAM AROUND HOW TO
EFFECTIVELY COMMUNICATE THIS
WORK TO THE PUBLIC.
AS WELL AS SEVERAL COURSES THAT
FOCUS ON EMOTIONAL WELL-BEING
THAT ALLOW FOR DIDACTIC
OPPORTUNITIES TO UNDERSTAND THE
SCIENCE BUT ALSO BY DOING SO,
PROVIDE OPPORTUNITY FOR EARLY
EXPOSURE TO WORK IN THESE AREAS
THAT MIGHT NOT OTHERWISE BE
POSSIBLE.
I ALSO JUST WANTED TO PIVOT A
LITTLE TO TALK ABOUT OUR
INTEREST AT NIA EVEN MORE
BROADLY IN EMOTIONAL WELL-BEING.
TO THAT END, I WANTED JUST TO
SHARE WITH YOU THAT NIA LEADS A
MULTIDISCIPLINARY EFFORT TO
STUDY AGING, AND A RANGE OF
SUPPORTING RESEARCH THAT OVERALL
WORKS TO ADVANCE THE HEALTHY AND
ACTIVE YEARS OF LIFE.
SO EMOTIONAL WELL-BEING IS A
REALLY CRITICAL ASPECT OF
HEALTHY AGING.
IT'S BOTH A PREDICTOR AND IT AN
OUT COME.
AND SO WE RECOGNIZE THE
CENTRALITY OF THIS ISSUE TO
HEALTH, ACCORDINGLY, EWB
RESEARCH IS PRIORITIZED WITHIN
OUR CURRENT STRATEGIC DIRECTIONS
FOR RESEARCH.
AND TO DIVE INTO THAT A LITTLE
BIT FURTHER, YOU CAN SEE IN THIS
DOCUMENT, EVE HIGHLIGHTED HERE
ON THE RIGHT SEVERAL AREAS THAT
ARE CURRENT STRATEGIC PRIORITIES
INCLUDE RELATED TO EWB RESEARCH.
SO THIS INCLUDES FURTHERING OUR
UNDERSTANDING OF THE
PSYCHOLOGICAL ASPECTS OF AGING,
DEVELOPING INTERVENTIONS THAT
MAINTAIN HEALTH AND WELL-BEING,
IDENTIFYING FACTORS ASSOCIATED
WITH SUCCESSFUL AGING AND
RESILIENCE, AND ELUCIDATING
HEALTH DISPARITIES THAT RELATE
TO AGENTING IN ORDER TO PROMOTE
BETTER HEALTH FOR ALL.
I ALSO WOULD HIGHLIGHT HERE THAT
IN THE COMING YEAR, WE'RE GOING
TO BE SEEKING PUBLIC FEEDBACK ON
OUR NEXT FIVE YEARS OF STRATEGIC
SCIENTIFIC PRIORITIES, AND SO
WOULD WELCOME YOU TO LOOK OUT
FOR THOSE OPPORTUNITIES AND
PROVIDE US WITH YOUR INPUT.
AND THEN LASTLY, I JUST WANTED
TO HIGHLIGHT MORE SPECIFICALLY
THE NIA-FUNDED NETWORKS, THE NEW
B AND NEW BRAIN AGING CENTER.
THROUGH THESE NETWORKS, NIA IS
EXPLORING KEY INTERESTS IN THE
MECHANISTIC RESEARCH AND THE
ROLE OF EMOTIONAL WELL-BEING AND
HEALTH AND AGING, MEASUREMENT
DEVELOPMENT AND VALIDATION,
BIOMARKERS, TECHNOLOGY, AND
OUTCOME MEASURE DEVELOPMENT, AS
WELL AS PREVENTION RESEARCH AND
INTERVENTIONS.
SO OUR HOPE IS THAT THROUGH ALL
OF THESE ADVANCEMENTS, WE CAN
PROMOTE A HEIGHTENED WELL-BEING,
AND BETTER TRAJECTORIES OF
HEALTH FOR EVERYONE AS WE AGE
ACROSS THE LIFE COURSE.
SO BOTH FOR CURRENT OLDER ADULTS
AS WELL AS FUTURE GENERATIONS.
WE REALLY ARE GRATEFUL FOR OUR
COLLABORATIONS WITH OUR PARTNERS
ACROSS ALL OF THE EWB NETWORKS.
WE'RE GRATEFUL TO EACH AND EVERY
ONE OF YOU AND YOUR COLLEAGUES
JOINING US THROUGH ZOOM ON YOUR
EFFORTS AND YOUR SUPPORT AND
WOULD ENCOURAGE ANYONE TO REACH
OUT TO THOSE OF US AT NIA IF WE
CAN SUPPORT YOU IN YOUR WORK IN
THIS ARENA, AND I'M JUST GLAD TO
BE HERE WITH ALL OF YOU TODAY
AND I HOPE YOU HAVE A WONDERFUL
MEETING.
AND WITH ALISON'S ABSENCE, I
KNOW SHE'S MISSING BEING HERE
BUT I'M GOING TO HAND IT OFF TO
TRACY.
[APPLAUSE]
>> GOOD MORNING, EVERYBODY.
AND THANK YOU ALL FOR THE
WONDERFUL INTRODUCTION.
I'M TRACY KING.
MANY OF YOU IN THE ROOM KNOW ME
AS ONE OF THE NICHD LIAISONS TO
THIS PROGRAM.
I'M ALSO HERE TODAY WEARING MY
HAT AS THE ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR OF
PREVENTION FOR THE EUNICE
KENNEDY SHRIVER NATIONAL
INSTITUTE OF CHILD HEALTH AND
HUMAN DEVELOPMENT, OR NICHD.
SO I FIRST WANTED TO SAY THANK
YOU TO DR. LANGEVIN AND
DR. KELLEY FOR YOUR LEADERSHIP
IN THIS AREA.
DR. CERNICH AND DR. BIANCHI SEND
THEIR REGRETS FOR MISSING THIS
MORNING, BUT THEY WERE CALLED TO
THE WHITE HOUSE FOR THE LAUNCH
OF THE WOMEN'S HEALTH INITIA
INITIATIVE.
I'M REALLY HONORED TO OPEN THIS
MEETING WITH YOU TODAY AND TO
HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO PARTNER
WITH YOU IN THE SPACE FOR
EMOTIONAL WELL-BEING RESEARCH.
WE WOULD LIKE ESPECIALLY TO SEND
OUR APPRECIATION TO DR. ERIN
BURKE QUINLAN AT NICHD, TO
DR. ELIZABETH AT NIA AND ALL THE
MEMBERS OF THE ORGANIZING TEAM
FOR ALL THE WORK YOU'VE PUT INTO
TODAY'S TERRIFIC PROGRAM.
AS HAS BEEN MENTIONED, THE
EMOTIONAL WELL-BEING RESEARCH
NETWORK INVESTIGATORS, ALL OF
YOU HAVE REALLY MADE AMAZING
STRIDES IN THIS SPACE.
AND I AND MY COLLEAGUES AT NICHD
ARE REALLY LOOKING FORWARD TO
SPENDING THE DAY HEARING MORE
ABOUT THE SUCCESSES AND ABOUT
WHERE YOU'RE GOING.
NICHD'S MISSION IS TO LEAD
RESEARCH AND TRAINING TO
UNDERSTAND HUMAN DEVELOPMENT,
IMPROVE REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH, AND
ENHANCE THE LIVES OF CHILDREN,
ADOLESCENTS, AND OPTIMIZE
ABILITIES FOR ALL.
WITHIN THAT CONTEXT, IT'S VITAL
ESPECIALLY FOR ADVANCING THE
HEALTH OF WOMEN, CHILDREN,
ADOLESCENTS, AND PEOPLE WITH
DISABILITIES, THAT WE BETTER
UNDERSTAND HOW TO PROMOTE
WELL-BEING AND THE POSITIVE
FACTORS THAT PROMOTE QUALITY OF
LIFE.
WE ALSO KNOW AS DR. LANGEVIN
MENTIONED THAT THERE'S A STRONG
CONNECTION BETWEEN EMOTIONAL
WELL-BEING AND PHYSICAL HEALTH.
AND AS DR. KELLEY AND OTHERS
HAVE MENTIONED, HEALTH IS NOT
STATIC OVER THE LIFESPAN.
OUR NEEDS, OUR PERSPECTIVES,
DEVELOPMENT, SOCIAL MILIEU,
FAMILY SUPPORT SYSTEMS, CHANGE
OVER TIME AND SOMETIMES REALLY
RAPIDLY WHEN CRITICAL LIFE
EVENTS OCCUR.
THE BIRTH OF A CHILD, INCREASED
WORK RESPONSIBILITIES FROM A JOB
PROMOTION, DEATH OF A FAMILY
MEMBER, OR A CAR ACCIDENT THAT
CAUSES DISABILITY.
THIS MEANS THAT WE NEED TO
UNDERSTAND EMOTIONAL WELL-BEING
ACROSS LIFE STAGES.
AND IN DIFFERENT CONTEXTS.
CONSIDERING THE IMPACT OF EARLY
LIFE EVENTS ON THE TRAJECTORY OF
EMOTIONAL WELL-BEING OVER TIME,
SOCIAL DETERMINANTS OF HEALTH,
ENVIRONMENTAL, BEHAVIORAL,
PSYCHOLOGICAL, AND BIOLOGICAL
FACTORS.
WE NEED TARGETED INTERVENTIONS
THAT ADDRESS THE UNIQUE NEEDS
AND CHALLENGES ENCOUNTERED
ACROSS LIFE STAGES.
PREVENTIVE MEASURES,
INTERVENTIONS FOR CHILDREN
WHO'VE EXPERIENCED ADVERSE
EVENTS, SUPPORT SYSTEMS THAT
PROMOTE LIFELONG EMOTIONAL
HEALTH AND RESILIENCE FOR
EVERYONE, REGARDLESS OF AGE OR
BACKGROUND.
IT'S A DIFFICULT CHALLENGE.
EMOTIONAL WELL-BEING IS COMPLEX,
PARTICULARLY BECAUSE IT MEANS
DIFFERENT THINGS TO DIFFERENT
PEOPLE ACROSS THE LIFESPAN AND
INTERACTS WITH SO MANY FACTORS
THAT CONTRIBUTE TO DISPARITIES.
ADVERSE EVENTS IN CHILDHOOD,
FOOD SECURITY, HOUSING SECURITY,
RACISM, AND THE
INTERSECTIONALITY OF IDENTITY
AND EXPERIENCE ALL HAVE DIRECT
IMPACTS ON EMOTIONAL WELL-BEING
AT EVERY AGE.
FOR INSTANCE, THOSE FROM
MARGINALIZED GROUPS MAY
EXPERIENCE HIGHER LEVELS OF
STRESS OR BARRIERS TO CARE, BOTH
OF WHICH IMPACT WELL-BEING.
FOR THE ELDERLY, THEIR EMOTIONAL
WELL-BEING MAY BE TIED TO
CHANGES IN THEIR BRAIN,
ISOLATION AND LONELINESS AND
LIFE TRANSITIONS.
PEOPLE WITH DISABILITY
EXPERIENCE MARGINALIZATION AND
STIGMA, ALONG WITH BARRIERS DUE
TO LACK OF INCLUSIVE OR
ACCESSIBLE SOCIAL AND PHYSICAL
ENVIRONMENTS.
PROVIDING TAILORED SUPPORT
SYSTEMS TO MEET DIFFERENT
POPULATION NEEDS WILL BE
ESSENTIAL TO SUCCESS.
CHILDREN MAY NEED MECHANISMS
THAT TEACH THEM EMOTIONAL
WELL-BEING THROUGH PLAY.
PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES MAY
NEED ACCOMMODATIONS AND
UNDERSTANDING FROM THEIR SOCIAL
SUPPORT SYSTEMS TO NAVIGATE
THEIR CHALLENGES EFFECTIVELY.
WE NEED TO UNDERSTAND THESE
NUANCES OF EMOTIONAL WELL-BEING
FOR DIFFERENT GROUPS AND TO
DEVELOP ATTUNED INTERVENTIONS
AND PROMOTE HEALTH EQUITY.
THIS INITIATIVE HAS SHOWN THE
POWER AND VALUE OF TAKING A
MULTI-INSTITUTE,
MULTIDISCIPLINARY APPROACH TO
ADVANCE EMOTIONAL WELL-BEING
RESEARCH.
WE CAN'T TACKLE SOMETHING AS
COMPLEX AS EMOTIONAL WELL-BEING
WITHOUT A COMPREHENSIVE
UNDERSTANDING AND WELL-ROUNDED
INTERVENTIONS.
THIS IS WHY WE NEED SO MANY
DISCIPLINES TO COME TOGETHER FOR
THIS WORK.
SO THANK YOU ONCE AGAIN TO NICCH
FOR YOUR LEADERSHIP.
THANKS TO ALL OF YOU
INVESTIGATORS FOR ALL THE WORK
YOU'VE BEEN DOING SO FAR.
OUR CHALLENGE TODAY IS TO KEEP
THINKING OF NOVEL INTERVENTIONS,
NEW PARTNERS, AND BROAD
APPROACHES TO IMPROVE EMOTIONAL
WELL-BEING FOR ALL OF OUR
POPULATIONS.
AND SO NOW I'D LIKE TO INTRODUCE
OUR NEXT SPEAKER, WHO IS THE
DIRECTOR OF THE DIVISION OF
EXTRAMURAL RESEARCH AT NICCH,
DR. EMMELINE EDWARDS.
DR. EDWARDS IS GOING TO PROVIDE
AN OVERVIEW OF THE EMOTIONAL
WELL-BEING INITIATIVE AND
HIGHLIGHT RELATED ACTIVITIES
THAT CAN LEVERAGE THE WORK OF
THE EMOTIONAL WELL-BEING
NETWORKS.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH.
[APPLAUSE]
>> THANK YOU, TRACY.
CAN YOU SEE THAT?
OKAY.
SO GOOD MORNING, EVERYBODY.
I'M SORRY I CAN'T BE WITH YOU IN
PERSON.
I AM ACTUALLY JOINING FROM NEW
YORK CITY, AND SO AGAIN, WITH
THE WONDERFUL WORLD OF
TECHNOLOGY, I'M GLAD I'M ABLE TO
REACH YOU.
SO IT'S FUNNY, YESTERDAY WHEN I
ARRIVED IN NEW YORK, I WAS
PERUSING "THE NEW YORK TIMES"
AND THERE WAS ACTUALLY AN
ARTICLE THAT CAUGHT MY EYES AND
IT WAS WHO HAS THE SECRET TO
WELL-BEING?
AND THIS ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF
PEDIATRICS AT MCMASTER
UNIVERSITY THINKS THAT TODDLERS
ACTUALLY CAN TEACH US A FEW
THINGS ABOUT WELL-BEING.
AND THE RATIONALE WAS THAT
TODDLERS HAVE AN INNATE ABILITY
TO BE CURIOUS, TO DO SOME
SELF-TALK FOR THEMSELF, TO
LAUGH, AND TO BE ENERGETIC.
AND AS YOU CAN SEE, DR. LANGEVIN
AND DR. KELLEY REALLY
HIGHLIGHTED THE INTEREST IN
WELL-BEING IN GENERAL.
AND SO THIS IS SOMETHING THAT AT
NIH, WE HAVE BEEN INTERESTED FOR
A NUMBER OF YEARS AND JUST
GIVING YOU A LITTLE BIT OF -- A
LITTLE WALK THROUGH MEMORY LANE
HERE.
WE STARTED THIS SINCE 2018, WHEN
WE HAD A ROUNDTABLE DISCUSSION.
AND ACTUALLY THERE'S A LITTLE
BIT OF INFORMATION, WE HAD
STARTED WORKING WITH DR. VIVEK
MURTHY IN HIS FIRST TERM AS
SURGEON GENERAL.
SO THAT'S THE WAY THE
CONVERSATION STARTED, AND
UNFORTUNATELY, DR. MURTHY DID
NOT CONTINUE AS SURGEON GENERAL
SO HE DID NOT PARTICIPATE INTO
THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE NETWORK,
BUT VERY MUCH AT THE BEGINNING,
WE HAD THIS CONVERSATION WITH
HIM, AND WE REALIZED HOW MUCH WE
DIDN'T KNOW ABOUT EMOTIONAL
WELL-BEING.
WHAT WERE THE COMPONENTS,
WHETHER THIS WOULD BE DIFFERENT
AT DIFFERENT AGE GROUPS AND
DIFFERENT POPULATIONS.
WE ALSO WERE NOT SURE WHETHER
EMOTIONAL WELL-BEING WOULD BE A
MEDIATOR OF OTHER HEALTH
OUTCOMES OR IF IT WOULD BE AN
OUTCOME IN ITSELF.
WE ALSO WERE INTERESTED IN
UNDERSTANDING IF WE IMPROVE OUR
EMOTIONAL WELL-BEING OR OUR
WELL-BEING, WHAT IMPACT THAT
WOULD HAVE ON NEURAL CIRCUITS
THAT ARE IMPORTANT FOR EMOTIONAL
REGULATION AND COGNITIVE CONT
CONTROL.
WE WERE INTERESTED IN SOME
DEVELOPING INTERVENTION THAT
WOULD DECREASE BURNOUT, REDUCE
STRESS, MANAGE PAIN AND OTHER
MENTAL HEALTH SYMPTOMS IN THIS
AT RISK POPULATION.
SO THAT'S THE CONVERSATION WE
HAD IN APRIL OF 2018, AND FROM
THAT ROUNDTABLE, WE STARTED
ACTUALLY HAVING THOSE
DISCUSSIONS AT THE NIH TO SEE
HOW COULD WE MOVE FORWARD WITH A
RESEARCH AGENDA THAT WOULD
ADDRESS SOME OF THOSE GAPS.
SO WE ACTUALLY WANTED TO ADVANCE
RESEARCH IN THAT AREA, AND
INSTEAD OF DOING THE STANDARD
RFA THAT WE DO AT THE NIH
CALLING FOR PROPOSAL FOR
R01 GRANTS, WE THOUGHT THAT THE
FIELD WAS NOT READY TO APPLY FOR
REGULAR R01 GRANTS, SO WE
THOUGHT THAT THE MECHANISM THAT
WOULD ACTUALLY BRING PEOPLE FROM
DIFFERENT DISCIPLINES TOGETHER
TO WORK FOR A NUMBER OF YEARS
AND DEVELOP THE RESEARCH IN
THOSE AREAS WAS THE WAY TO GO.
SO WE ACTUALLY DEVELOPED THOSE
RESEARCH NETWORKS.
THIS IS AN INFRASTRUCTURE
MECHANISM ACTUALLY THAT WOULD
FACILITATE RESEARCH THROUGH
CONFERENCE, MEETINGS, SMALL
SCALE PILOT PROJECTS THAT WOULD
ALLOW INVESTIGATORS TO BECOME
MORE COMPETITIVE FOR REGULAR R0Y
CROSS TRAINING.
SO WORKSHOPS OF OUR INSTITUTE
VISITING SCHOLARS PROGRAM TO
INFORM THE DISSEMINATION AND THE
GROWTH OF THAT FIELD.
SO WE HAD KIND OF A TALL ORDER
FOR THESE NETWORKS.
WE WANTED THEM TO TACKLE SIX
DIFFERENT PRIORITY AREAS: THE
ONTOLOGY AND MEASUREMENT OF
EMOTIONAL WELL-BEING, THE
MECHANISTIC RESEARCH THAT'S
NEEDED TO UNDERSTAND THE ROLE OF
EWB IN HEALTH, DEVELOPMENT OF
BIOMARKERS FOR EMOTIONAL
WELL-BEING, ALSO SOME PREVENTION
RESEARCH, TECHNOLOGY AND OUTCOME
MEASURE DEVELOPMENT, AND OF
COURSE DEVELOPMENT AND
VALIDATION OF WELL-BEING
MEASURES.
SO IN 2021, NICCH, NICHD, NIA,
AND THE OFFICE OF BEHAVIORAL AND
SOCIAL SCIENCE RESEARCH IN THE
OFFICE OF DISEASE PREVENTION
FUNDED SIX NETWORKS.
AND WE WERE REALLY ENCOURAGED TO
SEE THE BREADTH OF CONTENT OF
THOSE -- THE INTEREST IN THESE
NETWORKS AND ALSO THE GEOGRAPHIC
DIVERSITY.
SO WE HAVE UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA
IN BIRMINGHAM FOCUSING ON
EMOTIONAL WELL-BEING AND THE
ECONOMIC BURDEN.
WE HAVE UNIVERSITY OF
CONNECTICUT STUDYING THE
MECHANISMS UNDERLYING MIND-BODY
INTERVENTIONS AND THE
MEASUREMENT OF EMOTIONAL
WELL-BEING, UNIVERSITY OF
WISCONSIN-MADISON, THE PL
PLASTICITY OF WELL-BEING, THE
NETWORK REALLY WANTS TO DEFINE
MEASURES, ALL THE ASPECTS OF
HUMAN FLOURISHING.
WE HAVE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA
SAN FRANCISCO LOOKING AT THE
PSYCHOSOCIAL AND BIOBEHAVIORAL
APPROACHES TO IMPROVE WELL-B
WELL-BEING.
THE BRAIN IMAGING NETWORK THAT
DR. KELLEY MENTIONS IN NEW YORK,
UNIVERSITY OF ROCHESTER.
AND THEN FAMILY WELL-BEING,
WHICH IS THE UNIVERSITY OF
MICHIGAN, THAT'S FUNDED BY
NICHD.
SO AS YOU CAN SEE, WE HAD KIND
OF A REALLY -- A BREADTH OF
VARIOUS INTERESTS, AND IT'S ALL
ACROSS THE COUNTRY.
SO WE WERE VERY PLEASED WITH
THAT OUTCOME.
SO ALL ALONG, THESE NETWORKS,
THE PRIMARY GOAL WAS TO REALLY
GROW A COMMUNITY THAT WOULD BE
ABLE TO DEVELOP THE RESEARCH
THAT WOULD FILL THOSE GAPS THAT
WE DIDN'T HAVE IN THE CONTEXT OF
UNDERSTANDING WELL-BEING IN
GENERAL, AND HOW IT INTERSECTS
WITH HEALTH.
SO AS YOU CAN SEE ON THIS SLIDE,
AT THE BEGINNING, THE NUMBER OF
MEMBERS FOR EACH OF THE
NETWORKS, THIS STARTED SMALL,
BUT IN THE PAST THREE YEARS, I'M
PLEASED TO SEE THAT WE HAVE
QUITE A STEADY GROWTH IN THE
NUMBER OF MEMBERS IN THOSE
NETWORKS.
THIS IS THE BEAUTY OF USING THIS
INFRASTRUCTURE MECHANISM, IS
THAT WHILE YOU HAVE A CORSET OF
INVESTIGATORS IN EACH OF THOSE
FUNDED NETWORKS, THE ABILITY TO
BRING NEW PEOPLE FROM VARIOUS
FIELDS TO JOIN THE NETWORK TO
ACTUALLY BRING THEIR EXPERTISE,
DEVELOP PILOT PROJECTS THAT
WOULD ACTUALLY ENRICH THE
RESEARCH HAS BEEN TREMENDOUS.
AND AS YOU CAN SEE, THE NUMBERS
ARE LOOKING VERY, VERY GOOD, AND
THE GROUP STILL HAS ONE YEAR TO
GO.
AND OF COURSE, THE IMPORTANCE OF
BRINGING YOUNGER INVESTIGATORS
INTO THE FIELD HAS BEEN REALLY
VERY ENCOURAGING AS WELL, AS YOU
CAN SEE THE NUMBERS OF TRAINEES
THAT ARE PARTICIPATING IN EACH
OF THE NETWORKS HAS BEEN REALLY
GROWING STEADILY.
SO WE'RE VERY PLEASED WITH THAT
ASPECT.
DR. KELLEY MENTIONED SOME OF THE
PUBLICATIONS THAT HAVE COME OUT
FROM THE INVESTIGATORS THAT ARE
INVOLVED IN THOSE NETWORKS.
TO DATE, WE HAVE ABOUT 51
PUBLICATIONS HIGHLIGHTED HERE A
COUPLE OF THEM.
