Senate Appropriations FY 08 Report Language on Behavioral Science

National Cancer Institute
Communication Research -- The Committee is pleased to note that the NCI has a long history of supporting research on behavioral and sociocultural influences on cancer outcomes and access to care, including support for communication research to ensure that the public receives accurate, easily understood information about the human papillomavirus vaccine, and thus facilitate access for those who need appropriate care.

National Institute Of General Medical Sciences
Behavioral Research -- The Committee continues to be concerned that the NIGMS does not support basic behavioral research. The Institute's statutory mandate includes basic behavioral research and training, and the Committee believes that the NIGMS has a scientific mandate in this area because of the clear relevance of fundamental behavioral factors to a variety of diseases and health conditions. To date, the NIGMS has not responded to this concern despite the recommendation of an NIH working group that called for the establishment of such a program, and similar recommendations from the National Academy of Sciences, the Institute of Medicine, and others. The Committee expects the NIGMS to support basic behavioral research and training.

National Institute Of Child Health And Human Development
Behavioral Science -- The Committee continues its strong support for the broad portfolio of behavioral research at the NICHD.

Early Language Development -- The Committee applauds the NICHD's continued support of research in early language development, particularly studies that underscore the importance of social interaction as a necessary component for language learning. The Committee encourages further research to help understand which components of social interaction are critical for language development, and how this knowledge can be used to improve the linguistic skills of those with social impairments.

National Institute On Aging
Behavioral Research -- The Committee commends the NIA for participating in the Cognitive and Emotional Health Project in collaboration with the NIMH and NINDS, which will support research on maintaining cognitive and emotional health in later life.

National Institute On Alcohol Abuse And Alcoholism
Mechanisms of Behavior Change -- The Committee commends the NIAAA for launching an interdisciplinary initiative aimed at understanding the social, behavioral and psychological factors in discontinuing harmful drinking by young adults.

Understanding the Processes of Change in Drinking Behavior -- The Committee understands that a number of distinct treatment approaches have been developed to address alcohol use disorders. While each approach is useful in reducing alcohol consumption, research suggests that these approaches have similar levels of effectiveness. Recent research has also demonstrated that many individuals transition out of alcohol dependence without professional treatment, while others drink heavily but never develop complications required for a diagnosis of dependence. The Committee applauds recent NIAAA research initiatives supporting mechanisms of behavioral change using professional treatment mechanisms. The Committee encourages the NIAAA to further expand research in this area by stimulating interdisciplinary research that integrates biomedical, psychological and social science perspectives on mechanisms of behavior change.

National Institute On Drug Abuse
Criminal Justice Population -- The Committee commends NIDA for the success of its Criminal Justice Drug Abuse Treatment Studies program. By providing evidence-based training to judges about the neurological and behavioral underpinnings of substance abuse and treatment, this program helps ensure that addicted offenders will receive appropriate treatment. The Committee encourages NIDA to continue its support of behavioral research that can further our understanding about the underlying cognitive, emotional, and behavioral factors that lead to drug abuse relapses in prisons and how to prevent them.

Drug Abuse and HIV/AIDS -- The Committee understands that drug abuse and addiction continue to fuel the spread of HIV/AIDS, and that drug abuse prevention and treatment interventions can be very effective in reducing HIV risk. Research should continue to examine every aspect of HIV/AIDS, drug abuse, and addiction, including risk behaviors associated with both injection and non-injection drug abuse; how drugs of abuse alter brain function and impair decisionmaking; and HIV prevention and treatment strategies for diverse groups. The Committee also applauds the Institute for holding a spring 2007 conference titled "Drug Abuse and Risky Behaviors: The Evolving Dynamics of HIV/AIDS."

Social Neuroscience -- The Committee encourages the Institute to continue its focus on the interplay between genes, environment, and social factors and their relevance to drug abuse and addiction. In particular, the Committee applauds NIDA's involvement in last year's "social neuroscience" request for applications and this year's "genes, environment, and development initiative" request for applications.

National Institute Of Mental Health
Basic Behavioral Science -- The Committee urges the NIMH to put a higher priority on the study of basic behavioral functions such as cognition, emotion, decision-making, and motivation, and to maintain its support for research on the promotion of mental health and the study of basic psychological factors that influence behavior.

Social Neuroscience -- The Committee is pleased that the emerging field of social neuroscience is among NIMH's priorities. The Committee recognizes that research into the biological mechanisms underlying social behaviors related to mental health has great potential in efforts to understand and treat mental disorders such as autism and schizophrenia.

Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research Basic Behavioral Research
The Committee is aware that basicbehavioral research focused on such areas as cognition, perception,emotion, social interaction, and learning have led to important advancesand improved treatments for depression, bipolar and otheraffective disorders, diabetes, compliance on behavior change relatedto diabetes, heart disease, cancer, obesity, and more effective publichealth announcements and interventions. In view of the fact that8 out of the 10 leading causes of death have a significant behavioral component and that basic research is the underpinning of advances in behavioral research, the Committee is concerned by the continued lack of focus of scientific leadership at NIH for this important field of science. It is therefore requested that the Director submit a report to the Committee by December 1, 2007, indicating the scientific leadership structure for this field within the appropriate grant-making Institute.