# Neural Correlates of Location-Specific Contextual Threat Discrimination in Post-Traumatic Stress Disorders

> **NIH NIH K01** · NEW YORK STATE PSYCHIATRIC INSTITUTE DBA RESEARCH FOUNDATION FOR MENTAL HYGIENE, INC · 2020 · $54,676

## Abstract

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a highly prevalent and debilitating disorder. Despite efforts to
characterize the pathophysiology of PTSD, no measurable indicators have been established to aid in diagnosis,
treatment development, and prediction of treatment response. This K01 presents a program for research and
training that will support the applicant on a path towards becoming an independent investigator, focused on the
underlying neural mechanisms of learning valence discrimination within an environment using location-specific
information through an interdisciplinary approach. The training plan builds on the candidate’s prior training and
experience and capitalizes on a mentorship team and a research environment to foster development of the
candidate’s expertise in 1) the understanding of neural and psychophysiological profiles related to PTSD, 2)
gaining deeper proficiency in multimodal magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) data acquisition and analysis, 3)
the understanding of mental disorder symptomatology and diagnosis & expertise in patient-related research, and
4) responsible conduct in scientific research. This research project will use a novel virtual reality task, created
by the applicant and validated in healthy humans, to assess brain activity differences between patients with
PTSD (n=30), trauma-exposed healthy controls (TEHC, n=30), and no trauma-exposed health controls (HC,
n=30). A multimodal MRI approach (functional, resting-state, and structural MRI), will be used aiming to clarify
the neural mechanisms underlying contextual threat discrimination in PTSD. Also, the fMRI will be coupled with
peripheral measures of anxiety (e.g., skin conductance response, heart rate, breathing, pupillometry), subjective
ratings of anxiety, and symptom clusters of PTSD. This research will be conducted at Columbia Medical Center,
an optimal location due to the Anxiety Disorders Clinic, access to patients with PTSD within the PTSD research
program, and imaging facilities. The results of the proposed research will be vital to clarify the process of
discrimination of contextual threat in patients afflicted by anxiety disorders and PTSD and will lead to future R01
grants examining other threat-related learning processes across anxiety and trauma-related disorders. Together,
the research and training experiences and expertise developed through this K01 award will support the
applicant’s transition to research independence and ensure the applicant becomes a leading authority in the
specific role of brain areas needed for threat learning and discrimination within an environment and how they
break down in mental disorders.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9995579
- **Project number:** 5K01MH118428-03
- **Recipient organization:** NEW YORK STATE PSYCHIATRIC INSTITUTE DBA RESEARCH FOUNDATION FOR MENTAL HYGIENE, INC
- **Principal Investigator:** Benjamin Suarez-Jimenez
- **Activity code:** K01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $54,676
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2018-09-24 → 2020-12-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9995579

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9995579, Neural Correlates of Location-Specific Contextual Threat Discrimination in Post-Traumatic Stress Disorders (5K01MH118428-03). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-06-10 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9995579. Licensed CC0.

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