DR. KELLEY ALREADY MENTIONED THE
PUBLICATION FROM DR. PARK AND
THE GROUP, THE ONTOLOGY GROUP ON
EMOTIONAL WELL-BEING, WHAT IS IT
AND WHY IT MATTERS, AND THIS WAS
REALLY -- AND THAT FOLLOWED WITH
A NUMBER OF OPINION PIECES FROM
THE COMMUNITY AND ALSO FROM THE
NIH.
AND SO I THINK WE ARE
ACCOMPLISHING THE GOAL IN
STIMULATING INTERESTS AND
SPARKING SOME CONTROVERSY, WHICH
IS EXACTLY WHAT WE INTENDED TO
HAVE, IS THAT REALLY HAVING
PEOPLE TALK ABOUT THE WHOLE
CONCEPT OF EMOTIONAL WELL-BEING
AND WHAT IT MEANS.
THERE'S ALSO A NUMBER OF SCOPING
REVIEWS LOOKING AT VARIOUS
ASPECTS OF EMOTIONAL WELL-BEING.
AND OF COURSE FROM A PAPER FOCG
ON THE IMPACT OF FINANCIAL
HARDSHIP ON EMOTIONAL WELL-BEING
WELL-BEING.
A NUMBER OF CONFERENCES ALSO
HAVE BEEN INCREASING.
HIGHLIGHTED HERE, A COUPLE OF
THEM.
LAST YEAR, AT THE APS, WE HAD A
LOVELY SYMPOSIUM ON EMOTIONAL
WELL-BEING, CAN WE MEASURE IT,
CAN WE MONITOR IT, AND CAN WE
MODULATE IT IN THE BRAIN, AND
THAT WAS REALLY WELL RECEIVED BY
THE APS COMMUNITY.
AND VERY, VERY EXCITED, IF YOU
COME TO THE SOCIETY FOR
NEUROSCIENCE IN 2024, WE
ACTUALLY HAVE -- WE WILL HAVE AN
EMOTIONAL WELL-BEING SYMPOSIUM
AT SFN, FOCUSING ON THE HEALTH
IMPACT AND THE NEURAL INSIGHTS
THAT THE NETWORK INVESTIGATORS
HAVE BEEN GAINING.
REALLY IMPORTANT, THE NETWORKS
WERE FUNDED FOR FOUR YEARS, SO
WITH THE INVESTMENT ON THE PILOT
PROJECT, THE IDEA WAS THAT THE
INVESTIGATORS AND THE P.I.s
FROM THOSE PILOT PROJECTS WILL
BE GENERATING PRELIMINARY DATA
THAT WOULD ALLOW THEM TO
CONTINUE THEIR RESEARCH THROUGH
R01 MECHANISM OR OTHER
INITIATIVES THAT ARE ONGOING AT
THE NIH.
AND CURRENTLY THERE ARE A NUMBER
OF ACTIVITIES THAT ARE VERY WELL
ALIGNED WITH THE CONCEPT OF
EMOTIONAL WELL-BEING AND OTHER
PROJECTS AND OTHER NEW
DIRECTIONS.
SO NICCH, NIA AND A NUMBER OF
OTHER -- NICHD, A NUMBER OF
OTHER INSTITUTES, HAVE BEEN PART
OF A TRANS-NIH RESILIENCE
WORKING GROUP, AND THAT GROUP
HAS BEEN REALLY DEVELOPING THE
COMMON RESILIENCE DEFINITION AND
CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK.
A NUMBER OF PAPERS HAVE BEEN
PUBLISHED LAST YEAR, AND
CURRENTLY THERE'S GOING TO BE A
CONFERENCE IN SEPTEMBER OF 2024
ABOUT THE METRICS OF RESILIENCE.
SO THERE IS DEFINITELY AN
INTERFACE BETWEEN WELL-BEING AND
RESILIENCE.
SO THAT WILL BE AN AREA -- A
POTENTIAL AREA OF DEVELOPMENT
FOR THE INVESTIGATORS OF THE
NETWORKS.
ANOTHER LARGE SCALE INITIATIVE
IS THE TRANS-NIH BRAIN
INITIATIVE THAT HAS BEEN FUNDED
BY THE NIH DIRECTOR'S OFFICE.
AND EE SESSIONALLY, THERE IS A
PARTICULAR INITIATIVE THAT'S
CALLED THE BBQS PROGRAM, WHICH
IS BRAIN BEHAVIORAL
QUANTIFICATION AND
SYNCHRONIZATION.
THERE'S A NUMBER OF ACTIVITIES
THERE, FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES,
THAT WOULD BE VERY WELL ALIGNED
WITH EMOTIONAL WELL-BEING.
THERE IS ALSO NICCH AND A NUMBER
OF NIH INSTITUTES A FEW YEARS
AGO HAD DONE A NATIONAL ACADEMY
OF SCIENCE STUDY FOCUSED ON
FOSTERING MENTAL, EMOTIONAL, AND
BEHAVIORAL HEALTH AMONG CHILDREN
IN SCHOOL SETTINGS.
AND FOLLOWING THAT EVENT, THIS
PARTICULAR REPORT, NICCH AND A
NUMBER OF OTHER INSTITUTES
ACTUALLY HAD AN INITIATIVE
FOCUSED ON THAT COPY: CURRENTLY
NICCH IS FUNDING THREE OF THOSE
LARGE SCALE INTERVENTION ASK YOU
INTER -- IN AREAS OFUNDERSERVED.
SO THIS IS AN AREA OF INTEREST
AND INVESTIGATORS FROM THE
NETWORK CERTAINLY COULD MOVE
INTO THAT DIRECTION.
AND FINALLY, THERE HAS BEEN
MOVEMENT AT THE NIH REALLY
LOOKING AT MU SIX MUSIC AND OTT
FORMS IN THE CONTEXT OF IMPACT
ON HEALTH, AND SO FOR US, MUSIC
ANHAS BEEN PART OF INVESTIGATORS
OF THE NETWORK TO MOVE THEIR
RESEARCH INTO THAT ARENA.
SO WE SEE THE FUTURE AS BRIGHT
FOR THIS GROUP, AS THE NETWORK
ACTUALLY COMPLETING THEIR FOURTH
YEAR, THERE WILL BE A LOT OF
OPPORTUNITIES THAT HAVE RELATED
SCIENTIFIC DIRECTION THAT THEY
CAN MOVE THEIR RESEARCH INTO.
SO WE'RE VERY, VERY PLEASED WITH
THE DIRECTION OF THOSE SIX
NETWORKS, AND NOW I'M GOING TO
TURN IT OVER TO DR. QUINLAN.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH.
[APPLAUSE]
ERIN?
>> GREAT.
>> I'M GOING TO STOP SHARING.
>> THANK YOU VERY MUCH,
EMMELINE.
THANK YOU FOR THAT GREAT
OVERVIEW OF SORT OF THE ORIGINS
OF EMOTIONAL WELL-BEING NETWORKS
AND ALSO FOR YOUR LEADERSHIP IN
THE GENERATION OF THE EMOTIONAL
WELL-BEING INITIATIVE THAT HAS
FUNDED THE SIX U24 NETWORKS.
SO NEXT WE'LL BEGIN THE
SUBSEQUENT PORTION OF THE
MEETING WHERE THE SIX NIH FUNDED
EMOTIONAL BEING NETWORKS THAT
YOU'VE STARTED TO HEAR ABOUT
WILL EACH HAVE 10 MINUTES TO
SHARE THEIR GOALS AND HIGHLIGHT
SOME OF THEIR ACCOMPLISHMENTS.
SO THOSE OF YOU IN THE VIDEOCAST
AUDIENCE, PLEASE DON'T FORGET TO
SUBMIT QUESTIONS AS WE WILL HAVE
A Q & A SESSION FOLLOWING THE
SIX 10-MINUTE PAREN TAIGS.
PRESENTATIONS.
I'D LIKE TO INVITE DR. RICHIE
DAVIDSON.
>> WHILE WE'RE WAITING FOR THIS,
LET ME JUST SAY THAT AS A NOTE
OF PERSONAL REFLECTION, I WAS
CO-CHAIR WITH BRUCE MCCUNE IN
2018 OF THE INITIATIVE WHICH LED
TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF THESE
NETWORKS, AND IT'S JUST REALLY
HEARTENING TO SEE HOW MUCH HAS
BEEN ACCOMPLISHED OVER THIS
RELATIVELY SHORT PERIOD OF TIME,
AND I THINK IF BRUCE WAS STILL
ALIVE WITH US TODAY, HE WOULD
REALLY BE QUITE PLEASED TO SEE
WHAT HAS BEEN ACCOMPLISHED IN
THIS TIME.
OKAY.
>> TECHNICAL DIFFICULTY.
WE WILL GET THERE ONE SLIDE AT A
TIME IF NECESSARY.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR PATIENCE.
THANK YOU, RICHIE.
>> THANK YOU.
SO IT'S GREAT TO BE HERE AND TO
GIVE YOU A LITTLE UPDATE ON OUR
NETWORK ON THE PLASTICITY OF
WELL-BEING.
WE HAVE COME TO THIS IDEA OF THE
PLASTICITY OF WELL-BEING IN WAYS
THAT WE LIKEN TO CLIMATE
SCIENTISTS WHO BELIEVE THAT THE
EVIDENCE FOR THE NEWER TOURING
OF WELL-BEING IS SUFFICIENTLY
COMPELLING THAT WE NEED TO ACT
AND SO OUR FOCUS HAS REALLY BEEN
ON WAYS TO CULTIVATE AND NURTURE
DIFFERENT COMPONENTS OF
WELL-BEING AND TO STUDY HOW
THOSE INTERVENTIONS ARE
AFFECTING THE PSYCHOLOGICAL AND
BIOLOGICAL CORRELATES AND
MEDIATORS OF WELL-BEING.
ONE OF THE OTHER INTENTIONS IN
CREATING THIS NETWORK WAS ALSO
TO BE INTERDISCIPLINARY AND
BRING SCIENTISTS WHO HAVE NOT
PREVIOUSLY BEEN INVOLVED IN THE
STUDY OF WELL-BEING, IN FACT,
WHO'VE NOT BEEN INVOLVED IN
BEHAVIORAL OR BIOBEHAVIORAL
SCIENCE AT ALL PRETTY MUCH TO
THE TABLE, WHOSE EXPERTISE CAN
REALLY BE VERY RELEVANT.
SO WE HAVE ONE OF THE WORLD'S
LEADING EXPERTS IN THE
MICROBIOME WHO'S PART OF OUR
NETWORK, WE HAVE A COMPUTER
SCIENTIST AT MIT WHO IS AN
EXPERT IN COMPUTER VISION AND
MACHINE LEARNING, AND WE ALSO
HAVE A BIOLOGICAL ANTHROPOLOGIST
WHO'S BEEN A PIONEER IN THE
DEVELOPMENT OF NOVEL BIOLOGICAL
MEASURES THAT CAN BE USED IN THE
FIELD.
AND I'LL MENTION THESE AS WE GO
ALONG.
SO THE OVERALL GOALS IN THE
NETWORK WERE TO CONVENE THIS
MULTIDISCIPLINARY FACULTY WITH
UNIQUE AND COMPLEMENTARY
EXPERTISE TO ADVANCE BOTH THE
MEASUREMENT OF -- FOCUS ON THE
MEASUREMENT OF WELL-BEING AS
WELL AS ON CULTIVATING
WELL-BEING.
WE ALSO HAVE BEEN AWARDING PILOT
PROJECT FUNDING FOR NOVEL
RESEARCH.
WE HAVE FUNDED AND SUPPORTED
COMMUNITY ENGAGED RESEARCH THAT
PRIORITIZES EMOTIONAL HEALTH
EQUITY, AND YOU'LL HEAR ABOUT
THAT FROM TR CHRISTIE, WHOLE I'L
INTRODUCE IN A MOMENT AND ALSO
SUPPORTING EMERGING EARLY CAREER
SCHOLARS IN LEARNING ABOUT
RESEARCH IN THIS AREA, INFORMING
COLLABORATIONS AND REALLY IN
HELPING TO NURTURE THIS NASCENT
FIELD, AND NOT JUST PROVIDING
THE STANDARD INTELLECTUAL
FRAMEWORK BUT HOW CAN WE ALSO
WALK THE TALK, AND ACTUALLY
CREATE AN ENVIRONMENT WHERE
EMOTIONAL WELL-BEING CAN THRIVE
IN THE ACADEMY, SOMETHING THAT
DOESN'T HAPPEN ON A REGULAR
BASIS.
SO LET ME SAY A LITTLE BIT ABOUT
OUR KEY ACCOMPLISHMENTS.
WE'VE ALL COME TOGETHER IN A
LARGE COLLABORATIVE STUDY THAT
INVOLVES EVERY MEMBER OF THE
NETWORK IN VARIOUS AND DIFFERENT
WAYS, AND THIS STUDY HAS TAKEN
ADVANTAGE OF A FRAMEWORK THAT WE
HAVE PUBLISHED A COUPLE YEARS
AGO ON THE PLASTICITY OF
WELL-BEING THAT HOLDS THAT THERE
ARE THESE FOUR KEY PILLARS OF
WELL-BEING, EACH OF WHICH
EXHIBITS PLASTICITY.
THESE ARE LISTED HERE.
AWARENESS, WHICH WOULD INCLUDE
MINDFULNESS, CONNECTION, WHICH
INCLUDES QUALITIES THAT ARE
IMPORTANT FOR HEALTHY SOCIAL
RELATIONSHIPS, QUALITIES LIKE
APPRECIATION AND GRATITUDE AND
KINDNESS AND COMPASSION.
INSIGHT, WHICH IS INSIGHT INTO
THE NARRATIVE THAT WE ALL CARRY
AROUND ABOUT OURSELVES, OUR
BELIEFS AND EXPECTATIONS OF
OURSELVES.
AND FINALLY, PURPOSE.
AND YOU'LL NOTE THAT THIS
FRAMEWORK HAS TWO ELEMENTS THAT
ARE FOUND IN MOST OTHER FRAME
WORKS FOR UNDERSTANDING
WELL-BEING, AND THOSE ARE
CONNECTION AND PURPOSE, AND IT
HAS TWO ELEMENTS THAT, IN FACT,
AT LEAST IN OUR VIEW, ARE NOT
FOUND IN ANY OTHER FRAMEWORK.
AND THAT IS AWARENESS AND
INSIGHT.
AND FOR A VARIETY OF REASONS, WE
BELIEVE THAT THIS IS AN
IMPORTANT AND DIFFERENT
FRAMEWORK THAT HARNESSES THE
INSIGHTS GLEANED FROM BOTH
CONTEMPLATIVE TRADITIONS AS WELL
AS FROM MODERN SCIENCE.
WE HAVE DEVELOPED A CURRICULUM
FOR TEACHING EACH OF THESE FOUR
PILLARS OF WELL-BEING THAT
INCLUDES BOTH DECLARATIVE
LEARNING, LEARNING ABOUT THESE
PILLARS, BUT ALSO PROCEDURAL
LEARNING.
PRACTICE-BASED LEARNING THAT IS
INSTANTIATED THROUGH SKILL
DEVELOPMENT AND WE KNOW IS
ASSOCIATED WITH BRAINNET WORKS
THAT ARE DIFFERENT FROM
DECLARATIVE LEARNING.
WE'VE PUT THIS IN THE FORM OF AN
APP THAT, BY THE WAY, IS
PUBLICLY AVAILABLE AND IS
TOTALLY FREE, AND IT'S CALLED
THE HEALTHY MINDS PROGRAM, AND
"THE NEW YORK TIMES" WIRE CUTTER
ACTUALLY NAMED IT AS ONE OF THE
THREE BEST MEDITATION APPS FOR
THREE YEARS IN A ROW, AND IT'S
THE ONLY ONE THAT'S ACTUALLY
EVIDENCE-BASED.
WE HAVE BEEN INVOLVED IN THIS
LARGE SCALE COLLABORATIVE STUDY,
ALL OF OUR NETWORK MEMBERS, AND
THESE ARE SOME OF THE KEY
ELEMENTS OF THE STUDY.
WE BEGAN WITH 1170 PEOPLE
RECRUITED NATIONALLY FROM, I
THINK EVERY STATE IN THE UNITED
STATES.
AND THEY ARE RANDOMLY ASSIGNED
TO ONE OF THREE GROUPS: THE
HEALTHY MINDS PROGRAM IS ONE
GROUP, AND WE HAVE A -- WHAT I
THINK IS A REALLY BEAUTIFUL
ACTIVE CONTROL.
WE DEVELOPED A VERSION OF THE
HEALTHY MINDS PROGRAM WHERE THEY
LEARN ALL OF THE DIDACTIC
MATERIAL, BUT THERE'S NO
INSTRUCTION FOR PROCEDURAL
LEARNING, NO MEDITATION
PRACTICE.
BUT THEY ENGAGE WITH THE APP FOR
AS MUCH TIME AS THE HEALTHY
MINDS GROUP DOES.
THEN WE HAVE A TREATMENT AS
USUAL GROUP.
THESE ARE ALL PARTICIPANTS WITH
ELEVATED LEVELS OF DEPRESSIVE
SYMPTOMS AND ALL OF THESE
INDIVIDUALS ARE ACTUALLY
SCREENED AND DIAGNOSED WITH
SKSs, WHICH HELPS US WITH A
FORMAL DIAGNOSIS BUT ALSO
ENSURES US THAT THESE ARE REAL
PEOPLE BECAUSE THIS IS A FULLY
REMOTE STUDY BECAUSE ALL OF THE
SKDs ARE DOB WITH ZOOM
INTERVIEWS.
THE FOLLOW-UP DATA ARE NOT
COMPLETE YET.
THERE'S STILL 12% OF THE SAMPLE
THAT'S NOT BEEN INVITED BACK.
THOSE NUMBERS WILL GO UP.
BUT WE'VE HAD REMARKABLY HIGH
RETENTION.
IF YOU LOOK AT THE 4-WEEK DATA
JUST IMMEDIATELY POST-TEST,
THOSE DATA ARE COMPLETE AND YOU
CAN SEE WE'VE HAD RETENTION THAT
EXCEEDS 83% IN ALL THE GROUPS.
THESE ARE A PEEK AT THE EARLY
DATA AT IMMEDIATELY POST
INTERVENTION.
THE HEALTHY MINDS PROGRAM IS IN
GREEN, THE ACTIVE CONTROL IS IN
RED.
AND THE TREATMENT IS IN BLUE.
THE EMOTIONAL WELL-BEING
MEASURE, THIS IS TYLER
VANDERWHEELER'S FLEWISHING
MEASURE, AND THEN YOU SEE THE
PHQ FOR DEPRESSION SYMPTOMS, AND
YOU CAN SEE THAT THE HEALTHY
MINDS PROGRAM IS LEADING TO
INCREASED FLOURISHING AND LARGER
ARE DECREASES IN DEPRESSION THAN
THE OTHER GROUPS, BUT THE ACTIVE
CONTROL GROUP IS DOING PRETTY
WELL ALSO, WHICH IS NOT
UNEXPECTED, GIVEN THE NATURE OF
THIS GROUP.
WE ALSO, AS PART OF THE NETWORK,
ARE PIONEERING IN THESE VARIOUS
BIOLOGICAL MEASURES THAT ARE
BEING COLLECTED IN THE FIELD.
SO WE'RE COLLECTING DRIED
BLOODSPOTS FROM ALL OF THE
PARTICIPANTS, AND WE ARE LOOKING
AT VARIOUS PRO-INFLAMMATORY
CYTOKINES.
WE'RE ALSO ACTUALLY GETTING
EPIGENETIC DATA FROM THESE DRIED
BLOODSPOTS.
WE ALSO ARE GETTING STOOL
SAMPLES FROM ALL THE
PARTICIPANTS PRE AND POTATOES
AND LOOKING AT THE GUT
MICROBIOTA AND WE ACTUALLY HAVE
SOME TANTALIZING PRELIMINARY
DATA ON THAT WHICH I'M NOT GOING
TO SHOW YOU, AND WITH ROZ AT
MIT, WE'RE COLLECTING A VERSION
OF EXPERIENCE SAMPLING THAT'S
DONE BY VIDEO, AND WE HAVE TWO
DIFFERENT MEASURES, ONE WHERE
PARTICIPANTS ARE ACTUALLY SHOWN
A VERY SHORT VIDEO CLIP ON THEIR
PHONE, A CLIP OF BABIES
LAUGHING, AND WE'RE RECORDING
THE FACIAL BEHAVIOR IN RESPONSE
TO THE CLIP.
WE ALSO ASK THEM IN ANOTHER
COMPONENT AND EXPERIENCE
SAMPLING QUESTION, PLEASE TELL
US ABOUT AN EMOTIONAL
EXPERIENCE, PLEASANT OR
UNPLEASANT, THAT YOU'VE HAD
WITHIN THE LAST 24 HOURS.
AND THEY DESCRIBE IT VERY
BRIEFLY.
AND THIS IS JUST DATA FROM ROZ'S
ANALYSIS FROM HER GROUP, JUST
LOOKING AT THE DIFFERENCE
BETWEEN THOSE WHO ARE HIGH AND
LOW IN THE PHQ, LOOKING -- USING
COMPUTER VISION TO MEASURE
SMILING AND LOOKING AT THE
EVOLUTION OF SMILES AND CHEEK
RAISES, AND YOU CAN SEE SOME
VERY CLEAR DIFFERENTIATION FROM
THESE EARLY DATA.
AND NOW, I AM GOING TO TURN IT
OVER TO CHRISTIE WILSON MEN
DALHALL, CORE FACULTY MEMBER AT
OUR CENTER, AND ALSO IS ONE OF
THE CO-LEADERS OF THIS NETWORK.
>> OKAY, I THINK WE'RE ALMOST
OUT OF TIME, SO I'M JUST GOING
TO GIVE SOME REALLY GENERAL
THEMES HERE.
AND THIS TEXT IS ACTUALLY A LOT
SMALLER THAN IT WAS WHEN I LAST
SAW THESE SLIDE, BUT ONE OF THE
THEMES COMING OUT OF OUR NETWORK
IS REALLY THAT HOW WE DO
EMOTIONAL WELL-BEING RESEARCH
MATTERS.
GROUNDED IN THE WORK OF SOCIAL
JUSTICE SCHOLARS AND ACTIVISTS,
WE ARE REALLY CREATING SPACE TO
REIMAGINARY SEARCH THROUGH THE
LENS OF EQUITABLE AND COLLECTIVE
CARE AND TAKING STEPS TOWARDS
THAT VISION.
AND AGAIN I DON'T HAVE TIME TO
GET INTO DETAIL, BUT WE ARE
FUNDING COMMUNITY ENGAGED
RESEARCH, COMMUNITY ENGAGED
RESEARCH WAS A PART OF AND
INSPIRED US THINKING DIFFERENTLY
ABOUT A SUMMER WORKSHOP FOR
EMERGING SCHOLARS AND HOW WE
SUPPORT EARLY CAREER AND EMER
EMERGING SCHOLARS, PROVIDING A
FOUNDATION FOR LEARNING,
GROWING, AND COLLABORATING IN
COMMUNITY.
AND ONE OF THE UNANTICIPATED
OUTCOMES OF THAT SUMMER WORKSHOP
WAS THAT A GROUP WHO HAD BEEN
WITH US THAT WEEK HAS NOW
SELF-ORGANIZED INTO THE
SELF-NAMED COMMUNITY WE MERGE,
EMERGING WELL-BEING SCHOLARS
COLLECTIVE, AND THEY ARE
PURSUING WORK TO CENTER
WELL-BEING IN RESEARCH PRACTICES
AND CULTURE.
AND I DON'T THINK I HAVE TIME TO
REALLY SHARE MUCH ABOUT THEIR
WORK UNFORTUNATELY, BUT I DID
WANT TO SHOW THIS BEAUTIFUL
PICTURE OF THEM.
AND I THINK THIS PICTURE
REALLY -- THEY REFER TO THIS AS
THE CINNAMON ROLL HUG, AND I
THINK THIS PICTURE REALLY
CAPTURES, YOU KNOW, THE FEELING
OF TOGETHERNESS AND CARE THAT IS
REALLY RADIATING OUT IN THE WORK
THAT THEY ARE DOING TO SHAPE THE
FIELD.
SO WITH THAT, I WILL JUST -- IF
YOU'D LIKE TO LEARN MORE ABOUT
OUR NETWORK, YOU CAN SIGN UP AT
OUR WEBSITE FOR ANOUNMENTS AND
OPPORTUNITIES.
THIS QR CODE WILL TAKE YOU
DIRECTLY THERE TO THE SIGNUP, SO
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR LISTENING.
[APPLAUSE]
>> OKAY.
HI, I AM CRYSTAL PARK, AND HOPE
YOU ALL ARE HAVING A GOOD
MORNING WHEREVER YOU ARE.
THIS IS JUST A WONDERFUL
OPPORTUNITY TO SHARE, AND WHAT
WE WERE ASKED TO DO IS TALK
ABOUT SORT OF WHAT WE HAVE BEEN
DOING AND WHERE WE'RE THINKING
ABOUT GOING NEXT, AND JUST KIND
OF GIVING A QUICK SUMMARY.
SO WE ARE REALLY GRATEFUL FOR
THE OPPORTUNITY TO BE PART OF
THIS AND FEEL LIKE THESE ARE
JUST WONDERFUL DIRECTIONS TO BE
MOVING IN.
THE GOALS OF OUR NETWORK, AND
THESE ARE OUR AIMS, IS TO CREATE
A TAXONOMY OF ESSENTIAL
COMPONENTS OF EMOTIONAL
WELL-BEING, TO ESTABLISH AN
EMOTIONAL WELL-BEING MEASURES
TOOLKIT, AND IDENTIFY GAPS,
CREATE NEW MEASURES, AND THEN
FINALLY, TO IDENTIFY POTENTIAL
MECHANISMS THROUGH MBIs,
MIND-BODY INTERVENTIONS, PROMOTE
EMOTIONAL WELL-BEING.
SO I KIND OF MAPPED ON OUR
ACCOMPLACCOMPLISHMENTS TO THOSE,
AND DR. KELLEY AND SOME OTHERS
HAVE ALREADY REFERRED TO SOME OF
WHAT WE HAVE BEEN DOING.
SO DURING THE DISCUSSIONS VERY
EARLY ON WITH THESE NETWORKS, A
NUMBER OF US HAD WANTED TO LOOK
AT TAXONOMIES AND TRY TO CREATE
SOME COMMON UNDERSTANDING,
COMMON LANGUAGE ACROSS THE
GROUPS, AND SO WE HAD A WORKING
GROUP THAT WORKED VERY HARD THAT
MET A LOT AND DID A LOT OF
HOMEWORK, AND WE ENDED UP WITH
ALL SIX NETWORKS KIND OF BEING
PART OF THAT PAPER.
SO I TOOK -- I'M FIRST AUTHOR ON
THAT PAPER BUT IT WAS DEFINITELY
A VILLAGE THAT PRODUCED THAT
DISCUSSION AND THE RESULTING
PAPER THAT CAME FROM IT.
SH IT'S BEEN CITED ALREADY
43 TIMES BUT I THINK THAT'S A
NUMBER THAT'S REALLY GOING TO
GROW OVER TIME, A LOT OF PEOPLE
ARE INTERESTED IN IT.
AND THEN IT DID CREATE THIS
REALLY NICE SET OF -- I'M
STEALING MY OWN THUNDER HERE.
OH, WOW.
THIS IS SO NON-INTUITIVE.
IT LIKE -- YEAH.
THEN THERE WAS THIS
COMMENTARIES, GETTING PEOPLE TO
THINK MORE DEEPLY ABOUT WHAT
EMOTIONAL WELL-BEING IS, WHICH
IS KIND OF HOW WE KICKED OFF THE
MORNING, AND THEN AFTER THAT, WE
HAD A KIND OF CLOSING COMMENTARY
IN THAT SAME SPECIAL ISSUE.
SO REALLY A LOT OF THOUGHT IN
THAT SPECIAL ISSUE.
IN TERMS OF MEASUREMENT, WE
CREATED A SUBJECTIVE MEASURES
REPOSITORY.
THESE ARE SELF-REPORT AND OTHER
REPORT MEASURES.
THERE ARE OVER 100 OF THESE
AVAILABLE FOR PUBLIC ACCESS, AND
THAT'S THE VERY LONG EMAIL
ADDRESS WEBSITE FOR IT.
THIS IS A COLLABORATION WITH THE
SCIENCE AND BEHAVIOR CHANGE,
THEY HAVE ALREADY BEEN DOING A
LOT OF STRESS AND RESILIENCE
MEASURES SO WE KIND OF
INTEGRATED AND WORKED WITH THEM.
THIS IS BEING WIDELY USED, I
DON'T HAVE THE NUMBERS RIGHT
NOW, BUT IT'S REALLY DESIGNED TO
BE A RESOURCE TO HELP PROMOTE
FUTURE RESEARCH IN THIS AREA.
THE SECOND THING THAT WE DID WAS
WE HAD A FIRST CALL FOR SEED
GRANTS, THIS IS OUR FIRST ROUND
OF SEED GRANTS REALLY TRYING TO
SEEK OUT PEOPLE WHO WERE
DEVELOPING MEASURES TO FILL IN
SOME OF THOSE GAPS.
SO A LOT OF THE ISSUES WERE WITH
DIFFERENT POPULATIONS, SPECIAL
POPULATIONS, AGE GROUPS,
INTELLECTUAL DISABILITIES,
THINGS LIKE THAT.
SO WE HAD A REALLY ROBUST SET OF
PEOPLE APPLYING, REALLY
INTERESTING IDEAS, AND MOST OF
THOSE ARE ONGOING.
I THINK ONE OR TWO MIGHT HAVE
FINISHED.
BUT THAT'S VERY EXCITING TO KIND
OF BE PUSHING THOSE MEASURES
FORWARD.
AND THEN DR. KELLEY AND A
COUPLE -- ALREADY SOME OF THE
SYSTEMATIC REVIEWS THAT WE'VE
DONE HAVE BEEN REFERRED TO.
WE'VE BEEN VERY ACTIVE WITH THE
SYSTEMATIC REVIEWS, AND AS I'LL
MENTION, WE HAVE SOME OTHERS
GOING ON, BUT THESE ONES ON
MEASURES, AGAIN, VERY USEFUL
CONTRIBUTION TO THE FIELD FOR
PEOPLE TO BE ABLE TO FIND THEM.
AND THEN WE'RE NOW KIND OF
SHIFTING OUR FOCUS INTO THAT
THIRD AIM, WHICH IS REALLY
IDENTIFYING MECHANISMS AND
EMMELINE JUST MENTIONED, IS
EMOTIONAL WELL-BEING AN OUTCOME,
IS IT A MECHANISM OF OTHER
OUTCOMES, AND THAT'S SOMETHING
THAT WE'VE BEEN VERY, VERY
INTERESTED IN IN YOGA,
MEDITATION, OTHER MIND-BODY
MODALITIES IS REALLY LOOKING AT
HOW DO THOSE AFFECT EMOTIONAL
WELL-BEING AND THROUGH EMOTIONAL
WELL-BEING, OTHER OUTCOMES.
SO WE HAVE A CURRENT CYST TI
MATIC REVIEW OF THE MECHANIS
MECHANISTIC -- WE STARTED WITH
11,000 ARTICLES AND ARE MAKING
OUR WAY THROUGH THOSE TO SEE
WHICH ONES NEED FULL TEXT AND
WE'RE ALMOST AT THE END OF THAT
PROCESS AS A REALLY BIG LIFT,
BUT WE'RE DOING THAT.
WE'RE ALSO -- SANDY, OUR THIRD
P.I., CAM KAMIKO IS HERE, THEY'E
WORKING ON OTHER SYSTEMATIC
REVIEWS.
SANDY IS INTERESTED IN SOME OF
THE INTELLECTUAL DISABILITIES
AND HOW YOU MEASURE EMOTIONAL
WELL-BEING IN SOME DIFFERENT
POPULATIONS.
AND WE'RE ALSO WORKING ON A
CONCEPTUAL ARTICLE ON EMOTIONAL
WELL-BEING MEDIATION AND REALLY
TRYING TO LOOK AT THAT SORT OF
MECHANISTICALLY.
OUR NETWORKING ACTIVITIES, WE'VE
BEEN VERY DELIBERATE IN REALLY
TRYING TO GET PEOPLE TO THINK
ABOUT EMOTIONAL WELL-BEING, SO
WE'VE BEEN REALLY TRYING TO BE
PRESENCE AT THE CONFERENCES WE
ATTEND.
THE FIRST YEAR AT THE
ASSOCIATION FOR PSYCH SCIENCE IN
CHICAGO, WE HAD A BOOTH AND
HANDING OUT THINGS AND DOING
SOME POLLS AND REALLY TRYING TO
GET PEOPLE TO THINK ABOUT IT.
WE ALSO HAD A REALLY GREAT
SYMPOSIUM THERE.
2023, WE HAD A SUMMIT THE DAY
BEFORE, WE DID THE SAME THING
AND PARTNERED WITH EMOTICON THIS
YEAR AT SBM.
SO THOSE WERE VERY SUCCESSFUL, I
THINK, BRINGING TOGETHER SOME OF
OUR GRANTEES, GETTING OTHER
PEOPLE AT THE CONFERENCE TO SAY
WHAT DO YOU MEAN, EMOTIONAL
WELL-BEING.
BECAUSE EVERYBODY HEARS IT AND
THEY'RE STILL THINKING YOU MEAN
LIE LOWERING DEPRESSION?
IT'S LIKE, NOT EXACTLY.
LIKE, WE'RE REALLY TRYING TO
PUSH THAT PARADIGM.
WE HAD SOME DATA BLITZ
SUPPLEMENTS, AND THEN WE HAVE A
PROGRAM THAT I JUST COMPLETED A
YEAR OF WORKING WITH SOME
FELLOWS.
WE HAVE A SCHOLARS AND FELLOWS
PROGRAM, SCHOLARS JUST MEET SOME
SMALLER MILESTONES AND THEN OUR
NAMED SCHOLARS, WE WORK WITH
THEM.
BUT WITH THE FELLOWS, I WORKED
MORE CLOSELY.
WE HAD A SYLLABUS ON HOW TO
DESIGN AND THINK ABOUT MIND-BODY
INTERVENTIONS AND EMOTIONAL
WELL-BEING IN A MECHANISTIC WAY,
AND THAT WAS JUST REALLY, REALLY
FUN, AND ALL OF THEM ARE
GRADUATE STUDENTS OR POSTDOCS OR
ON K AWARDS SO THEY'RE ALL LIKE
INTEGRATING THIS INTO THE THINGS
THAT THEY'RE DOING.
AND IT LOOKS LIKE SANDY AND FU
FUMIKO MAY HAVE ANOTHER FELLOW
PROGRAM THIS YEAR FOCUSING ON
META-ANALYSIS, SO THAT'S ALSO
REALLY EXCITING.
AND THEN FOR OUTREACH AND
DISSEMINATION, AS I MENTIONED,
WE'VE DONE A LOT OF
PRESENTATIONS AND SYMPOSIA.
WE'VE HAD AN ONGOING LECTURE
SERIES WITH THE INSTITUTE FOR
COLLABORATION ON HEALTH AT
U-CONN, AND WE HAVE COLLABORATED
WITH THEM IN BRINGING IN
SPEAKERS OR DOING ONLINE STUFF,
AND THOSE ARE ALL ARCHIVED SO
THEY'RE AVAILABLE FOR ANYBODY
WHO WANTS TO SEE THEM, WHICH IS
JUST REALLY NICE FOR PEOPLE TO
BE ABLE TO FIND THEM.
AND WE DID DO THIS -- U-CONN HAS
THESE ONE-CREDIT POP-UP COURSES
SO WE DID AN EMOTIONAL
WELL-BEING ONE THAT SANDY REALLY
SPEARHEADED.
I DID PART OF THE MODULE ON
MEANING AND PURPOSE AND FUMIKO
DID PART OF A MODULE TOO.
SO THIS COURSE WAS TAKEN BY OVER
1800 U-CONN STUDENTS SO FAR, AND
IT'S ALL PRERECORDED AND KIND OF
LOCKED AND LOADED, SO THEY CAN
OFFER IT AGAIN, AND THE IDEA IS
EVENTUALLY TO ALLOW THE GENERAL
PUBLIC TO TAKE THIS COURSE SO WE
COVERED ALL OF THE ELEMENTS OF
EMOTIONAL B THERE JUST A WAY TO
GET THAT MESSAGE OUT TO THE
GENERAL PUBLIC.
IN TERMS OF NEXT STEPS,
OBVIOUSLY WE'RE CONTINUING WITH
THESE SYSTEMATIC REVIEWS,
THERE'S NO SMALL FEAT TO DO A
GOOD SYSTEMATIC REVIEW,.
I MENTIONED THE CONCEPTUAL
ARTICLE ON MIND-BODY
INTERVENTIONS, THE SEED GRANTS
AND THE LECTURE SERIES.
THE LAST THING I WANT TO LEAVE
AND WE WERE ASKED TO THINK ABOUT
WAYS TO COLLABORATE WITH THESE
OTHER NETWORKS, ALL OF YOU AND
BEYOND, SO TO REALLY THINK ABOUT
THE QUESTIONS THAT REMAIN.
WE FEEL LIKE THIS GROUP
COLLECTIVELY IS DOING A LOT OF
FOUNDATIONAL WORK, WE'RE REALLY
THINKING ABOUT MEASURES, WE'RE
REALLY THINKING ABOUT HOW TO
CARVE OUT THIS AS SEPARATE FROM
OTHER THINGS THAT PEOPLE HAVE
BEEN STUDYING AND DOING, AND
OBVIOUSLY THERE'S A LOT OF SPACE
FOR INTERVENTIONS, BUT WE REALLY
WANT TO UNDERSTAND WHAT THOSE --
AND REALLY DEFINE AND LAY OUT
FOR THE FIELD NOW THAT WE'VE
DONE ALL THIS FOUNDATIONAL WORK,
WHAT QUESTIONS DO WE NEED TO
ASK.
I THINK THAT THIS IS A VERY
EXCITING NEXT STEP THAT WILL BE
A GREAT WAY TO SORT OF WRAP UP
THIS PHASE OF THE EMOTIONAL
WELL-BEING NETWORKS.
SO THAT'S IT.
THANK YOU.
[APPLAUSE]
>> GOOD MORNING.
IT IS MY PLEASURE TO TALK ABOUT
THE EMOTIONAL WELL-BEING AND
ECONOMIC BURDEN OF DISEASE
RESEARCH NETWORK ON BEHALF OF
MYSELF AND DR. MICHELLE MARTIN.
OUR TEAM IS TRULY
MULTIDISCIPLINARY.
I'M AN ECONOMIST BY TRAINING,
DR. MARTIN IS A PSYCHOLOGIST.
WE HAVE DR. LEONG AND
DR. SCHWARTZ WHO ARE CLINICIANS
TO BRING THE CLINICAL
PERSPECTIVE TO OUR TEAM, AND WE
HAVE TWO PART-TIME COORDINATORS
FROM OUR -- YES.
THE MISSION OF OUR NETWORK WAS
TO DEVELOP KNOWLEDGE ABOUT THE
IMPACT THAT ECONOMIC BURDEN OF
DISEASE MAY HAVE ON EMOTIONAL
WELL-BEING FOR PATIENTS AND
FAMILIES WITH THE IDEA THEN TO
DEVELOP THE STRATEGIES THAT WE
NEED TO REDUCE THAT IMPACT.
BY ECONOMIC BURDEN OF DISEASE,
WHAT WE MEAN IS THE BURDEN THAT
COMES WITH HIGH COST OF CARE,
THE COST OF MANAGING ILLNESS,
THE TIME OF WORK THAT IS NEEDED,
WHICH MAY RESULT IN LOSS OF
INCOME AND ALL THOSE OTHER
ECONOMIC CONSEQUENCES OF A
DISEASE.
AND THEN WITH OUR NETWORK, WE
STILL KNOW VERY LITTLE ABOUT
THIS IMPACT SO WE WANT TO STUDY
THAT BUT ALSO MEDIATORS AND
MODERATORS OF THAT RELATIONSHIP
BETWEEN BURDEN ON EMOTIONAL
WELL-BEING.
WE HAD THREE AIMS.
ONE WAS TO BUILD A
MULTIDISCIPLINARY COLLABORATIVE
NETWORK TO ADVANCE THE RESEARCH.
THE SECOND WAS TO IMPLEMENT A
PILOT PROJECT PROGRAM, AND THEN
ALSO THE THIRD ONE WAS TO SHARE
OPPORTUNITIES, PRODUCTS AND
RESOURCES AT LARGE WITH THE
FIELD TO ACCELERATE THIS
RESEARCH.
SO WITH THE FIRST AIM WE REALLY
WANTED TO BRING TOGETHER THE
PEOPLE -- THE RESEARCHERS WHO
WERE STUDYING THE ECONOMIC
BURDEN OF DISEASE AND RAISE
THEIR AWARENESS ABOUT EMOTIONAL
WELL-BEING AND INTEREST IN
STUDYING THAT.
AND ALSO RAISE INTEREST AMONG
THOSE WHO WERE STUDYING
EMOTIONAL WELL-BEING TO CONSIDER
THE ECONOMIC BURDEN OF DISEASE
AS ONE OF THE FACTORS.
SO WE DO HAVE 162 PEOPLE WHO
HAVE EXPRESSED INTEREST IN THIS
WORK AND HAVE SIGNED UP AS
MEMBERS.
AND THE MAJORITY OF RESEARCH
RESEARCHERS -- THIS SLIDE IS
SMALL BUT -- TO SEE THE GRAPH,
MOST ARE RESEARCHERS AND
STUDENTS BUT WE ALSO HAVE
MEMBERS WHO ARE PATIENT
ADVOCATES, PATIENTS, CAREGIVERS,
AND THAT WAS VERY IMPORTANT TO
US TO BRING THAT PERSPECTIVE
INTO OUR WORK SO WE DO HAVE THE
VOICE OF WHO'S EXPERIENCING THIS
PROBLEM OF ECONOMIC BURDEN OF
DISEASE TO BRING THEIR VOICE
INTO THIS RESEARCH.
WE ALSO HAVE A GOOD PRESENTATION
OF RESEARCHERS ACROSS THE CAREER
TRAJECTORY, SO RAISING THE
PIPELINE OF RESEARCHERS IN THIS
FIELD.
WE HAVE HELD SEVERAL MEETINGS IN
PERSON IN WHICH A GROUP OF ABOUT
30 TO 35 PEOPLE ACTIVELY JOINED
IN OUR DISCUSSIONS.
AND IN THESE MEETINGS WE WORKED
ON EXPANDING AN INITIAL
FRAMEWORK THAT WE HAVE PROPOSED
TO STUDY THE IMPACT OF THE
ECONOMIC BURDEN OF DISEASE ON
EMOTIONAL WELL-BEING.
WE HAVE REVISED THAT AND
PUBLISHED THIS FRAMEWORK ON A
PUBLICATION WHERE WE ALSO
IDENTIFY SEVERAL AREAS OF
INQUIRIES FOR GUIDING THIS
RESEARCH.
FOR THE SECOND AIM WE'VE FUNDED
DIFFERENT TYPES OF PROJECTS, AND
WE SUMMARIZE HERE UNDER THREE
MAIN AREAS OF MEASUREMENT
MECHANISMS AND INTERVENTION.
SO UNDER MEASUREMENT, WE ARE
DEVELOPING MEASURES OF THE
PSYCHOLOGICAL FINANCIAL BURDEN
AND THEN OTHER PROJECTS THAT
HAVE LOOKED AT THE EXTENT OF THE
PROBLEM REALLY LOOKING AT THE
ASSOCIATION OF THE ECONOMIC
BURDEN OF DISEASE WITH VARIOUS
ASPECTS OF EMOTIONAL WELL-BEING.
UNDER MECHANISM, THE MECHANISM
BY WHICH THE ECONOMIC BURDEN OF
DISEASE AFFECTS, IMPACTS
EMOTIONAL WELL-BEING.
WE HAVE PROJECTS THAT HAVE
LOOKED AT DIFFERENT POPULATIONS
INCLUDING, FOR EXAMPLE, PARENTS
AND CHILDREN OR PATIENTS AND
CAREGIVERS, OR DIFFERENT
CONTEXTS.
DIFFERENT DISEASE CONTEXTS,
MAINLY STILL IN CANCER BECAUSE
THAT'S WHERE THE ECONOMIC BURDEN
OF DISEASE HAS BEEN STUDIED A
LOT BUT WE ALSO HAVE OTHER
DISEASES REPRESENTED.
AND DIFFERENT CONTEXTS FOR
EXAMPLE OF MARGINALIZED
POPULATIONS.
UNDER INTERVENTION WE DO HAVE
ONE PROJECT WHO STUDIED THE --
STARTED TO ADDRESS -- STUDY HOW
TO ADDRESS AN INTERVENTION AND
LOOKING AT SOME -- LOOKING AT
THE IMPACT OF -- THE ROLE OF
ACCEPTANCE AND COMMITMENT
THERAPY.
WE ALSO HAVE FUNDED DISSERTATION
AWARDS AND WE ALSO HAVE THE
SMALL AWARDS, COLLABORATION
AWARDS THAT ARE TO SPEARHEAD THE
COLLABORATION ACROSS THE MEMBERS
LIKE SMALL AMOUNT OF MONEY TO
HELP THE COLLABORATIONS.
FOR OUR RESOURCES FOR AIM THREE,
WE DEVELOPED A WEBSITE WHERE WE
HAVE A LITERATURE DATABASE WHERE
WE HAVE GATHERED ALL THIS RECENT
LITERATURE ON BOTH THE ECONOMIC
BURDEN OF DISEASE AND EMOTIONAL
WELL-BEING, AND WE ALSO
DISSEMINATE THAT THROUGH OUR SAI
MAJJI, TWITTER AND LINKEDIN
ACCOUNTS.
WE DO HAVE A WEBINAR SERIES
WHERE WE INVITE RESEARCHERS WHO
ARE STUDYING THE ECONOMIC BURDEN
OF DISEASE OR STUDYING THE
EMOTIONAL WELL-BEING OR STUDYING
THE TWO TOGETHER.
AND ALSO HAVE WEBINARS THAT HAVE
DESCRIBED SOME OF THE RESOURCES,
FOR EXAMPLE, THESE DATA IN THE
U.S. -- DATA AND DR. ASMIT IN A
JOINT SEMINAR, TALKING ABOUT THE
HEALTH RETIREMENT SURVEY AND HOW
WE CAN USE THAT DATA TO -- IN
THIS AREA OF RESEARCH.
AS OF OUR ONGOING ACTIVITIES, WE
ARE FOCUSING NOW ON SOMERMAN EU
SCRIPTS. SOME NAN EU
MANUSCRIPTS IN THE CONTEXT OF
ECONOMIC BURDEN OF DISEASE.
THIS IS A RESULT OF OUR LAST
MEETING WITH OUR MEMBERS WHERE
WE HAD THOSE DISCUSSIONS, SO
WE'LL SUMMARIZE THAT.
WE'RE WORKING ON A SCOPING
REVIEW ON FINANCIAL TOXICITY,
WHICH IS ANOTHER SORT OF TERM IN
THE LITERATURE TO INDICATE
ECONOMIC BURDEN OF DISEASE.
AND ITS IMPACT -- WHAT WE MAY
KNOW FROM THE CURRENT LITERATURE
ON THE IMPACT ON EMOTIONAL
WELL-BEING.
AND THEN ONE OF OUR STUNT
COMMITTEE MEMBERS IS LEADING A
PAPER ON THE EFFECT OF THE
ECONOMIC BURDEN OF DISEASE ON
STRESS AND THEN THROUGH STRESS
ON PHYSICAL HEALTH.
WE ARE FUNDING NEW COLLABORATION
AWARDS THIS YEAR AND ON ON █ONE
SECONDARY DATA ANALYSIS COMING
THROUGH THE PIPELINE.
WE CONTINUE TO CREATE
OPPORTUNITIES FOR THIS LEARNING
RESEARCH THROUGH WEBINARS AND
SUPPORT EARLY CAREER
INVESTIGATORS WITH A
GRANT-WRITING RETREAT OR
INTENSIVE WORKSHOP.
THEN WE CONTINUE OUR
COLLABORATION WITH OTHERS, FOR
EXAMPLE, WE JUST HAD THE
RESEARCH SUMMIT WITH M3EWB AND
WE WILL PARTICIPATE IN THE
FAMNET FAMILY WELL-BEING
RESEARCH AGENDA SUMMIT IN THE
SUMMER.
FOR FUTURE STEPS, WE DO PLAN TO
SOLIDIFY THIS NETWORK.
WE ARE WORKING ON IDENTIFYING
A -- PROFESSIONAL ORGANIZATION
AND LOOK AT FUNDING TO CONTINUE
THE ANNUAL MEETINGS MAYBE
THROUGH THE R13 FUNDING
MECHANISM.
WE'VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT
EXPANDING THE RESEARCH WITH OUR
STEERING COMMITTEE.
WE WILL START DISCUSSION ON
PLANNING WI MULTI-SITE
COLLABORATIONS, WE'LL CONTINUE
FUNDING MECHANISMS FOR THAT, AND
ALSO THINKING ABOUT HOW TO
DISSEMINATE RESEARCH, AND AGAIN
WITH THE STEERING COMMITTEE
WE'VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT A
SPECIAL JOURNAL ISSUE THAT WE
MAY PURSUE WITH THIS.
BUT OVERALL IS TO BUILD ON THE
OPPORTUNITY GIVEN BY THIS
FUNDING MECHANISM TO CONTINUE
THIS WORK IN THIS AREA TO TACKLE
THIS IMPORTANT -- WHAT WE THINK
IS AN IMPORTANT FACTOR THAT
IMPACTS EMOTIONAL WELL-BEING.
THANK YOU.
[APPLAUSE]
SORRY, WE HAVE SOME SLIDES LEFT,
EXTRA SLIDES.
>> GOOD MORNING.
I'M WENDY ALONG WITH MELISSA
EPEL, WE LEAD THE NEW B NETWORK
OUT OF UC SAN FRANCISCO.
SORRY ABOUT THAT.
MELISSA AND I WILL BOTH BE
PRESENTING TODAY.
I JUST WANT TO ACKNOWLEDGE, WE
RUN THIS NETWORK ALONG WITH OUR
COINVESTIGATORS, ALONG WITH A
TERRIFIC GROUP OF POSTDOCS AND
ADMINISTRATORS.
GIVEN OUR SPECIFIC AREA OF
EXPERTISE, OUR NETWORK IS
FOCUSED ON BIOLOGICAL MECHANISMS
THAT LINK EMOTIONAL WELL-BEING
TO HEALTH, AND OUR AIMS INCLUDE
FUNDING STUDIES, PILOT STUDIES
TO DIVE DEEPLY INTO THOSE
MECHANISMS THAT LINK EMOTIONAL
WELL-BEING AND HEALTH, FUNDING,
INTERVENTION RESEARCH ON NOVEL
MECHANISMS, AND HELPING
DISSEMINATE AND CREATE
REPOSITORIES.
SOME OF OUR ACCOMPLISHMENTS TO
DATE INCLUDE FUNDING SCHOLARS TO
TAKE OUR HARMONIZED EMOTIONAL
WELL-BEING MEASURES FROM LARGE
SCALE STUDIES LIKE HRS AND
LOOKING SERIOUSLY AT HOW
BIOLOGICAL MECHANISMS MIGHT LINK
EMOTIONAL WELL-BEING TO HEALTH
ALONG THE LIFESPAN.
WE'VE ALSO CONDUCTED WEBINARS ON
BIOLOGICAL PROCESSES THAT
MELISSA IS GOING TO TELL YOU A
LITTLE BIT ABOUT, SUPPORTING
FUNDING FO FOR EMOTIONAL WELL-BG
AND PHYSICAL HEALTH AND FUNDING
FOR NOVEL INTERVENTIONS.
WE ALSO HAVE PUBLISHED A CODE
BOOK ON THE HEALTH AND
RETIREMENT STUDY TO HELP PEOPLE
TAKE THOSE HARMONIZED DATA AND
ANALYZE THEM AND YOU'LL HEAR A
LITTLE BIT ABOUT AN EXCITING
PROJECT CALLED BIG JOY.
I WANTED TO TELL YOU A LITTLE
BIT ABOUT ONE OF THE STUDIES
THAT WE FUNDED THAT WAS LOOKING
AT NOVEL INTERVENTIONS TO
IMPROVE EMOTIONAL WELL-BEING.
AND THAT INCLUDES A STUDY THAT'S
LOOKING AT STIMULATION OF THE
VAGUS NERVE.
SO THE VAGUS NERVE IS THE
LARGEST NERVE IN OUR BODY,
STIMULATES JUST ABOUT --
INNERVATES EVERY MAJOR ORGAN AND
THERE'S TONS OF STUDIES THAT
LOOK AT CORRELATIONAL DATA
LINKING THE VAGUS NERVE TO
EMOTIONAL WELL-BEING OUTCOMES.
YOU CAN STIMULATE THE VAGUS
NERVE THROUGH THE EAR.
SO IN ONE STUDY, WHERE WE FUNDED
PARK AND GUEVARRA, THEY ARE
STIMULATING THE VAGUS NERVE AND
LOOKING AT HOW THAT MIGHT
IMPROVE SOCIAL CONNECTION USING
SYNCHRONY AS PRIMARY OUTCOME.
POTENTIALLY DIRECTLY IMPLICATING
THE VAGUS NERVE IN EMOTIONAL
WELL-BEING.
WE'VE ALSO DONE QUITE A BIT OF
PUBLISHING ALONG THE LINES OF
EMOTIONAL WELL-BEING CONSTRUCTS
LIKE AWE, HOW IT'S RELATED TO
PHYSICAL HEALTH, OPTIMISM, AND A
REALLY EXCITING STUDY ON DEEP
BREATHS.
ONE THAT I THINK NICELY
CHARACTERIZES OUR UNIQUE
APPROACH IS A PAPER BY PARK IN
WHICH SHE LOOKED AT SOME DATA
FROM A STUDY CALLED MY BP LAB.
THIS LOOKED AT MORE THAN 14,000
PEOPLE FOR MORE THAN 130,000
DAILY REPORTS AND LOOKED AT THE
EXPERIENCE OF POSITIVE AND
NEGATIVE EMOTION, HIGH OR LOW
AROUSAL AND BLOOD PRESSURE.
WHAT SHE FOUND IS THAT WHEN YOU
ASK PEOPLE IN THEIR DAILY LIFE
WHAT EMOTIONS THEY'RE FEELING,
ABOUT 80% OF THE TIME THEY
REPORT POSITIVE EMOTIONS.
AS YOU AGE AND CONSISTENT WITH
OTHER LITERATURE, YOU SEE AS
PEOPLE AGE, THEY REPORT MORE
POSITIVE EMOTION.
SHE ALSO HIGHLIGHTED SOME DATA
SHOWING THAT AS YOU AGE, THE LOW
AROUSAL POSITIVE EMOTIONS ARE
ASSOCIATED WITH LOWER BLOOD
PRESSURE.
SO ALLOWS US TO THINK OF
INTERVENTIONS TO POTENTIALLY
IMPROVE HEALTH FOR OLDER PEOPLE.
WITH THAT, I'M GOING TO HAND IT
OVER.
>> SO MUCH -- STRESS AND TRAUMA,
WE NEED TO STUDY THEM BOTH, WE
MIX THEM UP.
AS WENDY SAID, I'M LUCKY TO BE
HER NPI, WE HAVE DIFFERENT
SKILLSETS.
OKAY.
SO I WANTED TO JUST BRIEFLY GO
THROUGH WHY WE'RE SO EXCITED
ABOUT OUR NETWORK.
WE WERE FUNDED TO EXAMINE THE
PHYSIOLOGICAL AND BEHAVIORAL
PATHWAYS OF EMOTIONAL
WELL-BEING, AND WE HAVE BEEN
OBSESSED FOR A WHILE WITH THIS
QUESTION OF WHAT IS POSITIVE
HEALTH, WHAT'S POSITIVE
PHYSIOLOGY, HOW DO WE MEASURE
IT, WHAT PARADIGM, EXPERIMENTAL
PARADIGMS WILL REVEAL THE BODY'S
RESTORATIVE CAPACITY FOR
HEALING, RESILIENCE, AND
REPARATION.
SO IT'S VERY CONSISTENT WITH THE
WHOLE PERSON APPROACH, TH THAT I
IS TAKING.
WE DEVELOPED AN ARC OF THREE
WORKSHOPS.
THE FIRST TWO ARE WHAT DO WE
ALREADY KNOW, AND THIS THIRD ONE
THAT WE'RE PLANNING, WE'RE
INVITING INPUT OF YLDZ BECAUSE
IDEAS BECAUSEWE'RE LOOKING FOR S
OF PHYSIOLOGY.
THE FIRST WORKSHOP WAS
REACTIVITY AND RECOVERY AS WELL
AS STATIC, MORE STABLE MEASURES
THAT MIGHT REFLECT THIS INNATE
POSITIVE HEALTH.
NOT RISK FACTORS FOR DISEASE,
BUT MORE HEALING CAPACITY.
SO THIS WAS -- WENDY RAN THIS
ONE ON PSYCHOPHYSIOLOGY.
OUR SECOND ONE WAS ON BLOOD
BASED MARKERS.
SOCIAL GENOMICS, IMMUNE SYSTEM,
MITOCHONDRIA.
SO THESE WERE FASCINATING, WE
HAVE THESE ON OUR WEBSITE, WE'D
LOVE PEOPLE TO USE THESE AS A
RESOURCE.
BUT THE THIRD ONE, WE'RE LOOKING
AT SYSTEMS THAT HAVEN'T BEEN
EXAMINED IN A CONTEXT OF LOOKING
AT RESTORATION AND REPARATIVE
CAPACITY AND HEALTH, SO WE'RE
LOOKING AT DNA REPAIR,
MICROBIOME, DEEP SLEEP
MECHANISMS, NEURAL PATHWAYS, AND
BIG QUESTION MARK.
SO WE'D LOVE IDEAS THERE.
WE'RE STILL PLANNING OUR
SPEAKERS FOR AN EARLY NOVEMBER
SAN FRANCISCO WORKSHOP.
ANOTHER ONE OF OUR AIMS IS TO
HELP THESE POPULATION-BASED
STUDIES THAT NIA HAS INVESTED SO
MUCH IN CREATING AND FOLLOWING,
INCORPORATE BETTER MEASURES OF
EMOTIONAL WELL-BEING.
AND SO HERE WE'RE MEETING WITH
THE LEADERS OF THE MEASUREMENT
CORE OF ALL OF THESE COUNTRIES
IN LIKE 30 DIFFERENT STUDIES,
AND THROUGH EXPERT CONSENSUS,
THROUGH POLLING, THROUGH ZOOM
DISCUSSION, WE CAME UP WITH A
TOP PRIORITY LIST OF MEASURES,
BOTH FOR STRESS, TRAUMA AND
WELL-BEING.
SO FOR EXAMPLE, FOR WELL-BEING,
WHAT ROSE TO THE TOP WERE
MEASURES OF HOPE, OPTIMISM,
FLOURISHING, SOCIAL WELL-BEING,
AND GRATITUDE.
AND SO WE'RE REALLY HOPING, YOU
CAN'T BOSS AROUND PIs BUT
WE'RE HOPING THEY'LL INCORPORATE
THESE MEASURES, ESPECIALLY IN
THE NEW DEVELOPING STUDIES.
WE HAVE HAD THE JOY OF FUNDING
AMAZING SCHOLARS FOR THEIR WORK,
BOTH IN SECONDARY ANALYSES OF
THESE POPULATION BASED HEALTH
STUDIES WHERE THEY'RE USING THE
HARMONIZED DATA THAT WE'VE
HELPED ORGANIZE OR EMOTIONAL
WELL-BEING OR THEY'RE RUNNING --
OR THESE ARE PEOPLE WHO GOT THE
TUITION SCHOLARSHIP TO ATTEND
THE POSITIVE HEALTH SUMMER
COURSE.
SO WE JUST WANTED TO SHOW YOU
ALL THESE HAPPY PEOPLE.
IN TERMS OF ONGOING ACTIVITY, WE
ARE HOLDING A WEBINAR APRIL 2ND
WHICH IS A FABULOUS OPPORTUNITY
FOR POSTDOCS AND TRAINEES WHO
WANT TO GET THEIR HANDS ON THIS
DATA.
IT'S A GUIDE TO HOW TO LOOK AT
HARMONIZED DATA ACROSS MANY
COUNTRIES, AND WE ALSO ARE
FEATURING THREE OF OUR YOUNG
SCHOLARS WHO WE'VE AWARDED TO DO
SECONDARY ANALYSES WHO HAVE
REVEALED CROSS COUNTRY
COMPARISONS LOOKING AT OUTCOMES
SUCH AS BLOOD PRESSURE,
INFLAMMATION AND MORTALITY.
OUR EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF OUR
NETWORK HAS BEEN AN EXPERT ON
EMOTIONAL WELL-BEING AND LEADING
THE GREATER GOOD SCIENCE CENTER
RESEARCH PROGRAM.
AND SO SHE HAS DEVELOPED -- IN
DEVELOPMENT I IS A DATABASE OF
POSITIVE WELL-BEING
INTERVENTIONS THAT HAVE BEEN
VALIDATED.
WOULDN'T IT BE GREAT IF
RESEARCHERS DIDN'T HAVE TO GO
RE-CREATE THE WHEEL, THEY COULD
GO TO A WEBSITE AND CHOOSE
EMPIRICALLY REPORTED STUDIES AND
GET THE PROTOCOLS.
SO THAT'S WHAT SHE IS LEADING,
LASTLY, WE'RE FUNDING PILOT
INTERVENTION STUDIES.
HOW CAN WE MANIPULATE ASPECTS OF
EMOTIONAL WELL-BEING AND STUDY
IN A GRANULAR WAY THE
MECHANISMS, PSYCH COPHYSIOLOGY,
SOCIAL GENOMICS, AS WELL AS
NEURAL PATHWAYS OF REWARD AND
THREAT.
SO HERE ARE THREE OF OUR RECENT
INTERVENTION AWARDEES.
WE ARE SO EXCITED TO HEAR WHAT
THEY'RE LEARNING.
THEY'RE USING BOTH LI DIGITAL
METHODS AS WELL AS IN THE FIELD
INTERVENTION METHODS SUCH AS
WHAT IF WE TOLD SOMEONE TO BE AN
EXTROVERT AND HAVE A LOT OF
SOCIAL INTERACTIONS DURING THEIR
DAY.
AND HERE'S THE REPOSITORY.
SO WHAT'S NICE ABOUT THIS IS
THAT WE'RE TAKING FROM THE
GREATER GOOD IN ACTION WEBSITE
WHICH HAS AN INCREDIBLE VAST
ARRAY OF INTERVENTIONS AND
PULLING THOSE THAT ARE MOST
PROMISING AND MOST SUPPORTIVE.
SO LASTLY, OUR NEXT STEPS,
CONTINUE EVERYTHING WE JUST
DESCRIBED, CONTINUE FOSTERING
THE POPULATION-BASED STUDIES,
AND LASTLY, I JUST WANTED TO
MENTION OUR BIG JOY PROJECT.
WE HAVE LAUNCHED A DIGITAL
PLATFORM TO PROMOTE JOY THAT HAS
GONE VIRAL.
WE'RE VERY LUCKY WHEN THIS
HAPPENS, BUT WE HAVE ALMOST
100,000 PEOPLE ENROLLED IN THIS
ONE-WEEK INTERVENTION ACROSS
TERRITORIES AND COUNTRIES, OVER
200 TERRITORIES AND COUNTRIES.
THERE'S ONLY 200 COUNTRIES OR
SO, SO WHAT WE FOUND SO FAR IS
JUST IN A VERY CRUDE WAY, ASK
THE QUESTION OF, HOW DOES THIS
AFFECT PEOPLE'S EMOTIONAL
WELL-BEING OVER A WEEK?
AND IT'S JUST FIVE MINUTES IN
THE MORNING OF A PRACTICE,
GRATITUDE, COMPASSION, KINDNESS.
AND WHAT WE'RE REALLY EXCITED
TODAY DO IS TO LOOK HOW
INTERVENTIONS COMPARE FOR
IMMEDIATE POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE
AFFECT, HOW DOES IS IT MODERATED
BY INDIVIDUALS, SOCIAL
DEMOGRAPHIC ROUTES, COUNTRY
REGIONS, SOCIAL IDENTITIES.
SO DARWIN HAS BEEN OUR EWB
POSTDOC LEADING THIS, AND YOU
CAN SEE WE HAVE PRETTY
IMPRESSIVE EFFECT SIZES, MEDIUM
EFFECT SIZES FOR AN INCREASE
ACROSS THIS LARGE SAMPLE FOR
EMOTIONAL WELL-BEING AND
FLOURISHING, POSITIVE EMOTIONS,
AND THIS INTERESTING ITEM THAT
MEASURES HOW MUCH DO YOU FEEL
THAT YOU CAN CONTROL YOUR LEVEL
OF HAPPINESS EACH DAY.
SO THIS AGENCY.
AND THEN FOR HEALTH, WE'RE NOT
TARGETING HEALTH BUT WE MEASURED
IT AND IT PASSIVELY SEEMS TO BE
AFFECTING HEALTH WITH A VERY
SMALL OR SMALL EFFECT, AT LEAST
SELF-REPORTED HELP IN SLEEP
QUALITY.
OUR NEXT STEP IS TO ADD A
CONTROL GROUP AND ADD
BIOSENSORS.
THANK YOU.
[APPLAUSE]
>> GOOD MORNING.
SO VANKEE LIN IS NOW AT STANFORD
UNIVERSITY, WE'RE THE
CODIRECTORS OF THE NETWORK FOR
EMOTIONAL WELL-BEING AND BRAIN
AGING.
I JUST WANT TO SAY HOW PLEASED
WE ALL ARE ABOUT BEING HERE AND
WANT TO THANK, OF COURSE, ALL OF
OUR NIH PARTNERS AT THE
DIFFERENT INSTITUTES AND CENTERS
WHO ARE INVOLVED.
IT'S BEEN A GREAT EXPERIENCE,
FACILITATED GREATLY BY
DR. JANINE SIMMONS, SCIENTIFIC
OFFICER.
SO THAT'S WONDERFUL.
I'M GOING TO VERY QUICKLY TALK
ABOUT THE BIG PICTURE OVERALL
GOALS AND AIMS, ONE OF THE FIRST
OF OUR AIMS, AND HAND IT OVER TO
DR. WONG TO GO INTO GREATER
DETAIL ABOUT THROUGH THE OTHER
THREE AIMS, HE WILL TOUCH ON THE
STORY OF -- THE FOCUS OF THE NEW
BRAIN AGING CENTER HAS EVOLVED
OVER TIME.
OUR OVERALL GOAL AS YOU SEE HERE
IS TO CONDUCT MECHANISTIC
RESEARCH ON THE ROLE OF
EMOTIONAL WELL-BEING IN HEALTHY
AGING.
IDENTIFYING TESTING MECHANISMS
BY WHICH BRAIN AGING INFLUENCES
EWB, AND HOW EWB RES RECIPROCALY
INFLUENCES RISK FOR AND
PROGRESSION OF ALZHEIMER'S
DISEASE AND RELATED DEMENTIAS
WITH A CROSS-SPECIES
APPROACHMENT OUR SAPPROACH.OUR E
REPOSITORY DEVELOPMENT, PILOT
PROJECT GRANTS.
WITH REGARD TO INVESTIGATOR
ENGAGEMENT, I WILL TOUCH ON
THAT, THE FIRST IS TO BUILD AN
INTERUNIVERSE IT AND
TRANSDISCIPLINARY COLLABORATIVE
OF SENIOR AND JUNIOR
INVESTIGATORS INTERESTED IN THIS
AREA OF RESEARCH.
OUR EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE INVOLVED
FOLKS FROM URR AND STANFORD AS
WELL AS GROUP, YOU SEE SANTA
CRUZ AND JOHNS HOPKINS AND OVER
TIME THROUGH OUR PILOT PROJECT
PROGRAM IN PARTICULAR WE HAVE
INCORPORATED INVESTIGATORS FROM
A VARIETY OF OTHER UNIVERSITIES
AROUND THE UNITED STATES.
WE ALSO THEN HAVE HELD AN ANNUAL
NEW BRAIN AGING WORKSHOP THAT
HAS BEEN INTEGRATED FOR TWO
YEARS WITH THE SOCIETY FOR
NEUROSCIENCE ANNUAL MEETING AND
THEN FOR THE COMING YEAR, THE
ALZHEIMER'S ASSOCIATION
INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE AS A
MEANS TO FIRST DISSEMINATE THE
VIEW, THE PERSPECTIVE, THE
FINDINGS OF NEW BRAIN AGING.
BUT ALSO AS A WAY TO CONTINUE TO
INCORPORATE OTHER JUNIOR
INVESTIGATORS AS WELL AS
ESTABLISHED INVESTIGATORS NOT
HERETOFORE INVOLVED WITH
EMOTIONAL WELL-BEING RESEARCH IN
THIS EFFORT.
TO DO THAT, WE HAVE, FOR
EXAMPLE, HELD A COMPETITIVE
TRAVEL FELLOWSHIP OVER TIME
WHICH HAS BROUGHT TOGETHER AT
THE SFN AND WILL AT AAIC A GROUP
OF REALLY REMARKABLE EARLY YEAR
FOLKS WHO THEN ENGAGE IN A
MENTORED EXPERIENCE AT THE
MEETING AND THEN FOR THE
FOLLOWING YEAR ON A REGULAR
BASIS RECONVENE WITH US
VIRTUALLY TO REVIEW THE PROGRESS
OF THEIR OWN WORK.
EXPERT CONSULTATION TO
INVESTIGATORS NEW TO THE STUDY
OF EW B AND BRAIN AGING, AGAIN,
THIS IS IN PART THROUGH OUR
MENTORING PROGRAM WITH EARLY
CAREER INVESTIGATORS, BUT ALSO
THROUGH THE AVAILABILITY OF NEW
BRAIN AGING SENIOR INVESTIGATORS
TO OTHERS WITH INTERESTS IN THE
FIELD, AND THROUGH THE
DEVELOPMENT OF AN OFFERING THE
QUARTERLY WEBINARS AS WELL AS
THE DEVELOPMENT OF A RESOURCE
REPOSITORY THAT WILL TELL YOU A
LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT.
THIS IS OUR EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE,
AND THEN JUST BECAUSE A PICTURE
IS WORTH A THOUSAND WORDS COMING
BACK TO OUR EFFORT TO EXPAND THE
INTEREST OF THE FIELD, THIS IS A
NETWORK MAP THAT INDICATE
RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN TWO
PERSONS BY CO-AUTHORING PAPERS,
COAPPLYING FOR FUNDING,
CONFERENCE PRESENTATIONS AND
MENTORED RELATIONSHIPS, WHAT IT
LOOKED LIKE IN YEAR ONE WITH THE
13 ORIGINAL FOLKS INVOLVED WITH
THE DIFFERENT COLORS INDICATING
INTERACTIONS THAT RELATE TO
HUMAN RESEARCH, ANIMAL RESEARCH
AND THEN CROSS-SPECIES RESEARCH,
AND THEN WHERE WE ARE FOUR YEARS
LATER WITH 69 INVOLVED
INVESTIGATORS OF WHICH 19 ARE
EARLY CAREER FOLKS.
IT'S KIND OF FUN TO SEE IT THAT
WAY, A BEGINNING SORT OF
INVESTIGATION AND I THINK WE CAN
DO ADDITIONAL ANALYSES ON TO
LOOK AT THE KINDS OF RESEARCH OR
INTERACTIONS AND RELATIONSHIPS
THAT ARE BEING DEVELOPED OVER
TIME.
AND WITH THAT, LET ME HAND IT
OVER TO DR. WONG.
>> THANK YOU.
I'M GOING TO CONTINUE TO TALK
ABOUT OUR FOLLOWING AIMS THAT WE
DEVELOPED TOGETHER AS A NETWORK.
SO THE AIM TWO IS REALLY TO
DEVELOP STRATEGIC PRIORITY
THROUGH FORMING SEVERAL WORK
GROUPS TO START WITH, WE
PARTICIPATE IN THIS NETWORK OF
NETWORK ACTIVITY WITH CRYSTAL
PARK IN THIS EWB DEFINITION, AND
SPECIFICALLY TO OUR NEW BRAIN
AGING CENTER, WE ALSO DEVELO
DEVELOPED -- BUILD ON THE
ORIGINAL DEFINITION AND
DEVELOPED ADDITIONAL CONCEPTUAL
FRAMEWORK, SO WE EMPHASIZE FOR
CROSS SPECIES STUDY REACTIVITY
AND REAPPRAISAL BASED MODEL TO
STUDY EWB MECHANISM AND CHANGES
IN BRAIN AGING AND OPERATIONALLY
WE ALSO DEVELOPED A FRAMEWORK
FOR COMPARABLE CROSS SPECIES
APPROACHES TO STUDY BRAIN
BEHAVIOR RELATIONSHIPS IN EWB.
LET ME ELABORATE A LITTLE BIT
MORE ON THESE TWO FRAME WORKS.
SO FOR THE CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK
TO ENSURE COMPARABLE STUDIES IN
ANIMAL AND HUMAN STUDIES, WE
SUGGEST TO RELATIVELY SIMPLIFY
THE EFFECTIVE STIMULI THAT ARE
USED FOR STUDY AND THE FOCUS ON
THE DIMENSIONAL FEATURES SUCH
AS -- AROUSAL, AND THE
LITERATURE ON THE RESPONSE OF
THE PHYSIOLOGICAL AND BEHAVIORAL
RESPONSE TO AFFECT THE STIMULI
OR EMOTIONAL ACTIVITY, THIS IS
RELATIVELY CONSISTENT.
WE CONSIDER THESE PROCESSES ARE
IMPORTANT COMPONENT OF THE
EXPERIENTIAL FEATURES OF EWB
MENTIONED IN THE NETWORK
DEFINITION OF EWB.
HERE WE ALSO PROPOSE TO FURTHER
EMPHASIZE THE REFLECTIVE -- THE
BRAIN PROCESSES WE NAMED THEM AS
REAPPRAISAL WE CONSIDER TO BE
RELATED TO REFLECTIVE ASPECT OF
EWB, SO THIS WILL INCLUDE
ELABORATION MEMORY ENCODING AND
RETRIEVAL AS WELL AS COGNITIVE
CONTROL.
TO STUDY THE NEURAL BRAIN
PROCESS UNDERLYING SUCH PROCESS,
WE REVIEW THE LITERATURE AND
EMPHASIZE THE RECENT STUDIES
HIGHLIGHTING A COMPARABLE
BRAINNET WORK TONNOLOGY FOR
EMOTION PROCESSING ACROSS
SPECIES.
AS CHARLES DARWIN NOTED YEARS --
A LONG TIME AGO, ENSURE
ADAPTATION OF ANIMAL OR
INDIVIDUAL ORGANISM TO THE
ENVIRONMENT FOR IN TERMS OF
SURVIVAL AND REPRODUCTION, SO
THE DEVELOPMENTAL GENETICS AND
ANATOMY EMPHASIZED THE CONSERVED
TOPOLOGY ACROSS ANIMAL SPECIES
AND FUNCTIONAL CONNECTIVITY
ACTIVITIES ECK FA SIZE THAT KEY
NETWORKS SUCH AS A DEFAULT IN
THE SAVINGS NETWORK IN EMOTIONAL
REGULATION.
SO HOW DO WE STUDY BASED ON THIS
BASIC BLUEPRINT TO STUDY THE
EMOTIONAL WELL-BEING, WE SUGGEST
BOTH ANIMAL TO HUMAN TRANSLATION
OF NEUROMECHANISTIC INSIGHTS
TAKING ADVANTAGE OF THE TOOLS
AVAILABLE IN ANNUAL RESEARCH
PARTICULARLY THROUGH THE BRAIN
INITIATIVE EFFORTS, AS WELL AS
IN THE REVERSE DIRECTION, WE
EMPHASIZE HUMAN TO ANIMAL
TRANSLATION OF EWB FEATURES AND
HEALTH IMPACTS SO THAT CAN MATCH
SUBJECTIVE REPORT TO OBJECTIVE
MEASUREMENTS AND ENRICH
ENVIRONMENTAL DESIGN AND SOCIAL
EXPERIENCE FOR ANIMAL RESEARCH
AND MODEL AGING AND DISEASE
RELATED CHANGES.
SO THE CROSS-SPECIES STUDIES,
THERE'S A HUGE LITERATURE AND
THE DIALOGUE ACROSS DIFFERENT
DISCIPLINES IS A CHALLENGE, SO
WE'RE IN THE PROCESS DEVELOPING
A KNOWLEDGE DATABASE TO ALLOW
RESEARCHERS INTERESTED IN THIS
TOPIC TO SEARCH, EVALUATE AND
UPDATE RELEVANT CONTENT MESSAGE
AND THIS IS ONGOING AND
HOPEFULLY AN ITERATIVE PROCESS
TO ENGAGE MORE COMMUNITY.
SO FINALLY, WE HAD FUNDED A
SERIES OF PILOT PROJECTS
INCLUDING MATTERS OF EMOTIONAL
EXPERIENCE -- INNOVATIVE BRAIN
IMAGE AND DECODING METHODS
RELATED TO EWB AND CAUSAL
MECHANISM FOR EWB RELATED
BRAIN-BODY INTERACTIONS.
WE HAVE NINE PROJECTS SPREAD
ACROSS BOTH ANIMAL AND HUMAN
RESEARCH AND AT MULTIPLE
UNIVERSITIES.
SO FINALLY, IN SUMMARY, WE HAVE
DEVELOPED A CONCEPTUAL AND
OPERATIONAL FRAMEWORK FOR EWB
AND BRAIN AGING AND OUR NEW
DIRECTIONS INTERESTED IN
NEUROMODULATORY INTERVENTIONS
AND PLASTICITY ORIENTED
INTERVENTIONS TO PROMOTE EWB AND
HELP WITH OLDER ADULTS WITH
NEUROPSYCHIATRIC SYMPTOMS.
WITH THAT, I'LL THANK EVERYONE'S
ATTENTION.
THANK YOU.
[APPLAUSE]
>> GOOD MORNING.
I'M LISA PROSSER FROM UNIVERSITY
OF MICHIGAN AND I'M REALLY
DELIGHTED TO HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY
TO SHARE SOME OF THE WORK THAT'S
BEEN DEVELOPED AS PART OF THE
FAMILY WELL-BEING NETWORK OR
FAMNET IN PARTNERSHIP WITH
MYCO-PIs.
AS WELL AS IN CLOSE
COLLABORATION WITH TRACY KING,
PROGRAM OFFICER FROM NICHD, AS
WELL AS ERIN QUINLAN, SCIENTIFIC
OFFICER FROM NICCH.
THE OVERALL GOAL FOR OUR NETWORK
IS TO SUPPORT AND ADVANCE
RESEARCH ON THE MEASUREMENT OF
FAMILY WELL-BEING AND PEDIATRIC
QUALITY OF LIFE.
BY FUNDING NEW AREAS OF STUDY,
SUPPORTING AND MENTORING THE
NEXT GENERATION OF SCHOLARS AND
PROVIDING EDUCATION AND
RESOURCES FOR RESEARCHERS.
SO THIS SLIDE SHOWS OUR FUNDED
PILOT GRANTEES AND SCHOLAR CORE
MEMBERS.
SO WE FUNDED SO FAR 13 SCHOLARS
AROUND PILOT PROJECT AWARDEES
ACROSS THE COUNTRY THROUGH A
COMPETITIVE SELECTION PROCESS.
AND OF THESE, TWO HAVE RECEIVED
FUNDING BOTH AS A SCHOLAR AS
WELL AS FOR PILOT GRANTS.
THEY'RE ALL FOCUS THE ON FAMILY
WELL-BEING BUT ALSO ON PEDIATRIC
QUALITY OF LIFE WITH A VERY
DIVERSE SET OF TOPICS BEING
PURSUED AND I'LL SHARE JUST A
COUPLE OF EXAMPLES OF THE TITLES
OF THEIR STUDIES.
ONE IS FOCUSING ON PATIENT AND
CAREGIVER WELL-BEING IN
PEDIATRIC HEART FAILURE.
ANOTHER IS USING PROMIS MEASURES
TO CHARACTERIZE THE EMOTIONAL
WELL-BEING OF COMIRN WITH CHILDH
MEDICAL COMPLEXITY.
ANOTHER IS LOOKING AT
UNDERSTANDING WELL-BEING IN
FAMILIES WITH AN INDIVIDUAL WITH
INTELLECTUAL DISABILITY.
AND FINALLY JUST ANOTHER EXAMPLE
IS ONE THAT'S FOCUSING ON
IDENTIFYING YOUTH CAREGIVERS AND
UNDERSTANDING THEIR QUALITY OF
LIFE UTILIZING DATA FROM THE
V.A. POPULATION.
SO IT'S A HIGHLY
INTERDISCIPLINARY COHORT OF
SCHOLARS AND PILOT AWARDEES
COMING FROM VARIOUS DISCIPLINES
WITHIN MEDICINE, PSYCHIATRY,
PEDIATRICS, NURSING, SOCIOLOGY,
GENETICS, EPIDEMIOLOGY, SURGERY,
ETHICS, DECISION SCIENCES,
PUBLIC HEALTH AND MORE.
YOU CAN READ MORE ABOUT ALL OF
OUR AWARDEES AND THEIR PROJECTS
ON OUR WEBSITE.
JUST TO STEP BACK AND HIGHLIGHT
THE OVERALL PURPOSE OF OUR
SCHOLAR CORE AND PILOT PROJECTS
WAS TO SUPPORT AND FOSTER THE
SCHOLAR PIPELINE FOR FUTURE
RESEARCH ON FAMILY WELL-BEING
MEASUREMENT.
SO CONSISTENT WITH THESE
OBJECTIVES, THE FUNDING
OPPORTUNITIES WERE INTENDED FOR
TRAINEES AND FOR JUNIOR FACULTY
TO PROVIDE MULTIDISCIPLINARY
MENTORING AND TRAINING AND TO
CREATE A PEER NETWORK OF
LIKE-MINDED RESEARCHERS.
WE USE THE FAMNET WEBSITE AND
INFRASTRUCTURE TO PROMOTE THE
RESEARCH AND ON THE SLIDE I'VE
LISTED A FEW OF THE COMMON
THEMES INCLUDING THE USE OF
PROMISE MEASURES, THE
UTILIZATION OF SCOPING REVIEWS
IN MANY OF THESE STUDIES TO
IDENTIFY AREAS OF NEEDED
RESEARCH GIVEN THE STAGE OF THIS
FIELD.
PROJECTS THAT FOCUS ON EITHER
FAMILY WELL-BEING OR PEDIATRIC
QUALITY OF LIFE OR SEVERAL THAT
FEATURE BOTH.
DESCRIBING AND MEASURING THE
EXPERIENCE OF CAREGIVERS,
ESPECIALLY PARENT CAREGIVERS, AS
WELL AS THE LESS STUDIED BUT
IMPORTANT POPULATION OF YOUTH
CAREGIVERS.
THESE PROJECTS SPECIFICALLY
RELATE TO BOTH FAMILY WELL-BEING
AND PEDIATRIC QUALITY OF LIFE
REFLECTING THOSE DUAL AIMS OF
OUR NETWORK.
FINALLY MANY OF THESE FUNDED
STUDIES CAPTURE SITUATIONS THAT
INCLUDE CHILDREN WITH MEDICAL
COMPLEXITY.
AS THESE NEW INVESTIGATORS
ADVANCE THEIR RESEARCH BY ANNUAL
GRANTEE RETREATS PROVIDED
ESSENTIAL OPPORTUNITIES FOR
NETWORKING AND MENTORSHIP.
AND WHILE PART OF THE PROCESS
REQUIRED APPLICANTS TO IDENTIFY
THEIR OWN MENTORS, THEY COULD
ALSO REQUEST ADDITIONAL
MENTORSHIP THROUGH THE NETWORK
AND THROUGH THIS PROCESS WE
MATCHED FIVE EARLY YEAR
INVESTIGATORS WITH NEW MENTORS
FROM WITHIN THE NETWORK,
EXPANDING THEIR MEMBERSHIP TEAM
AND ALSO FACILITATING NETWORK.
WE DEVELOPED A DEDICATED WEBSITE
PROVIDING EDUCATION AND
RESOURCES FOR RESEARCH FOCUSED
ON FAMILY WELL-BEING AND ON
PEDIATRIC QUALITY OF LIFE.
AND THE WEBSITE PROVIDES
RELEVANT INFORMATION ON EVENTS
INCLUDING RECORDINGS OF O OUR
SEMINARS AS WELL AS NETWORK
ADJACENT MEETINGS AS WELL AS
INFORMATION AND RESOURCES FROM
THE PARTNER NETWORKS REPRESENTED
HERE FROM THE EMOTIONAL
WELL-BEING RFA.
A KEY FEATURE OF THE WEBSITE
INCLUDES THE DEVELOPMENT OF TWO
INSTRUMENT REPOSITORIES, THE
FAMILY WELL-BEING INSTRUMENT
REPOSITORY WHICH INCLUDES 23
INSTRUMENTS, AND THE PEDIATRIC
QUALITY OF LIFE INSTRUMENT
REPOSITORY, WHICH INCLUDES 45
INSTRUMENTS, RIGHT NOW IT'S
FOCUSED ON MEASURING --
INCLUDING INSTRUMENTS THAT
MEASURE GENERIC QUALITY OF LIFE
AND WITH A FUTURE FOCUS TO
INCORPORATE CONDITION-SPECIFIC
INSTRUMENTS IN THE NEXT PHASE.
AND BOTH REPOSITORIES ARE
RESTRICTED TO INSTRUMENTS THAT
ARE PUBLICLY AVAILABLE TO MAKE
SURE THAT THESE ARE INSTRUMENTS
THAT CAN BE USED WIDELY BY
CURRENT AND FUTURE RESEARCHERS.
THEY'RE ANNOTATED AND TAGGED FOR
SEARCHING.
WE ALSO INCLUDE IN THE WEB SITE
LINKS TO THE OTHER EXISTING
ADULT WELL-BEING MEASURES
CATALOGS FROM THE OTHER EWB
NETWORKS.
THIS SLIDE SHOWS A SNAPSHOT.
OF
THE REPOSITORY INFORMATION
AVAILABLE FOR AN EXAMPLE
INSTRUMENT, THE BEACH CENTER
QUALITY OF LIFE INSTRUMENT.
FOR EACH INSTRUMENT THERE'S A
BRIEF HOLISTIC DESCRIPTION OF
THE MEASURE AS WELL AS A LIST OF
KEY REFERENCES.
DETAILED INFORMATION ON EACH
CONSTRUCT IS INCLUDED INCLUDING
CONSTRUCT, CONDITION, AGE,
COUNTRY WHERE DEVELOPED, NUMBER
OF ITEMS, SUBSCALES,
AVAILABILITY OF A SHORT FORM OF
IF IT'S AVAILABLE, RESPONDENT,
LANGUAGES, ALL THIS IS TAGGED
AND SEARCHABLE AND EASY TO
COMPARE ACROSS THE INSTRUMENTS
AS WELL.
IN JUNE WE ARE REALLY EXCITED TO
BE HOSTING A FAMILY WELL-BEING
SUMMIT WITH THE FOLLOWING KEY
OBJECTIVES.
FIRST, TO DEFINE THE FAMILY FROM
DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVES.
THERE ARE MANY, MANY POTENTIAL
DEAF ANYTHINGS FOR FAMILY.
CULTURAL, LEGAL, PRACTICAL,
INCLUDING WHO'S PROVIDING
CAREGIVING.
ARTICULATING THE POSSIBILITIES
AND THEIR RELEVANCE TO MEASURING
FAMILY WELL-BEING WILL BE
ESSENTIAL TO MOVING OUR FIELD
FORWARD.
SECOND, HOW TO DEFINE AND
MEASURE FAMILY OUTCOMES, SO
CONSIDERING THE FAMILY AS AN
ENTITY AND NOT AS THE SUM OF ITS
INDIVIDUAL MEMBERS, CONSIDERING
FRAME WORKS FROM OTHER FIELDS
SUCH AS ORGANIZATION STUDIES,
WHICH HAVE FOR QUITE SOME TIME
VALUED THE OUTCOMES OF A GROUP
DISTINCT FROM THAT OF THE
INDIVIDUALS WITHIN IT.
AND FINALLY, TO USE THE SUMMIT
AS AN OPPORTUNITY TO OUTLINE A
FUTURE RESEARCH AGENDA.
SO THIS WILL BE THE CULMINATING
EVENT FOR OUR GRANTEES AND THEIR
MENTORS, FOR OUR PARTNER
NETWORKS THAT WE'VE BEEN WORKING
WITH WHO WILL BE ENGAGED FOR
SELECT OUTSIDE EXPERTS AND WILL
ALSO INCLUDE THE PUBLICATION OF
THESE CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS TO
SERVE TO DOCUMENT WHERE THE
FIELD IS AND POTENTIAL FUTURE
DIRECTIONS.
AS WE LOOK FORWARD, WE'RE REALLY
EXCITED TO CONTINUE ACTIVITY TO
SUPPORT THE SUCCESS OF OUR
SCHOLAR CORE AND PILOT PROJECT
AWARDEES, INCLUDING MENTORING,
NETWORKING, BUILDING
CONNECTIONS, AND OVERALL
SUPPORTING THE CAREER
TRAJECTORIES OF OUR JUNIOR
SCHOLARS.
WE'LL CONTINUE TO DEVELOP
RESOURCES TO SUPPORT RESEARCH IN
THIS AREA, INCLUDING THE STREAM
OF PUBLICATIONS FROM THE PILOT
PROJECTS.
WE'RE PLANNING A MANUSCRIPT
FOCUSED ON SUMMARIZING THE STATE
OF THE SCIENCE RELATING TO BEST
PRACTICES FOR USE AND PROXIES IN
MEASURING PEDIATRIC QUALITY OF
LIFE.
AND PROCEEDINGS FROM THE SUMMIT
TO CHARACTERIZE A FUTURE
RESEARCH AGENDA.
SO WE'LL CONTINUE TO SUPPLEMENT
THE REPOSITORIES ON FAMILY
WELL-BEING AND PEDIATRIC QUALITY
OF LIFE INSTRUMENTS, AND OVERALL
WE LOOK FORWARD TO CONTINUING TO
SUPPORT AND ADVANCE RESEARCH ON
THE MEASUREMENT OF FAMILY
WELL-BEING AND PEDIATRIC QUALITY
OF LIFE.
OUR NETWORK HAS GROWN FROM
6 MEMBERS TO 72 RESEARCHERS OVER
THE LAST THREE YEARS, AND WE
VERY MUCH LOOK FORWARD TO
CONTINUED GROWTH AND CONTINUED
COLLABORATIONS.
THANK YOU.
I'LL TURN IT BACK OVER.
[APPLAUSE]
>> WONDERFUL.
WELL, THANK YOU TO ALL OF YOU
WHO ARE HERE IN THE ROOM AND FOR
THE NETWORKS, AND EVERYONE WHO
COULDN'T BE HERE IN PERSON.
WE JUST ARE SO APPRECIATIVE OF
ALL THE EXCITING AND IMPORTANT
WORK AS ILLUSTRATED REALLY
BEAUTIFULLY IN THE LAST HOUR, TO
ADVANCE THE SCIENCE AND FIELD
AND NUMBER OF RESEARCHERS
RESEARCHING EMOTIONAL
WELL-BEING.
SO WE WILL NOW BEGIN THE Q & A
PORTION OF THIS MEETING.
WE'LL PRIORITIZE QUESTIONS
SUBMITTED BY OUR VIDEOCAST
AUDIENCE, AND THEN IF THERE'S
TIME, WE'RE A LITTLE BEHIND
SCHEDULE SO IF THERE'S TIME,
WE'LL ASK SOME QUESTIONS FROM
PEOPLE HERE IN THE ROOM.
SO MY COLLEAGUE IS GOING TO READ
OUT SOME OF THE QUESTIONS AND
I'LL HELP MAKE SURE THAT WE HAVE
PEOPLE RESPOND AND YOU CAN USE
THE MICROPHONES THAT ARE AT EACH
OF YOUR SEATS, PRESSING A BUTTON
TO RESPOND TO QUESTIONS.
>> CAN EVERYONE HEAR ME?
>> YES.
>> THIS FIRST QUESTION IS FOR
DR. LIZ NIELSON FOR THE NIA
PROGRAM STUFF IN THE ROOM.
HAS NIA ALSO SET ASIDE AN AREA
OF STUDY ON THE IMPACT OF
DIAGNOSIS ON EMOTIONAL HEALTH
AND OVERALL WELL-BEING?
AGING WITHOUT DIAGNOSIS OR
MEDICATION SURELY PROVIDES MORE
POSITIVE RESULTS THAN AGING WITH
SEVERE DIAGNOSIS, MEDICATIONS
AND FAMILY LOSSES.
HAS THIS BEEN RESEARCHED?
>> THIS IS LIZ NIELSON FROM NIA.
I CAN TAKE THAT QUESTION.
AND SORT OF ANSWER INDIRECTLY.
SO ONE AREA THAT WE'RE VERY
INTERESTED IN IS THE IMPACT OF A
DIAGNOSIS OF ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE
OR RELATED DEMENTIAS ON MULTIPLE
ASPECTS OF PEOPLE'S LIVES.
WE HELD A NATIONAL ACADEMY OF
SCIENCES WORKSHOP ON THAT TOPIC
A COUPLE OF YEARS AGO AND
EXPLORED THE IMPACT ON PEOPLE'S
SOCIAL RELATIONSHIPS, ON STIGMA,
ON DECISIONS ABOUT WORK, AND ON
A HOST OF OTHER THINGS RELATED
TO CHOICES THEY MIGHT MAKE FOR
MEDICAL CARE, AND WE SEE THAT AS
REALLY A GROWING AREA OF
INVESTIGATION, ESPECIALLY AS
EARLIER OPPORTUNITIES TO GET
SOME BLOOD-BASED BIOMARKER AS
YOUR DEMENTIA DIAGNOSIS COMES ON
BOARD AND DIGITAL TOOLS FOR
EARLY ASSESSMENT.
THESE ARE IMPORTANT TOOLS TO
HAVE FOR SORT OF STUDYING THE
BASIC WAYS IN WHICH THESE
DISEASES UNFOLD, BUT ALSO CREATE
NEW CHALLENGES FOR PEOPLE FACING
THOSE DIAGNOSES.
RELATEDLY, TO THE QUESTION NOT
TO THAT OTHER WORKSHOP, BUT
YEARS AGO WE HAD A COLLABORATIVE
WORKSHOP WITH OUR COLLEAGUES IN
GERIATRICS AND CLINICAL
GERONTOLOGY AROUND MEASURES OF
EMOTIONAL WELL-BEING IN
OBSERVATIONAL AND -- FROM A
GERIATRICS PERSPECTIVE, TRYING
TO BRING THE IMPORTANCE OF
INCORPORATING THESE MEASURES
INTO MORE CLINICAL RESEARCH ON
CONDITIONS OF AGING AND THERE
WAS A WIDE ACCEPTANCE AND
ENTHUSIASM ABOUT THE IMPORTANCE
OF CAPTURING THESE OTHER ASPECTS
OF PEOPLE'S HEALTH IN THE
CONTEXT OF ILLNESS, PARTICULARLY
IN THE FIELD OF GERIATRICS,
WHERE QUESTIONS LIKE PEOPLE
SETTING GOALS FOR CARE ARE
REALLY IMPORTANT AND
APPRECIATING THE VALUE OF SORT
OF MORE SUBJECTIVE GOALS VERSUS
OBJECTIVE PHYSICAL HEALTH GOALS
AS ONE IS NAVIGATING ILLNESS
TRAJECTORIES IN LATER LIFE.
THANK YOU FOR THE QUESTION.
>> THANK YOU.
NEXT QUESTION?
>> THIS NEXT QUESTION IS FOR DR.
IN 2012, THE ICMH HOSTED
CREATIVE ARTS THERAPISTS AND
REPORTED BIOLOGICAL EVIDENCE OF
STRESS REDUCTION FROM
CREDENTIALED ART, MUSIC AND
DANCE MOVEMENT INTERVENTIONS
BASED ON BROAD EXISTING
RESEARCH.
IN 2011, ADAM PEARLMAN DESCRIBED
THE CREATIVE ARTS THERAPIES AS
LOW HANGING FRUIT.
MY QUESTION IS, HOW DOES THE
NICCH WORK TO IMPLEMENT
SCIENTIFIC PRASK TISES IT
ACCEPTS SO CONSUMERS CAN ACCESS
PROVEN INTERVENTIONS NOW TO SAVE
AND IMPROVE LIVES?
>> WELL, WE ARE VERY INTERESTED
IN THE ARTS IN GENERAL.
ONE OF THE AREAS THAT WE FOCUSED
QUITE A BIT JUST RECENTLY HAS
BEEN MUSIC.
WE HAVE ALSO -- WE HAVE A BIG
INITIATIVE ON MUSIC AND HEALTH.
WE JUST RECENTLY HAD A REALLY
WONDERFUL WORKSHOP THAT REALLY
EXEMPLIFIED -- OH, IT'S NOT
WORKING?
IT WAS A FANTASTIC WORKSHOP THAT
WAS REALLY ILLUMINATING BECAUSE
NOT ONLY IT INCORPORATED
RESEARCHERS, MUSICIANS, BUT ALSO
PE FORMERS OF MUSIC TOGETHER IN
A WONDERFUL KIND OF
COLLABORATIVE LEARNING
ENVIRONMENT.
I DON'T SEE ANY REASON WHY THIS
COULD NOT BE DONE WITH OTHER
TYPES OF ARTS, VISUAL ARTS, FOR
EXAMPLE, SO YEAH, WE'RE VERY
INTERESTED IN THIS AREA, NO
QUESTION ABOUT IT.
WE CAN'T DO A SPECIFIC TARGETED
INITIATIVE FOR EVERYTHING, BUT
THIS IS DEFINITELY SOMETHING
THAT WE ARE INTERESTED IN.
>> THANK YOU, DR. LANGEVIN.
NEXT QUESTION?
>> NEXT QUESTION IS FOR
DR. DAVIDSON.
HOW ARE RESEARCH GROUPS THINKING
ABOUT RESPONSES EXPECTED BY
ACTIVE CONTROL PLA Z PLACEBO GR?
>> WELL, THANK YOU FOR THE
QUESTION.
WE HAVE LONG ADVOCATED THE
IMPORTANCE OF DEVELOPING
RIGOROUS CONTROL GROUPS FOR
MEDITATION AND RELATED KINDS OF
INTERVENTIONS.
THESE ARE INTERVENTIONS THAT ONE
CANNOT USE DOUBLE BLIND
PROCEDURES WITH BECAUSE YOU
REALLY CAN'T BLIND A PERSON FROM
RECEIVING A MEDITATION
INTERVENTION.
AND SO THEY REQUIRE THE
DEVELOPMENT OF OTHER MORE NOVEL
FORMS OF INTERVENTION.
AND AS THE VERY BRIEF DATA
GLIMPSE THAT I PRESENTED BUT
THERE'S ALSO LOTS OF OTHER DATA
IN THE LITERATURE SHOW, MANY OF
THESE, QUOTE, ACTIVE CONTROL
INTERVENTIONS ACTUALLY HAVE
USEFUL THERAPEUTIC BENEFIT.
AND SO I THINK THAT WE NEED TO
CONTINUE TO THINK CREATIVELY
ABOUT HOW TO DEPLOY THESE
INTERVENTIONS AND PARTICIPANTS
HAVE ACCEPTED THEM AND HAVE BEEN
VERY ENTHUSIASTIC ABOUT THEM,
AND SO IT HASN'T BEEN A PROBLEM
AT ALL IN DEPLOYING THEM.
THANK YOU FOR THE QUESTION.
>> THANK YOU, DR. DAVIDSON.
I THINK WE HAVE TIME FOR ONE
MORE QUESTION.
>> ALL RIGHT.
THIS QUESTION IS FOR DR. CONWELL
AND DR. WANG.
HAVE YOU STUDIED THE IMPACT OF
POLYPHARMACY IN BRAIN AGING AND
WELL-BEING?
IN PARTICULAR, THE SEVERE DAMAGE
INDUCED BY THE SIDE EFFECT OF
STATINS.
>> THIS IS DR. CONWELL.
I'LL TRY TO TAKE THAT ON.
THAT FALLS SOMEWHAT SQUARELY IN
THE MIDDLE OF OUR INTERESTS IN
THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN
GERIATRIC CONDITIONS OVERALL AND
EMOTIONAL WELL-BEING IN LATER
LIFE BECAUSE AS IS IMPLIED IN
YOUR QUESTION, POLYPHARMACY IS
RAMPANT IN OLDER ADULTS AND
ASSOCIATED WITH A WIDE RANGE OF
ADVERSE OUTCOMES.
HOW THEN TO TRANSLATE THAT INTO
THE STUDY OF EMOTIONAL
WELL-BEING IS A CHALLENGE WE'VE
NOT TAKEN ON YET.
WE HAVE A NUMBER OF STUDIES
GOING ON NOT WITHIN NEW BRAIN
AGING PER SE, BUT WITH RELATED
COLLEAGUES ON THE ISSUE OF
DEPRESCRIBING AS AN INTERVENTION
AND HOW TO MOST EFFECTIVELY
MANAGE THAT AND THEN AS A
COROLLARY, LOOKING TO SEE HOW
THAT IMPACTS EMOTIONAL
WELL-BEING PER SE.
BUT THE PARTICULAR THRUST OF
YOUR QUESTION FALLS A LITTLE BIT
OUTSIDE OF WHAT THE FOCUS OF OUR
CENTER NEW BRAIN AGE SOMETHING
PER SE.
AGING IS PER
SE.
>> I'D JUST ADD IN ONE COMMENT.
WE ARE ACTUALLY ALSO FUNDING A
PILOT ON ANIMAL STUDIES LOOKING
AT AUTONOMIC NERVOUS SYSTEM
CHANGES AND DRUGS IN AGING, SO I
THINK AT A DEEP MESS NICK TICK
LEVEL THERE'S SOME CONNECTION
BUT WE HAVEN'T REALLY MAPPED TO
EMOTIONAL WELL-BEING YET.
>> THANK YOU EVERYONE FOR
SUBMITTING QUESTIONS BY NIH
VIDEOCAST.
APOLOGIES WE CANNOT GET TO ALL
OF THEM, BUT WE HAVE THEM
RECORDED AND WILL CERTAINLY PASS
THEM ALONG TO THE APPROPRIATE
PARTIES.
SO WITH ENDING THAT SHOWCASE
SESSION, I WOULD NOW LIKE TO
SWITCH OVER TO INTRODUCE
DR. ERIC GARLAND, WHO WILL BE
GIVING OUR KEYNOTE ADDRESS.
DR. ERIC GARLAND IS
DISTINGUISHED ENDOWED CHAIR IN
RESEARCH, DISTINGUISHED
PROFESSOR AND ASSOCIATE DEAN FOR
RESEARCH IN THE UNIVERSITY OF
UTAH COLLEGE OF SOCIAL WORK.
DIRECTOR OF THE CENTER ON
MINDFULNESS AND INTEGRATIVE
HEALTH INTERVENTION DEVELOPMENT
AND ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR OF
INTEGRATIVE MEDICINE AT THE
HUNTS MAN CANCER INSTITUTE.
DR. GARLAND IS THE DEVELOPER OF
AN I FOCUS OND INSIGHTS DERIVEDM
COGNITIVE, AFFECTIVE AND
NEUROLOGICAL SCIENCE CALLED WHIE
WILL TELL US MORE ABOUT IN HIS
KEYNOTE PRESENTATION.
PLEASE SUBMIT YOUR QUESTIONS
THROUGH THE NIH VIDEOCAST FORM
AS HIS KEYNOTE WILL BE FOLLOWED
BY A BRIEF Q & A.
SO WITH THAT, DR. GARLAND.
>> WHILE THIS IS GOING I JUST
WANTED TO EXPRESS MY GRATITUDE.
IT'S REALLY AN HONOR TO BE HERE
AND PRESENT MY WORK AT NIH TO
THIS GROUP OF ESTEEMED
SCIENTIFIC LUMINARIES.
SO TODAY I'LL BE PRESENTING MY
WORK ON THE MECHANISMS BY
WHICH -- IMPROVES EMOTIONAL
WELL-BEING IN PEOPLE WITH
CHRONIC PAIN AND OPIOID MISUSE.
THANK YOU.
AND CLEARLY EMOTIONAL WELL-BEING
INTERVENTIONS HAVE APPLICATIONS
BEYOND THE TREATMENT OF CHRONIC
PAIN AND ADDICTION.
BUT THE CURRENT OPIOID CRISIS,
WHICH REPRESENTS A PERNICIOUS
THREAT TO PUBLIC HEALTH, MAY BE
ESPECIALLY TRACTABLE TO
EMOTIONAL WELL-BEING
INTERVENTIONS.
AND SO, THEREFORE, I THINK THIS
LINE OF WORK REPRESENTS AN
IMPORTANT USE CASE TO ILLUSTRATE
HOW THE SCIENCE OF EMOTIONAL
WELL-BEING CAN BE APPLIED MORE
BROADLY TO ADDRESS A WIDE RANGE
OF HEALTH CONDITIONS.
SO TO BEGIN N201 IN 2015 -- TO H
THEY ATTRIBUTED TO LARGE PART TO
THE OPIOID CRISIS.
A CRISIS THAT HAS BEEN TERMED A
DISEASE OF DESPAIR IN THE
EPIDEMIOLOGICAL LITERATURE.
AND THE DISEASE OF DESPAIR HAS
MANY SOURCES, FROM THE -- I'M
NOT TOUCHING ANYTHING HERE.
IS THIS ADVANCING AUTOMATICALLY?
THE DISEASE OF DESPAIR HAS MANY
SOURCES.
I THINK IT MIGHT BE ADVANCING
AUTOMATICALLY.
SO THE DISEASE OF DESPAIR HAS
MANY SOURCES FROM THE RISING
TIDE OF INCOME INEQUALITY TO THE
LACK OF OPPORTUNITY, TO
INTERGENERATIONAL VIOLENCE AND
TRAUMA, AND THE EGOCENTRIC
MATERIALISM, SOCIAL ISOLATION
AND DIGITAL ADDICTION THAT'S
SUCH A PART OF MODERN CULTURE.
TO SELF-MEDICATE AGAINST THESE
FORMS OF DESPAIR, WE SEEK EVER
MORE INTENSE FORMS OF
STIMULATION.
WE WANT FANCIER CARS, MORE
ELABORATE VACATIONS, MORE LIKES
ON SOCIAL MEDIA, BUT NOTHING
SEEMS TO FILL THE HOLE.
IN THE FACE OF THIS VACUUM OF
MEANING, IT WAS PERHAPS
INEVITABLE THAT LIFE WOULD
BECOME MORE PAINFUL AND INDEED
IT DID, RATES OF CHRONIC PAIN
SOARED IN THE U.S., FOR AN
ESTIMATED 50 MILLION AMERICANS
EXPERIENCE PAIN EACH YEAR AND TO
ALLEVIATE THIS EPIDEMIC OF PAIN,
OPIOID PRESCRIPTIONS CLIMBED.
IN 2015, 38% OF U.S. AMERICAN
ADULTS USED AN OPIOID THAT YEAR.
THIS DRAMATIC INCREASE IN OPIOID
USE HAS DRIVEN THE OPIOID CRISIS
WHICH HAS COST THIS COUNTRY
COUNTLESS LIVES UP TO TODAY.
I WANT TO BEGIN THIS TALK ON A
MORE HOPEFUL NOTE.
A PATIENT CAME TO SEE ME FOR
HELP WITH CHRONIC PAIN AND
OPIOID RELATED PROBLEMS.
HE RECEIVED A SERIES OF FIVE
FAILED BACK SURGERIES, AFTER
EACH ONE HAD BEEN PRESCRIBED
ESCALATING DOSES OF OPIOIDS.
HE AS HE STATED TO ME, I JUST DT
WANT TO BE IN PAIN.
I ASKED HIM TO TELL ME ABOUT A
TIME WHEN HE WASN'T IN SO MUCH
PAIN, AND HE TOLD ME THAT ON THE
WEEKENDS WHEN HIS GRANDKIDS CAME
OUT, HE WATCHED THEM PLAY IN THE
BACKYARD, HE BECAME SO FOCUSED
AND SO ABSORBED IN WATCHING THEM
PLAY THAT IT BROUGHT JOY TO HIS
HEART AND IN THAT MOMENT, HE
DIDN'T NOTICE HIS PAIN.
HIS PAIN WAS TEMPORARILY GONE.
SO WAS HIS DESIRE FOR OPIOIDS.
THIS CLINICAL ANECDOTE HINTS AT
A POTENTIAL UNTAPPED THERAPEUTIC
MECHANISM THAT COULD BE
LEVERAGED TO HELP ADDRESS THE
OPIOID CRISIS.
TO UNDERSTAND THIS CLAIM, WE
NEED TO UNDERSTAND HOW ADDICTION
IMPAIRS THE REGULATION OF PAIN
AND PLEASURE ON THE BRAIN.
ALSO KNOWN AS HEDONIC
DYSREGULATION IN THE SCIENTIFIC
LITERATURE.
TRADITIONALLY IN WESTERN
PHILOSOPHY, PLEASURE AND PAIN
ARE CONSIDERED OPPOSITES ON A
HEDONIC BALANCE.
SUCH THAT INCREASING EXPERIENCES
OF PAIN ARE THOUGHT TO OUTWEIGH
THE EXPERIENCE OF PLEASURE IN
EVERYDAY LIFE.
MODERN BIOLOGY SUGGESTS THAT
PLEASURE AND PAIN OPERATE
THROUGH A COMMON EMOTIONAL
CURRENCY IN THE BRAIN MEDIATED
BY THE DOPAMINE SYSTEM AND THE
ENDOGENOUS OPIOID SYSTEM AND
THESE SAME BRAIN SYSTEMS BECOME
HIJACKED BY ADDICTIVE DRUGS
THROUGH AN ALLOSTATIC PROCESS IN
WHICH CHRONIC EXPOSURE TO
OPIOIDS CAUSES NEUROPLASTIC
CHANGES TO CORTICAL LIMBIC
CIRCUITRY THAT INCREASE
SENSITIVITY TO PAIN, STRESS AND
DRUG-RELATED CUES WHILE
DECREASING SENSITIVITY TO THE
NATURAL HEALTHY PLEASURE AND
MEANING DRIVE FROM OBJECTS AND
EVENTS IN THE SOCIAL
ENVIRONMENT.
SO IN MY LABORATORY WE MEASURE
HEDONIC DYSREGULATION WITH THE
EMOTION REGULATION TASK.
PRESENTING WITH EMOTIONAL
IMAGES.
IN RESPONSE TO NEGATIVE IMAGES
PARTICIPANTS ARE ASKED TO EITHER
VIEW THE IMAGE OR REAPPRAISE THE
IMAGE BY REFRAMING THE MEANING
OF THE CONTENT OF THE IMAGE IN
SUCH A WAY AS TO SEE THAT IMAGE
DEPICTING AN OPPORTUNITY FOR
POTENTIAL GROWTH, PSYCHOLOGICAL
GROWTH OR MEANING IN THE FACE OF
ADVERSITY.
IN RESPONSE TO POSITIVE
EMOTIONAL STIMULI LIKE THIS
IMAGE OF THIS FATHER AND SON
ENJOYING THE DAY AT THE BEACH,
PARTICIPANTS ARE ASKED TO EITHER
VIEW THE IMAGE OR TO SAVOR THE
IMAGE BY MINDFULLY FOCUSING
THEIR ATTENTION ON WHAT IS
PLEASANT, BEAUTIFUL AND GOOD IN
THE IMAGE, AND APPRECIATING AND
AMPLIFYING ANY EMOTIONS OR
PLEASURABLE BODY EMOTIONS RISING
DURING THIS TASK.
VARIATIONS OF THIS EMOTIONAL
REGULATION TASK HAVE BEEN USED
FOR NEARLY THREE DECADES LED BY
PIE 'NOTHERRING WORK DONE BY
JAMES GROSS AND RICHIE DAVIDSON
RIGHT HERE IN THIS ROOM, ONE OF
MY PERSONAL SCIENTIFIC HEROS.
SO A NUMBER OF YEARS AGO, MY
COLLEAGUES AND I FOUND THAT
RELATIVE TO PATIENTS WHO TAKE
OPIOIDS AS PRESCRIBED, HERE
DEPICTED IN THE -- I DON'T KNOW
IF YOU CAN SEE THE LASER -- IN
THE BLUE BARS, OPIOID MISUSING
CHRONIC PAIN PATIENTS DEPICTED
IN THE RED BARS, HAD SIGNIFICANT
BLUNTING OF HIGH FREQUENCY HEART
RATE VARIABILITY DURING
REAPPRAISAL, VIEWING POSITIVE
IMAGES AND SAVORING POSITIVE
IMAGE, INDICATING THAT THEY HAVE
A SELECTIVE DEFICIT IN THE
ABILITY TO SHIFT THEIR EMOTIONS
IN A POSITIVE DIRECTION.
AND WE FIND CONVERGING EVIDENCE
USING EEG HERE IN THE TOP CENTER
PANEL IN BLUE, OUR BRAINWAVES
FROM PATIENTS WHO DON'T MISUSE
OPIOIDS.
THESE INDIVIDUALS ARE ABLE TO
DECREASE THEIR BRAIN'S
REACTIVITY TO NEGATIVE EMOTIONAL
STIMULI THROUGH REAPPRAISAL.
BUT BENEATH IN RED YOU CAN SEE
BRAINWAVES FROM PATIENTS WHO
MISUSE OPIOIDS.
NOT ONLY CAN THEY NOT REAPPRAISE
EFFECTIVELY, BUT REAPPRAISAL
ACTUALLY BACKFIRES AND
AGGRAVATES THE NEGATIVE
EMOTIONAL BRAIN REACTIVITY.
ALL THE WAY ON RIGHT YOU CAN SEE
BRAINWAVES DURING POSITIVE
REGULATION, IN BLUE, PATIENTS
WHO DON'T MISUSE OPIOIDS.
THESE INDIVIDUALS WERE ABLE TO
INCREASE THEIR BRAIN'S RESPONSE
FROM VIEWING POSITIVE IMAGES TO
SAVORING POSITIVE IMAGES.
IN RED YOU CAN SEE BRAINWAVES IN
PATIENTS WITH OPIOID USE
DISORDER.
HERE YOU SEE TOTAL BLUNTING OF
BRAIN RESPONSE DURING POSITIVE
EMOTION REGULATION.
AND THESE DEFICITS IN NEGATIVE
AND POSITIVE EMOTION REGULATION
ARE ASSOCIATED WITH HIGHER
LEVELS OF OPIOID CRAVING AND
PREDICT OPIOID MISUSE IN THE
FUTURE.
SO IT APPEARS AS IF HEDONIC
DYSREGULATION IS PROPELLING
OPIOID MISUSE AND ADDICTION.
IN OTHER WORDS, AS THE
INDIVIDUAL BECOMES MORE AND MORE
DEPENDENT ON OPIOIDS JUST TO
FEEL OKAY, THEY BECOME LESS ABLE
TO EXTRACT A HEALTHY SENSE OF
PLEASURE, JOY AND MEANING OUT OF
EVERYDAY LIFE.
THIS DRIVES THE PERSON TO TAKE
HIGHER AND HIGHER DOSES OF THE
DRUG TO PRESERVE A DWINDLING
SENSE OF WELL-BEING.
OVER TIME, OPIOID USE AND PAIN
BECOME ENTRE ENTRENCHED AS AUTOC
HABITS.
ULTIMATELY LEADING TO THE
DOWNWARD SPIRAL OF LOSS OF SELF
CONTROL OVER OPIOID USE THAT'S
CHARACTERISTIC OF OPIOID
ADDICTION.
SO WHEN I SAY OPIOID USE AND
PAIN BECOME ENTANGLED INTO THE
DEFAULT MODE OF THE SELF, WHAT
DO I MEAN?
IF YOU SAY I'M IN PAIN ENOUGH
TIMES, EVENTUALLY THAT LITTLE
PREPOSITION "IN" GETS DROPPED
AND I AM IN PAIN BECOMES I AM
PAIN, AS ONE'S PRIMARY SENSE OF
IDENTITY BECOMES FUSED WITH
PAIN.
SIMILARLY, REPEATED RUMINATION
ON ADDICTION-RELATED THOUGHTS
AND CRAVINGS CAN RESULT IN
ADDICTION BECOMING ENTANGLED
INTO THE DEFAULT MODE OF THE
SELF.
OVER TIME THE DRUG GAINS PRIMARY
SELF-RELEVANCE.
IT BECOMES THE CENTRAL POINT IN
MEANING OF LIFE AT THE EXPENSE
OF NATURAL NON-DRUG REWARDS.
ONE'S IDENTITY BECOMES FUSED
WITH ADDICTION.
AND ADDICTION IS KNOWN TO
INVOLVE -- IN THE DEFAULT MODE
NETWORK, INCLUDING
DISCONNECTIVITY BETWEEN THE
MEDIAL PREFRONTAL CORTEX AND THE
POSTERIOR CINGULATE CORTEX.
SO IN SUMMARY, THE OPIOID CRISIS
APPEARS TO BE LINKED WITH
DYSREGULATION OF EMOTIONAL
EXPERIENCE, REWARD AND SELF
REFERENTIAL MEANING, WHICH
DRIVES OPIOID DOSE ESCALATION AS
A MEANS OF SELF-MEDICATING THE
RESULTING DYSPHORIA.
THEREFORE, EMOTIONAL WELL-BEING
INTERVENTIONS MIGHT BE
PARTICULARLY USEFUL FOR
IMPROVING OUTCOMES IN THIS
POPULATION.
I DEVELOPED A CONCEPTUAL
FRAMEWORK THAT DESCRIBES THE
MECHANISMS BY WHICH EMOTIONAL
WELL-BEING INTERVENTIONS MIGHT
IMPROVE OUTCOMES IN THIS
POPULATION.
BRIEFLY, THE MODEL PROPOSES
THREE KEY THERAPEUTIC TARGETS
FROM HEDONIC WELL-BEING TO --
NUMBER ONE, SAVORING HEDONIC
PLEASURE FROM NATURAL HEALTHY
REWARDS.
NUMBER TWO, REAPPRAISING
ADVERSITY -- EXCUSE ME --
REAPPRAISING MEANING IN THE FACE
OF ADVERSITY, AND NUMBER THREE,
CULTIVATING SELF-TRAN 16 DENSE
- -- ANDINDUCING A STIMULUS INDT
FORM OF HAPPINESS.
I DEVELOPED MINDFULNESS ORIENTED
RECOVERY ENHANCEMENT AS A MEANS
OF TARGETING THESE MECHANISMS.
THE THERAPY COMBINES MINE
FULLNESS TRAINING, COGNITIVE
BEHAVIORAL THERAPY AND
PRINCIPLES FROM POSITIVE
PSYCHOLOGY INTO A TREATMENT THAT
CAN SIMULTANEOUSLY ADDRESSEE
DICKTIVE BEHAVIOR STRESS AND
CHRONIC PAIN.
A TEMPORAL BLI DYNAMIC PROCESS
MODEL OF EMOTION REGULATION THAT
POSITS THE MECHANISMS BY WHICH
MINDFULNESS CAN PROMOTE
EMOTIONAL WELL-BEING AND HUMAN
FLOURISHING.
BRIEFLY THE MODEL PROPOSES THAT
MINDFULNESS ALLOWS ONE TO
DECENTER FROM STRESS APPRAISALS
INTO A META COGNITIVE STATE.
WHICH DISRUPTS NEGATIVE BIASES
AND EXPANDS THE SCOPE OF
ATTENTION TO ALLOW ONE TO
INTEGRATE A BROADENED ARRAY OF
POSITIVE NEUTRAL AND NEGATIVE
PIECES OF INFORMATION INTO A
POSITIVE REAPPRAISAL OF THE
STRESSFUL SITUATION.
THE POSITIVE EMOTIONS GENERATED
FROM THIS PROCESS CAN THEN BE
SAVORED, WHICH STIMULATES AN
UPWARD SPIRAL OF POSITIVE AFFECT
AND COGNITION TOWARDS ADAPTIVE
ACTIONS AND COMPASSION, AND
LEADS TO THE SENSE OF
MEANINGFULNESS IN LIFE.
THE UPWARD SPIRAL REACHES THE
APEX IN SELF TRAN 16 DENSE, THE
SENSE OF BEING CONNECTED TO
SOMETHING GREATER THAN THE SELF.
THIS ALSO POSITS RECURSIVE
FEEDBACK LOOPS WHEREBY HIGHER
ORDER MECHANISMS CAN ACTIVATE
LOWER ORDER MECHANISMS TO
CONTINUE TO DRIVE THE UPWARD
SPIRAL FORWARD.
SO GUIDED BY THIS THEORY I
DEVELOPED MOORE AS A SCWEEBS
TREATMENT.
IT BEGINS WITH A FOUNDATION OF
MINDFULNESS TRAINING BY VIRTUE
OF STRENGTHENING INTENTIONAL
CONTROL AND META AWARENESS IS
USED TO INSINNER JIES MORE
ELABORATE THERAPEUTIC TECHNIQUES
AND ULTIMATELY TO LEAD TO SELF
TRANSCENDENCE.
THAT ARE IN TURN INTENDED TO
PRODUCE CLINICALLY SIGNIFICANT
CHANGE IN A RANGE OF TREATMENT
TARGETS RELEVANT TO CHRONIC PAIN
AND OPIOID MISUSE.
SO I JUST WANT TO FOCUS IN ON
ONE OF THE THERAPEUTIC
TECHNIQUES IN THE PROGRAM THAT
MAKES IT QUITE UNIQUE.
IN MORE, PATIENTS ARE TAUGHT A
SAVORING TECHNIQUE IN WHICH
THEY'RE GUIDE TODAY FOCUS
MINDFUL AWARENESS ON A BEAUTIFUL
OBJECT LIKE A ROSE, APPRECIATING
THE PLEASANT COLORS, TEXTURES
AND SCENT OF THE FLOWER, AS WELL
AS THE TOUCH OF THE PETALS
AGAINST THE SKIN.
AND DURING THIS PRACTICE,
PATIENTS ARE GUIDED TO CULTIVATE
A META COGNITIVE REFLECTIVE
ATTITUDE AND TO BECOME AWARE OF,
TO APPRECIATE AND TO AMPLIFY ANY
POSITIVE EMOTIONS, PLEASURABLE
BODY SENSATIONS, OR HIGHER ORDER
AFFECTIVE MEANING ARISING DURING
THE SAVORING PRACTICE.
THEN THEY'RE ASKED TO PRACTICE
THIS TECHNIQUE WITH OTHER
NATURALLY OCCURRING PLEASANT
OBJECTS AND EVENTS IN THEIR LIFE
AS HOMEWORK, AND THIS TECHNIQUE
IS INTENDED TO AMPLIFY NATURAL
REWARD PROCESSING IN THE BRAIN,
BOOST POSITIVE EMOTIONS, ELICIT
MEANING IN LIFE, AND CULTIVATE
SELF-TRANSCENDENCE, THE SENSE OF
INTERCOINTERCONNECTEDNESS, THE E
BETWEEN THE SELF AND THE WORLD.
THROUGH AN INTEGRATION OF
MINDFUL NUSS REAPPRAISAL AND
SAVORING TECHNIQUES -- THAT HAVE
BECOME HIJACKED DURING THE
ALLOSTATIC PROCESS OF DAIX BY
STRENGTHENING TOP DOWN COGNITIVE
CONTROL FUNCTIONS TO RESTRUCTURE
BOTTOM UP REWARD LEARNING FROM
VALUING DRUGS, BACK TO VALUING
NATURAL HEALTHY REWARDS.
AND THIS THERAPEUTIC FOCUS
ACCORDS WITH WHAT I CALL MY
RESTRUCTURING REWARD HYPOTHESIS.
THE NOTION THAT IF WE CAN HELP
PEOPLE TO SHIFT FROM VALUING THE
DRUG BACK TO VALUING NATURAL
HEALTHY REWARD, THIS WILL REDUCE
KRAICHINREDUCE -- REDUCE CRAVIND
ADDICTIVE BEHAVIOR.
AND IN MY VIEW, THIS PROCESS OF
RESTRUCTURING REWARD LEARNING
MAY BE THE ESSENTIAL THERAPEUTIC
PROCESS IN ADDICTION RECOVERY.
THE PERSON IN RECOVERY MUST
RELEARN WHAT IS AND IS NOT
IMPORTANT IN LIFE, WHAT IS AND
IS NOT MEANINGFUL IN LIFE.
THEY MUST RECLAIM THAT SENSE OF
MEANING THAT HAD BEEN STOLEN BY
THE DRUG, AND REINVESTED BACK
INTO THE PEOPLE, THE ACTIVITIES
AND THE VALUES THAT THEY ONCE
CARED ABOUT.
SO MORE IS AN EVIDENCE-BASED
THERAPY.
TO DATE IT'S BEEN TESTED IN 12
RANDOMIZED CONTROL TRIALS
INVOLVING MORE THAN 1300
PATIENTS.
AND META-ANALYSIS SHOWS THAT
MORE SIGNIFICANTLY REDUCES
ADDICTIVE BEHAVIORS, PSYCH TICK
SYMPTOMS AND CHRONIC PAIN
RELATIVE TO A WIDE RANGE OF
ACTIVE CONTROL CONDITIONS.
I WANT TO HIGHLIGHT ONE OF THESE
STUDIES FOR YOU HERE.
THIS WAS THE LARGEST RANDOMIZED
CLINICAL TRIAL OF MORE,
CONDUCTED.
IT WAS PUBLISHED IN 2022 IN JAMA
INTERNAL MEDICINE.
THIS WAS A NIDA R01 FUNDED
TRIAL.
THERE WERE 250 PATIENTS WITH
CHRONIC PAIN, ALL OF WHOM WERE
PRESCRIBED OPIOIDS AND ALL OF
WHOM WERE MISUSING AT THE
BEGINNING OF THE STUDY.
THEY WERE RANDOMIZED TO RECEIVE
EIGHT WEEKS OF MORE OR EIGHT
WEEKS OF STANDARD PSYCHOTHERAPY
CONTROL CONDITION.
PATIENTS REPORTED AVERAGE PAIN
LEVELS OF 5.5 OUT OF 10.
THEY WERE TAKING HIGH OPIOID
DOSES AT BASELINE.
THREE QUARTERS OF THE SAMPLE
REPORTED HAVING TWO OR MORE
CHRONIC OVERLAPPING PAIN
CONDITIONS, AND THERE WERE HIGH
RATES OF PSYCHOPATHOLOGY IN THE
SAMPLE AS WELL.
IN SUMMARY OF THE FINDINGS, MORE
REDUCED OPIOID MISUSE BY 45% AT
THE NINE MONTH FOLLOW-UP POINT.
NEARLY TRIPLING THE EFFECT OF
STANDARD GROUP THERAPY.
MORE ALSO PRODUCED SIGNIFICANTLY
CLINICAL REDUCTIONS IN PAPER
SYMPTOMS THAT LASTED THROUGH THE
NINE-MONTH FOLLOW-UP.
50% OF PATIENTS TREATED WITH
MORE REPORTED CLINICALLY
SIGNIFICANT REDUCTIONS IN
CHRONIC PAIN.
MORE IMPROVED DIMENSIONS OF
EMOTIONAL WELL-BEING.
MORE LED TO CLINICALLY
SIGNIFICANT REDUCTIONS IN PTSD
SYMPTOMS, AND MORE ENHANCED
POSITIVE EMOTIONS, MEANING IN
LIFE AND SELF TRANSCENDENCE.
THESE DATA SUGGEST THAT MORE IS
A BROAD SPECTRUM TREATMENT THAT
CAN SIMULTANEOUSLY ADDRESS
ADDICTION, CHRONIC PAIN AND THE
PSYCHIATRIC CONDITIONS THAT
OFTEN CO-OCCUR WITH THESE
PROBLEMS.
SO WE WANTED TO KNOW WHETHER
MORE COULD ACTUALLY MODULATE
REWARD RESPONSES IN THE BRAIN TO
DRUG-RELATED CUES, SO IN A
SEPARATE MECHANISTIC EXPERIMENT,
WE BROUGHT PATIENTS INTO THE LAB
AND HAD THEM VIEW OPIOID
PHOTOGRAPHS ON THE COMPUTER
SCREEN WHILE WE MEASURED THEIR
BRAIN ACTIVITY WITH EEG.
WE FOUND THAT MORE LED TO
MASSIVE REDRUXES IN BRAIN DRUG
CUE REACTIVITY AS INDICATED BY
THE LATE POSITIVE POTENTIAL OF
THE EEG.
THESE ARE THE FIRST DATA FROM A
RANDOMIZED CONTROL TRIAL SHOWING
A MINDFULNESS BASED INTD VENGS
CAN REDUCE DRUG CUE REACTIVITY
IN THE BRAIN.
SO GIVEN THEIR NOVELTY AND
SIGNIFICANCE, THEY WERE
PUBLISHED IN SCIENCE ADVANCES A
COUPLE OF YEARS AGO.
BUT WE WONDERED IF MORE CAN
REDUCE THE BRAIN'S REACTIVITY TO
DRUG-RELATED CUES, CAN IT
INCREASE REWARD RESPONSES TO
NATURAL HEALTHY REWARD CUES?
AND SO IN A SEPARATE RANDOMIZED
MECHANISTIC EXPERIMENT, WE FOUND
THAT MORE INCREASED THE LATE
POSITIVE POTENTIAL OF THE EEG AS
WELL AS SKIN CONDUCTANCE
RESPONSES DURING VIEWING AND
SAVORING OF NATURAL HEALTHY
REWARD CUES, SO IMAGING OF
SMILING BABY, LOVERS HOLDING
HANDS, BEAUTIFUL SUNSETS.
AND MORE ALSO INCREASED POSITIVE
AFFECTIVE RESPONSES TO THESE
CUES.
AND THE EFFECT OF MORE ON
REDUCING OPIOID MISUSE WAS
STATISTICALLY MEDIATED BY
INCREASES IN THIS NATURAL REWARD
RESPONSIVENESS, PROVIDING STRONG
SUPPORT FOR THE RESTRUCTURING
REWARD HYPOTHESIS.
BUT WE'VE ALSO SHOWN THAT MORE
CAN INCREASE INTERNAL SELF
GENERATION OF HEDONIC
WELL-BEING.
THIS IS A COMPUTERIZED BODY MAP.
ON THIS BODY MAP PATIENTS LOCATE
PLEASANT AND UNPLEASANT 16
VAITIONS.
PLEASANT SENSATIONS ARE
REPRESENTED IN BLUE.
UNPLEASANT SENSATIONS ARE
REPRESENTED IN RED.
THIS IS A ONE-SIDED BODY MAP SO
IT REPRESENTS THE SUMMATION OF
SENSATIONS ON THE BACK AND FRONT
OF THE BODY.
YOU CAN SEE HERE THAT MORE
MASSIVELY INCREASES PLEASANT
SENSATIONS IN THE BODY, AND ALSO
RADICALLY SHIFTS THE RAISH YOAL
OF PLEASANT TO UNPLEASANT
SENSATIONS.
AT THE BEGINNING OF THE STUDY,
PATIENTS REPORTED ABOUT ONE
PLEASANT 16 VAITION FOR EVERY
FOUR UNPLEASANT SENSATIONS.
AND I FIND THAT REALLY SAD.
IT JUST SPEAKS TO HOW MUCH THESE
FOLKS WERE SUFFERING.
BUT BY SIX MONTHS AFTER BEING
TREATED WITH MORE, PATIENTS
REPORTED TWO PLEASANT SENSATIONS
FOR EVERY ONE UNPLEASANT
SENSATION, DEMONSTRATING MORE
TEACHES -- THEREBY SHIFTS THE
BODY FROM BEING A PLACE OF AN
ANGUISH TO BECOMING A PLACE OF
REFUGE.
BUT WE WONDERED, CAN THE
SELF-GENERATION OF HEDONIC
WELL-BEING PROMOTE -- MEANING.
SO IN NEW DATA COMING FROM MY
PRIMARY CARE R01 FUNDED STUDY OF
MORE, WE FOUND THAT MORE
INCREASES THE CAPACITY TO SAVOR
NATURAL HEALTHY REWARDS AS
INDICATED BY THE LATE POSITIVE
POTENTIAL OF THE EEG.
AND GREATER INCREASES IN
SAVORING EFFICACY WERE
ASSOCIATED WITH LARGER INCREASES
IN MEANING IN LIFE FOLLOWING
TREATMENT WITH MORE.
THESE DATA SUPPORT THE
MINDFULNESS TO MEANING THEORY,
PARTICULARLY THE SPECIFIC
HYPOTHESIS THAT SAVORING CAN
STIMULATE AN UPWARD SPIRAL
TOWARDS MEANING IN LIFE.
SO WE WANTED TO DELVE INTO THIS
PATHWAY MORE DEEPLY.
MY COLLEAGUE AND I ANALYZED
ECOLOGICAL MOMENTARY ASSESSMENT
DATA FROM THIS TRIAL.
IN THE TRIAL, PARTICIPANTS
COMPLETED 180 EM AMOUNT OF TIME
POINTS OVER 60 DAYS.
AND WE FOUND THAT MORE WAS
INCREASING THE EXA CAPACITY TO
DECENTER FROM NEGATIVE THOWTSZ
AND EMOTIONS OVER TIME.
MORE ALSO PRESERVED POSITIVE
REAPPRAISAL CAPACITY WHEREAS
REAPPRAISAL CAPACITY DECAYED IN
THE CONTROL GROUP.
MORE LED TO LARGE INCREASES IN
POSITIVE AFFECT, AND SAVORING
OVER TIME.
USING MULTILEVEL MEDIATION
ANALYSIS WITH LAGGED REGRESSION
COEFFICIENTS, WE TESTED THE
PRIMARY MINDFUL REAPPRAISAL
HYPOTHESIS OF THE MINDFULNESS TO
MEANING THEORY.
WE FOUND THAT EXTENT TO WHICH
YOU DECENTER TODAY WILL PREDICT
YOUR POSITIVE AFFECT TWO DAYS
FROM NOW BY IMPROVING POSITIVE
REAPPRAISAL CAPACITY TOMORROW.
WE CONDUCTED COUNT COUNTERFACTUL
MODELS AND FOUND THAT THE
INDIRECT EFFECTS OF ALL THE
MODELS WERE SIGNIFICANT.
AND THUS, DECENTERING POSITIVE
REAPPRAISAL AND POSITIVE AFFECT
APPEAR TO KINDLE ONE ANOTHER
INTO AN UPWARD SPIRAL THAT
PROPELS ITSELF OVER TIME.
FROM A PSYCHOPHYSIOLOGICAL
PERSPECTIVE, WE'VE SHOWN THAT
MORE INCREASES REAPPRAISAL
EFFICACY AS INDICATED BY SKIN
CONDUCT DANCE RESPONSES DURING
THE EMOTION REGULATION TASK.
AND THE EFFECT OF MORE ON
REDUCING EMOTIONAL DISTRESS IS
STATISTICALLY MEDIATED BY
INCREASES IN REAPPRAISAL
CAPACITY.
BUT IN A NEW R01 FUNDED STUDY
THAT WE JUST COMPLETED COMPARING
MORE TO COGNITIVE BEHAVIORAL
THERAPY FOR PEOPLE WHO ARE
ADDICTED TO CIGARETTES, WE FOUND
THAT MORE OUTPERFORMS CBT IN
IMPROVING REAPPRAISAL EFFICACY
AS MEASURED BY AFFECTIVE
RESPONSES ON THE EMOTION
REGULATION TASK.
AND GREATER INCREASES IN
REAPPRAISAL EFFICACY WERE
ASSOCIATED WITH LOWER LEVELS OF
SMOKING CUE-INDUCED CRAVING,
SUGGESTING THAT TEACHING PEOPLE
TO REAPPRAISE THE MEANING OF
ADVERSE STIMULI MAY ACTUALLY
HAVE ANTIADDICTIVE PROPERTIES.
ABOUT YOU WHAT ABOUT THE THIRD
MECHANISM, CULTIVATING SELF
TRANSCENDENCE?
THE ORIGINAL PURPOSE OF
MINDFULNESS WAS NOT MERELY TO
TEACH PEOPLE TO REGULATE THEIR
EMOTIONS BUT RATHER IT WAS TO
HELP THEM GAIN INSIGHT INTO THE
FUNDAMENTAL NON-DUALITY BETWEEN
THE SELF AND THE WORLD, ALSO
KNOWN AS SELF-TRANSCENDENCE IN
THE PSYCHOLOGICAL LITERATURE.
WE TYPICALLY EXPERIENCE
OURSELVES AS AN ISOLATED SUBJECT
IDENTIFIED BY OUR BODIES AND
ENCAPSULATED BY OUR SKIN, BUT
THERE CAN BE MOMENTS WHEN THE
NORMAL SUBJECT OBJECT DUALITY
BEGINS TO FADE AND WE FEEL A
SENSE OF CLOSENESS OR
INTERCONNECTEDNESS OR EVEN
ONENESS WITH THE WORLD AROUND
US.
AND DURING THESE MOMENTS, WE'RE
OFTEN FILLED WITH A PROFOUND
SENSE OF PEACE, LOVE, OR EVEN
BLISS.
AND THESE EXPERIENCES CAN BE
AMONG THE MOST MEANINGFUL IN A
PERSON'S LIFE.
NE CAN HAPPEN WHEN THEY'RE AT
THE CONCERT OF YOUR FAVORITE
BAND AND YOU BECOME SO ABSORBED
IN THE MUSIC AND THE LIGHTS THAT
YOU LOSE ALL SENSE OF YOURSELF
AND YOU MELT INTO THE THRILLING
BLISS OF THE MUSICAL NOTES.
THESE EXPERIENCES CAN HAPPEN
WHEN YOU'RE WATCHING A BEAUTIFUL
SUNSET AT SEA.
AND THE SENSE OF SELF BECOMES
QUIET AND YOU FEEL A SENSE OF
CONNECTEDNESS WITH ALL THINGS
AND A SENSE OF EXPANSIVENESS
BEYOND THE HORIZON.
THESE EXPERIENCES CAN OCCUR
UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF
PSILOCYBIN AND LSD.
AND THEY CAN AND DO OCCUR DURING
MEDITATION.
WE NEED TO BE ABLE TO QUANTIFY
THESE STATES SO IF YOU WANT TO
UNDERSTAND THEM, SCIENTIFICALLY,
SO TO DO SO, MY COLLEAGUES AND I
DEVELOPED THE NON-DUAL AWARENESS
DIMENSIONAL ASSESSMENT OR NADA
USING A PSYCHOMETRIC APPROACH,
THE CONSTRUCT OF MINDFULNESS.
WE FACTOR ANALYZED SIX EXISTING
SCALES AND FOUND THAT THE NADA
HAD EXCELLENT PSYCHOMETRIC
CHARACTERISTICS AND STRONG
CONVERGENT AND DISCRIMINATE
VALIDITY SUGGESTING WE HAD
DEVELOPED A SENSITIVE AND
RELIABLE MEASURE OF
SELF-TRANSCENDENCE.
USING THE NADA, WE FOUND MORE
LED TO SIGNIFICANT INKREES IN
SELF TRANSCENDENCE AND BLISS
THROUGH A NINE-MONTH FOLLOW-UP
POINT.
WE WONDERED HOW EXPERIENCES OF
SELF-TRANSCENDENCE ACHIEVED
DURING DEEP MEDITATIVE STATES
MIGHT ACTUALLY IMPACT ADDICTIVE
BEHAVIOR.
SO IN ANOTHER MECHANISTIC
EXPERIMENT, WE BROUGHT PATIENTS
INTO THE LAB AND HAD THEM
PRACTICE MINDFULNESS MEDITATION
WHILE WE RECORDED THEIR BRAIN
ACTIVITY WITH EEG.
WE FOUND PATIENTS TREATED WITH
MORE SHOWED SIGNIFICANT
INCREASES IN FRONTAL MIDLINE
THETA EEG POWER AND COHERENCE
DURING MINDFULNESS MEDITATION.
HIGHER LEVELS OF THETA WERE
ASSOCIATED WITH MORE INTENSE
SELF TRANSCENDENT EXPERIENCES
AND MEDIATED THE EFFECT OF MORE
ON REDUCING OPIOID USE THROUGH A
FOUR-MONTH FOLLOW-UP POINT.
FRONTAL MIDLINE THETA IS A
WELL-KNOWN BIOMARKER OF
COGNITIVE CONTROL BUT IT'S ALSO
INVERSELY ASSOCIATED WITH
ACTIVATION IN THE DEFAULT MODE
NETWORK OF THE BRAIN.
AND FRONTAL MIDLINE THETA
INCREASES DURING STATES OF FLOW,
WHEN THE SENSE OF SELF IS
TEMPORARILY SUSPENDED AND
TRANSCENDED DURING DEEP
COGNITIVE ABSORPTION WITH
ONGOING ACTIVITY.
SO THESE DATA SUGGEST THAT
MINDFULNESS INDUCED SELF
TRANSCENDENCE MAY PROVIDE A
MEANS OF INDODGE JUST THETA
STIMULATION AND, THERE BY
ENHANCE INHIBITORY CONTROL OVER
ADDICTIVE BEHAVIOR.
WE RECENTLY REPLICATED THESE
RESULTS IN THE LARGEST STUDY.
IN A SAMPLE OF 165 CHRONIC
OPIOID USERS, WE BROUGHT THEM
INTO THE LAB AND AGAIN HAD THEM
PRACTICE MINDFULNESS MEDITATION
WHILE WE RECORDED THEIR BRAIN
ACTIVITY WITH EEG.
AND I LOVE DATA LIKE THIS, YOU
DON'T NEED ANY STATISTICS AT ALL
SO HERE'S THE GAME.
WHICH ONE OF THESE FOUR BRAIN
MAPS IS NOT LIKE THE OTHER?
THAT'S THE BRAIN AFTER EAT WEEKS
OF MORE AND THAT REMINDS ME OF
THAT OLD COMMERCIAL, THIS IS
YOUR BRAIN ON DRUGS.
REMEMBER THE EGG FRIDAY EGG FRYE
PAN?
THIS IS YOUR BRAIN ON MORE.
MORE LED TO MASSIVE INCREASES IN
FRONTAL MIDLINE THETA EEG
ACTIVITY AND ONCE AGAIN THEY
WERE ASSOCIATED WITH MORE
INTENSE SELF TRANSCENDENCE
EXPERIENCES AND MEDIATED THE
EFFECT OF MORE ON REDUCING
OPIOID MISUSE THROUGH A
NINE-MONTH FOLLOW-UP POINT.
SO REPLICATING THESE RESULTS
ACROSS TWO RANDOMIZED CONTROL
TRIALS WITH TWO INDEPENDENT
SAMPLES SUGGESTS THAT WE MAY
HAVE INDEED FOUND A KEY
MECHANISM BY WHICH MINDFULNESS
REDUCES ADDICTIVE BEHAVIOR.
SPECULATIVELY, MINDFULNESS
INDUCED SELF TRANSCENDENCE MAY
PROMOTE A POTENT FORM OF
STIMULUS INDEPENDENT HAPPINESS.
LINKED WITH INCREASED THETA
OSCILLATIONS IN THE MEDIAL
PREFRONTAL CORTEX AND INCREASED
INTEGRATION BETWEEN TASK
POSITIVE BRAIN NETWORKS INVOLVES
IN SENSORY PROCESSING WITH TASK
NEGATIVE BRAIN NETWORKS INVOLVED
IN SELF REFERENTIAL PROCESSING.
MODULATING FUNCTIONAL
CONNECTIVITY PATTERNS THROUGH
SELF TRANSCENDENCE MAY RESET A
DEFAULT FUNCTION IN CHRONIC PAIN
AND ADDICTION, AND FACILITATE
THE RESTRUCTURING OF REWARD
PROCESSING IN CORTICOSTRIE A
TALL CIRCUITRY IN A ROLE TO EE O
ADDICTIVE BEHAVIOR.
THESE DATA ALSO CONVERGE WITH
ANCIENT WISDOM TEACHINGS.
TAKE THIS TEACHING FROM THE
SHIVA SUE TRA.
WHEN THE YOGI IS ESTABLISHED IN
PURE AWARENESS, HIS CRAVING IS
DESTROYED.
THUS HE SAVORS HIS OWN
INHERENTLY BLISSFUL NATURE,
WHICH ILLUMINS ITSELF WITH THE
RAYS OF ITS CONSCIOUSNESS, JUST
AT THE VERY MOMENT, THE YOGI
ABANDONS HIS CRAVING.
OR THIS QUOTE, IF BY GIVING UP A
LESSER HAPPINESS, A GREATER
HAPPINESS COULD BE FOUND.
A WISE PERSON WOULD RENOUNCE THE
LESSER FOR THE SAKE OF THE
GREATER.
BUT THESE DATA ALSO POINT
TOWARDS THE FUTURE AND THE
FUTURE OF NEUROSCIENCE AND I'M
QUITE INTERESTED IN COMBINING
MORE WITH OTHER INCLUDING
NEUROFEEDBACK.
SO MY COLLEAGUE AND I RECENTLY
COMPLETED A PILOT RANDOMIZED
CONTROL TRIAL OF MORE PLUS
NEUROFEEDBACK DURING SAVORING.
IN THIS STUDY WE USE FNIRS TO
PROVIDE REALTIME READOUT OF OFC
ACTIVITY WHILE THE PATIENT
SAVORS A ROSE.
AND WE'RE COMPARING THIS
CONDITION TO THE STANDARD MORE
THERAPY AS WELL AS SUPPORTIVE
GROUP PSYCH COTHERAPY CONTROL
CONDITION.
SO IN THE PROTOCOL, TRIALS BEGIN
WITH A REST PERIOD, THEN WHEN
THE INSTRUCTION TO SAVOR APPEARS
ON THE SCREEN AND I PICK UP THE
ROSE, YOU SHOULD HEAR AN
AUDITORY TONE THAT BECOMES
LOUDER WHEN THE ACTIVITY IN MY
OFC INCREASES.
YOU CAN SEE THE RED DOT ON THE
LAPTOP INDICATING LOCATION OF
BRAIN ACTIVATION.
MY FAVORITE PART OF THIS IS WHAT
HAPPENS WHEN THE TRIAL ENDS AND
I PUT DOWN THE ROSE.
SO CHECK IT OUT.
LOOK AT THE COMPUTER SCREEN.
>> THAT'S CRAZY.
YOU HAVE LIKE A REALLY STRONG
ACTIVATION OF THE RIGHT
ORBITOFRONTOCORTEX.
>> SO WE HAVE RESULTS FROM THIS
TRIAL, AND WE FIND A SIGNIFICANT
LINEAR INCREASE IN PREFRONTAL
CORTICAL ACTIVITY, AND
PARTICULARLY IN THE OFC, DURING
NATURAL REWARD PROCESSING ON THE
EMOTION REGULATION TASK.
AND GREATER INCREASES IN OFC
ACTIVITY DURING SAVORING ARE
CORRELATED WITH REDUCED OPIOID
MISUSE FOLLOWING TREATMENT.
WHICH IN MY VIEW PROVIDES STRONG
SUPPORT FOR THE RESTRUCTURING
REWARD HYPOTHESIS.
THE NOTION THAT INCREASING
SENSITIZATION TO NATURAL HEALTHY
PLEASURE, JOY, MEANING AND
TRANSCENDENCE WILL COME TO
OUTWEIGH THE PULL OF
DRUG-RELATED REWARD AND,
THEREBY, REDUCE ADDICTIVE
BEHAVIOR.
SO IN CONCLUSION, DISEASES OF
DESPAIR INCLUDING THE OPIOID
CRISIS BUT ALSO CHRONIC PAIN,
DEPRESSION, PTSD, MAY BE DRIVEN
BY HEDONIC DYSREGULATION AND
MALADAPTIVE SELF REFERENTIAL
PROCESSES.
MORE IS AN EVIDENCE-BASED
TREATMENT FOR CHRONIC PAIN AND
ADDICTION AS DEMONSTRATED BY 12
RANDOMIZED CONTROL TRIALS
INVOLVING MORE THAN 1300
PATIENTS.
EMOTIONAL WELL-BEING
INTERVENTIONS FOR OTHER HEALTH
CONDITIONS MIGHT ALSO INTEGRATE
SEQUENCES OF MINDFULNESS,
REAPPRAISAL AND SAVORING TO
PROMOTE EMOTION REGULATION WITH
TECHNIQUES TO CULTIVATE SELF
TRANS 16 DENT MEANING
INDEPENDENT OF STIMULUS DRIVEN
PLEASURE.
ULTIMATELY TEACHING PEOPLE TO
TAKE IN THE GOOD AND MINDFULLY
SAVER NATURAL, HEALTHY PLEASURE
MAY PROVIDE THE LEARNING SIGNAL
NEEDED TO RESTORE ADAPTIVE
HEDONIC REGULATION ACROSS A WIDE
RANGE OF HEALTH CONDITIONS.
SO I WANT TO THANK YOU AND THE
FUNDERS FOR THIS WORK.
>> THANK YOU SO MUCH,
DR. GARLAND, FOR ALL THAT GREAT
WORK AND PRESENTATION.
WHILE WE'RE WAITING FOR
QUESTIONS TO COME IN FROM THE
NIH VIDEOCAST FORM, AS MANY OF
YOU MAY HAVE NOT BEEN AS
FAMILIAR WITH DR. GARLAND'S
WORK, I WANT TO INVITE PEOPLE IN
THE ROOM WITH ME TO USE THEIR
MICROPHONES TO SEE IF THEY HAVE
ANY QUESTIONS FOR DR. GARLAND.
I SEE DR. RICHIE DAVIDSON'S HAND
IS UP SO PLEASE USE YOUR
MICROPHONE.
THANK YOU.
>> THANK YOU.
WONDERFUL TALK, ERIC.
IT'S GREAT TO SEE ALL THIS.
I HAVE A QUESTION AND A COMMENT.
I WANT TO ASK YOU AND PUSH A
LITTLE ON YOUR NOTION OF SELF
TRANSCENDENCE AND YOU MADE AN AN
ELUSION TO A MUSIC FESTIVAL
WHERE PEOPLE ARE EXPERIENCING
THESE STATES OF BLISS AND THEY
ARE LOSING THEIR SELF-AWARENESS
IN SOME WAY.
AND I JUST WANT TO ASK ABOUT
WHETHER YOU VIEW THESE AS
MONOLITHIC STATES OF RECEDING
SELF, AND SPECIFICALLY, AND YOU
TALKED ABOUT FLOW AS IF IT WERE
A SINGLE ENTITY, AND IN
PARTICULAR, I WANT TO JUST PUSH
BACK AND SAY WE HAVE MADE A VERY
IMPORTANT DISTINCTION BETWEEN
STATES OF FLOW THAT OCCUR WITH
AND WITHOUT META AWARENESS.
FLOW CAN OCCUR WITH OR WITHOUT
META AWARENESS, AND IF THESE
STATES OF FLOW WERE SO GREAT FOR
US AND REALLY THEMSELVES
PROMOTED WELL-BEING, THEN PEOPLE
WHO GO TO THESE CONCERTS SHOULD
ALL HAVE EXTREMELY POSITIVE
PSYCHOLOGICAL HEALTH, AND I
DON'T THINK COMMON OBSERVATION
SUPPORTS THAT.
AND SO I'M JUST WONDERING WHAT
YOUR THOUGHTS ARE ABOUT THAT.
>> GREAT QUESTION.
AND NO, I DON'T BELIEVE THIS IS
A MONOLITHIC SINGULAR STATE OR
ENTITY.
IN FACT, I VIEW SELF
TRANSCENDENCE LIKE MOST THINGS
AS ECK SITTING ECK SIT CYSTING O
TRANSCENDENCE AS ALL TO FULL
SELF TRANSCENDENCE.
I THINK THERE ARE VERY FINE
GRADE SCH GRADATIONS ACROSS --
>> YOU CAN BE FULLY SELF
TRANSCENDENT WITH OR WITHOUT
META AWARENESS.
>> YEAH, I HEAR YOU, AND THAT
MAY HAVE QUITE DIFFERENT
PSYCHOPHYSIOLOGICAL PROFILES AND
HEALTH CONSEQUENCES, TRUE.
AND I DON'T THINK WE KNOW ENOUGH
ABOUT EITHER ONE OF THOSE
SCIENTIFICALLY TO BE ABLE TO
DISCRIMINATE WHAT FOR EXAMPLE A
FULL ABSORPTION STATE WHERE
THERE MAY NOT BE NO META
AWARENESS AT ALL VERSUS A STATE
THAT MAY PRECEDE THAT WHERE
THERE'S A HIGH LEVEL OF META
AWARENESS.
AND ONE MAY FEED INTO THE OTHER.
THANK YOU.
>> DR. JEAN SIMMONS?
>> THANKS, THAT WAS AMAZING.
I HAVE TWO QUESTIONS.
ONE IS ABOUT JUST IN THE CONTEXT
OF OPIATES AND OTHER DRUGS THAT
LEAD TO PHYSIOLOGICAL TOLERANCE
AND DEPENDENCE, HOW DO YOU
DEPLOY MORE IN THAT CONTEXT AND
HOW DOES THE PSYCHOLOGICAL
THEORY PUT FORWARD REALLY TO THE
PHYSIOLOGICAL DEPENDENCE
PROCESSES?
>> I THINK I MISSED THE FIRST
PART OF THAT.
SO -- IN WHICH POPULATIONS?
>> OH, OPIATES OR ANY DRUGS THAT
CAUSE PHYSIOLOGICAL DEPENDENCE.
>> HOW DO YOU DEPLOY IN THAT
CONTEXT?
>> DO THEY HAVE TO DETOX
BEFORE --
>> NO, ABSOLUTELY NOT.
SO IN MOST OF THE STUDIES, WE'VE
BEEN STUDYING MORE WITH PEOPLE
WITH PAIN WHO HAVE A CURRENT
OPIOID PRESCRIPTION AND MANY OF
WHOM ARE TAKING HIGH DOSES OF
OPIOIDS AT THE BEGINNING OF THE
STUDY.
THAT'S PART OF THE INTENTION TO
HELP THEM REDUCE THEIR OPIOID
USE OR DOSE.
WE ALSO HAVE A DIFFERENT BODY OF
NIH NUNDED RESEARCH TO STUDY
MORE FOR PATIENTS WHO ARE NO
LONGER USING OPIOIDS AND ARE NOW
ON MEDICATIONS FOR OPIOID USE
DISORDER LIKE METHADONE, AND
THAT LINE OF WORK WHICH WAS
FUNDED BY NCCIH HAS YIELDED VERY
COMPELLING RESULTS SHOWING THAT
MORE IMPROVES ADDICTION
TREATMENT OUTCOMES THAT ADDING
MORE TO STANDARD ADDICTION
TREATMENT RESULTS IN
SIGNIFICANTLY FEWER DAYS OF DRUG
USE AND LESS RELAPSE.
GREATER ADHERENCE.
SO WE'VE STUDIED MORE IN BOTH
POPULATIONS AND THE PATIENT DOES
NOT NEED TO BE ABSTINENT FROM
DRUGS IN ORDER TO BENEFIT FROM
THIS THERAPY.
>> THANKS.
CAN I ASK ANOTHER QUESTION?
SO YOU PROPOSED A NUMBER OF
CAUSAL MECHANISMS THAT YOU
TESTED VERY ELEGANTLY IN LOTS OF
DIFFERENT WAYS.
SO THE NEUROBIOLOGICAL DATA ARE
REALLY FASCINATING BUT I'M
WONDERING AS YOU LOOK TO
DISSEMINATE THE TREATMENT, IF
YOU WANTED TO DEMONSTRATE THAT
THE TREATMENT BEING DELIVERED IN
SOME NEW LOCATION IN ALABAMA,
SAY, WAS ACTUALLY ENGAGING ONE
OF THOSE MECHANISMS, YOU MIGHT
NOT WANT THAT MECHANISM TO BE
REQU --REQUIRE NEUROIMAGING.
>> RIGHT.
>> ARE THERE WAYS THAT YOU'VE
LOOKED AT DIFFERENT -- DIFFERENT
MEASURES OF DIFFERENT MECHANISMS
TO BE ABLE TO THINK ABOUT THAT
QUESTION OF IN THE CLINIC, HOW
WOULD YOU TEST WHETHER THE
THERAPY WAS BEING DELIVERED
CORRECTLY OR WITH FIDELITY TO
ENGAGE THE MECHANISM?
>> CERTAINLY WE HAVE -- ACTUALLY
THE STAGE WHERE THIS RESEARCH
PROGRAM HAS NOW ARRIVED TO IS
REALLY THE STAGE OF
DISSEMINATION, I BELIEVE, AFTER
DOING 15 YEARS OF CLINICAL
TRIALS OF THIS THERAPY.
DEMONSTRATING ITS EFFICACY.
SO DISSEMINATING THE THERAPY AND
MAINTAINING A HIGH LEVEL OF
FIDELITY IS INCREDIBLY
IMPORTANT, AND SO WE HAVE
VALIDATED FIDELITY MEASURES THAT
WE CAN USE WITH CLINICIANS TO
ENSURE THAT THEY'RE DELIVERING
THE TREATMENT WITH A HIGH DEGREE
OF COMPETENCE TO THE TREATMENT
MANUAL.
TO DO IT RIGHT, YOU HAVE TOO
ACTUALLY AUDIO-RECORD THE
TREATMENT SESSION AND THEN
OBSERVE THE THERAPIST, HOW
THEY'RE INTERACTING AND SCORE
THEM ON THESE VARIOUS METRICS,
BUT THAT DOES ENSURE QUALITY
CONTROL.
IN TERMS OF TRANSPORTABLE
MEASURES OF MECHANISM INTO THE
CLINIC, I AGREE WITH YOU, I
THINK NEUROIMAGING IS PROBABLY
NOT THAT ACCESSIBLE, BUT
MEASURES LIKE HEART RATE
VARIABILITY WHICH NOW CAN BE
MEASURED WITH SIMPLE
COMMERCIALLY AVAILABLE
SMARTWATCHES COULD BE A GOOD WAY
OF GETTING AT IT.
>> FABULOUS AND VERY
THOUGHT-PROVOKING.
THANK YOU.
I'M THINKING OF THE AREA I WORK
IN, WHICH IS SUICIDE PREVENTION
SELF DESTRUCTIVE BEHAVIOR, WHICH
HAS MANY ADDICTIVE QUALITIES AND
CERTAIN CIRCUMSTANCES IN
POPULATIONS AND A NUMBER OF
DIFFERENT THERAPIES ARE BEING
DEVELOPED OR HAVE BEEN, SOME
LIKE MARSHAL AND -- DBT HAVE
SOME SIMILAR CHARACTERISTICS AS
I UNDERSTAND IT, OTHERS LESS SO.
I'M WONDERING ABOUT WHETHER
THERE ARE -- WHETHER YOUR WORK
SUGGESTS THAT THERE ARE
POTENTIAL SIGNIFICANT ADVERSE
CONSEQUENCES TO ADDRESSING THE
ADDICTION OR SUICIDAL IDEATION
BEHAVIOR.
FOR EXAMPLE, SPECIFICALLY
WITHOUT HAVING THIS OTHER ASPECT
TO IT, IS IT POSSIBLE THAT WE
COULD BE REINFORCING THE
IDENTITY BY FOCUSING ON THAT AS
A THERAPEUTIC TARGET RATHER THAN
SOMETHING ELSE?
>> THAT'S INTERESTING.
SO YOU'RE SPEAKING TO ADVERSE
CONSEQUENCES IN TERMS OF
STANDARD OF CARE FOR THESE
CONDITIONS?
>> YES, YES.
OR -- I MEAN, THERE ARE, YOU
KNOW, COLLABORATIVE ASSESSMENT
MANAGEMENT OF SUICIDE --
EVIDENCE-BASED TREATMENT,
SUICIDAL BEHAVIOR AND COGNITIVE
BEHAVIORAL THERAPY FOR SUICIDAL
BEHAVIOR ALSO, BUT AS I
UNDERSTAND IT, THEY DON'T
INCORPORATE ASPECTS THAT YOU ARE
TOUCHING ON HERE.
AND ABSENT THAT, ARE THEY
POTENTIALLY IN SOME PEOPLE
MAKING THINGS WORSE?
>> MY REFLECTION ON YOUR
COMMENT, I THINK RELATES TO IN
MANY WAYS WHY WE'RE HERE IN THIS
ROOM, PURSUING THE SCIENCE OF
EMOTIONAL WELL-BEING.
THAT FOCUSING ON DEFICITS AND
PATHOLOGY AND ATTEMPTING TO
REMOVE NEGATIVE SYMPTOMS,
REMOVING AND AMELIORATING A
NEGATIVE SYMPTOM IS NOT THE SAME
THING AS ENHANCING SHREW DOUGH
GENESIS.
OBVIOUSLY IT'S NECESSARY IN MANY
CASES TO TREAT THE SYMPTOM AND
RELIEVE THE NEGATIVE EMOTIONAL
SYMPTOM.
THE MERE ABSENCE DOESN'T MEAN
THE PRESENCE OF EMOTIONAL
WELL-BEING OR FLOURISHING, AND I
THINK IN THE CASE OF SOMEBODY
WHO'S SUICIDAL OR THE CASE OF
SOMEBODY WHO HAS A SEVERE
ADDICTION, AS I TRIED TO IMPLY
HERE, THERE'S REALLY A TERRIBLE
PROCESS THAT OCCURS IN THE SELF
REFERENTIAL DEFAULT MODE NATURE
OF ONE'S SENSE OF IDENTITY
BECOMES MEYERED IN THE SENSE OF
WORTHLESSNESS, HOPELESSNESS,
BEING FLAWED OR BROKEN IN SOME
SORT OF WAY.
AND SO TO HELP SOMEBODY TO TALL
INTO THIS ALTERNATIVE EXPERIENCE
OF THEMSELF AND CONNECTEDNESS
WITH THE UNIVERSE AS HEALTHY AND
VIBRANT AND RESILIENT AND FULL
OF MEANING OR TAPPED INTO THE
BASIC NATURE OF GOODNESS, COULD
BE HEALING IN A WHOLE DIFFERENT
WAY THAN THE TRADITIONAL
APPROACHES TO DEALING WITH THESE
MENTAL HEALTH PROBLEMS.
THAT'S MY REFLECTION ON YOUR
QUESTION.
>> WE'RE A LITTLE OVER SO I'M
GOING TO PRIORITIZE ONE QUESTION
FROM THE VIDEOCAST AUDIENCE
SINCE YOU'LL BE HERE TO SPEAK
WITH DR. GARLAND FOR THE REST OF
THE DAY.
ONE QUESTION FROM OUR VIDEOCAST
AUDIENCE, THIS INDIVIDUAL IS AN
OCCUPATIONAL THERAPIST AND HAS
UTILIZED MULTIPLE SENSES TO
SUPPORT BODY SYSTEMS AND SO
THEY'RE WONDERING ABOUT ADAPTING
AND MODIFYING THE ENVIRONMENT TO
HEIGHTEN THE POSITIVE IMPACT OF
MINDFULNESS AS BEING KEY FOR
NEURODIVERSE POPULATIONS AND
TRAUMA-INFORMED CARE.
SO THEY'RE WONDERING IF YOU'VE
COLLABORATED WITH OCCUPATIONAL
THERAPISTS TO BE MORE MIND FULL
OF THE NEURODIVERSE NEEDS
INCLUDING SENSORY DIFFERENCES IN
LEARNING STYLES AND IF NOT, ARE
YOU CONSIDERING COLLABORATING
WITH OTHER HEALTH PROFESSIONALS?
>> NO, I HAVEN'T DONE THAT, BUT
THAT'S A REALLY GOOD IDEA.
AND I THINK THE PRACTICE OF
SAVORING MAY BE SOMETHING THAT'S
MORE ACCESSIBLE TO PEOPLE WHO
DON'T LEARN IN TRADITIONAL WAYS,
BECAUSE IT REALLY IS A
SENSORY-BASED APPROACH TO USING
MINDFULNESS, AND FOR PEOPLE WHO
MAY HAVE DIFFICULTY WITH
INTEROCEPTION AND USING THE
BREATH, FOR EXAMPLE, AS A
TRADITIONAL FOCUS OF MINDFULNESS
PRACTICE, IN SAVORING, IT'S A
BEAUTIFUL EXTERNAL OBJECT SO IT
MAY BE EASIER TO FOCUS ATTENTION
ON THAN INTERNAL SENSORY
EXPERIENCE.
SO I THINK THAT'S A GOOD IDEA
THAT USING AN ENRICHED
ENVIRONMENT TO BECOME A TARGET
FOR MINDFULNESS PRACTICES MIGHT
MAKE IT MORE ACCESSIBLE TO
DIFFERENT POPULATIONS.
>> THANK YOU, DR. GARLAND.
[APPLAUSE]
>> WELL, THANK YOU, EVERYONE.
THAT CONCLUDES THE OPEN SESSION
OF THE 2024 ANNUAL EMOTIONAL
WELL-BEING INVESTIGATOR MEETING.
AGAIN, THANK YOU VERY MUCH,
DR. ERIC GARLAND, THE EMOTIONAL
WELL-BEING NETWORKS AND OUR NIH
INSTITUTE AND CENTER DIRECTORS
FOR THEIR PARTICIPATION IN THIS
WONDERFUL MEETING ON ADVANCING
THE SCIENCE OF EMOTIONAL
WELL-BEING AND OF COURSE A BIG
THANK YOU TO ALL OF YOU WHO
REGISTERED AND JOINED US BY
VIDEOCAST.
WE'RE REALLY APPRECIATIVE OF ALL
THE ENTHUSIASM WE SAW IN YOUR
REGISTRATION NUMBERS TO LEARN
MORE ABOUT EMOTIONAL WELL-BEING
AND WHAT NIH IS DOING TO SUPPORT
AND ADVANCE THE SCIENCE OF
EMOTIONAL WELL-BEING.
THIS WILL BE VIDEOCAST AND
ARCHIVED SO FEEL FREE TO
DISSEMINATE TO COLLEAGUES WHO
COULDN'T JOIN TODAY IN REALTIME
AND WE WILL ALSO BE ARCHIVING A
LOT OF THIS INFORMATION ON
VARIOUS WEBSITES.
SO AGAIN, A BIG ROUND OF
APPLAUSE, A BIG THANK YOU TO ALL
OF YOU HERE IN THE ROOM AND TO
THOSE OF YOU JOINING BY
VIDEOCAST, THANK YOU SO MUCH.
[APPLAUSE]