Balancing emotions and behaviour - environmental factors, individual differences and the brain

平衡情绪和行为——环境因素、个体差异和大脑

• 批准号: BB/V004999/1
• 负责人: Jacqueline Scholl
• 金额: $ 39.84万
• 依托单位: University of Oxford
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Fellowship
• 财政年份: 2021
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2021 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=BB%2FV004999%2F1
• 关键词: Balancing; emotions; behaviour; environmental; factors

Our emotions fluctuate as we go through our day, in response to what we encounter - for example, seeing someone cough might make us feel worried or stressed about getting ill. These emotions in turn can help us to act appropriately in the situation - for example we might try to avoid the person or wash our hands. In daily life it is also obvious that there are a lot of individual differences in how people respond to situations: what might make one person extremely worried, might not affect another. Similarly, while some people can regulate emotions by for example watching TV to relax after a stressful day, others might instead check the news, leading to a spiral of worry.In short, my goals are to understand both the general relationships between emotions and actions, as well as differences between people in their emotional responses and abilities to regulate their emotions. To reveal the thought and brain processes underlying these abilities, I will develop new computer tasks, mathematical models, and use brain imaging. Finally, I will research whether mindfulness training can help improve how we use emotions to inform what we do.To be able to measure how emotions affect how we set goals and prioritize different behaviours ('decide what to do'), I will design new kinds of video game-like laboratory tasks where people have to continuously balance different internal needs of their game character (e.g. hunger) and external constraints (e.g. danger from enemies). These tasks will be tailored to evoke different emotions - e.g. stress or contentment. I can then test how the specific emotions affect behaviour. Due to the nature of my tasks, I can also measure both potential 'spiralling out' (e.g. stress leading to actions producing more stress), as well as emotion regulation (e.g. stress leading to actions reducing stress). Using mathematical models, I can obtain precise, quantitative and objective measures of the thought and emotional processes of each person. I will test how well these computational measures of behaviour in my video game tasks relate to individual differences in emotional dispositions and regulation strategies in real life. For this, large groups (>1,000) of participants will do the tasks via the internet. They will also complete standard questionnaires that measure emotional traits, such as anxiety or mood. I will then put cognitions and questionnaires in relationship with each other using my mathematical models.To understand the biological underpinning of the relationships between emotions, thoughts and behaviour, I will combine my tasks and computational models with a neuroimaging method which can measure brain activity on a millisecond timescale (magnetoencephalography, MEG). This will allow me to test whether stress affects how slowly or quickly the brain changes between different states. Intuitively, corresponding to the subjective experience of jumping quickly from one thought to the next without being able to focus when one is stressed. My final aim is to test how the interplay between emotions and behaviour can be improved. Mindfulness has been found to increase wellbeing and promote resilience and healthy ageing. However, little is known about its psychological and behavioural mechanisms. Based on the ratings of participants on psychological questionnaires, it seems plausible that this happens through increased awareness of one's behaviour, emotions and their interplay. Here I will test this hypothesis directly using my tasks and models. While my fellowship is focused on basic scientific understanding, in the mid to long term my work will help identify new treatment targets. For this, I am working together with clinical researchers. We will use my computer tasks and models to understand the mechanisms underlying different mental health problems (depression, autism, substance abuse) and potential novel treatments (brain stimulation, medication).

我们的情绪随着我们一天的经历而波动，以应对我们遇到的事情——例如，看到某人咳嗽可能会让我们感到担心或担心生病。这些情绪反过来可以帮助我们在这种情况下采取适当的行动——例如，我们可能会试图避开那个人或洗手。在日常生活中，很明显，人们对情况的反应有很多个体差异：可能让一个人非常担心的事情，可能不会影响到另一个人。同样，有些人在紧张的一天后可以通过看电视来调节情绪，而另一些人可能会去看新闻，导致焦虑的螺旋式上升。简而言之，我的目标是了解情绪和行为之间的一般关系，以及人与人之间情绪反应和调节情绪能力的差异。为了揭示这些能力背后的思想和大脑过程，我将开发新的计算机任务、数学模型和使用脑成像。最后，我将研究正念训练是否有助于改善我们如何利用情绪来指导我们的行为。为了能够衡量情绪如何影响我们设定目标和优先考虑不同行为（“决定做什么”），我将设计类似电子游戏的新型实验室任务，人们必须不断平衡游戏角色的不同内部需求（如饥饿）和外部约束（如来自敌人的危险）。这些任务将根据不同的情绪进行调整，例如压力或满足感。然后我可以测试特定的情绪是如何影响行为的。由于我的任务的性质，我也可以测量潜在的“螺旋式上升”（例如压力导致行动产生更多压力），以及情绪调节（例如压力导致行动减少压力）。利用数学模型，我可以对每个人的思想和情感过程进行精确、定量和客观的测量。我将在我的电子游戏任务中测试这些行为的计算测量与现实生活中情绪倾向和调节策略的个体差异之间的关系。为此，大群（大约1000人）的参与者将通过互联网完成任务。他们还将完成衡量情绪特征的标准问卷，如焦虑或情绪。然后我会用我的数学模型把认知和问卷放在一起。为了理解情感、思想和行为之间关系的生物学基础，我将把我的任务和计算模型与一种可以在毫秒时间尺度上测量大脑活动的神经成像方法（脑磁图，MEG）结合起来。这将使我能够测试压力是否会影响大脑在不同状态之间变化的快慢。直觉上，对应于当一个人感到压力时，从一个想法快速跳到下一个想法而无法集中注意力的主观体验。我的最终目标是测试如何改善情绪和行为之间的相互作用。人们发现，正念可以提高幸福感，促进适应力和健康老龄化。然而，人们对其心理和行为机制知之甚少。根据参与者在心理问卷上的评分，这似乎是合理的，这是通过提高对一个人的行为、情绪及其相互作用的认识来实现的。在这里，我将直接使用我的任务和模型来检验这个假设。虽然我的研究重点是基本的科学理解，但从中长期来看，我的工作将有助于确定新的治疗目标。为此，我正在与临床研究人员合作。我们将使用我的计算机任务和模型来了解不同心理健康问题（抑郁症、自闭症、药物滥用）和潜在的新治疗方法（脑刺激、药物治疗）的潜在机制。

项目成果

Differential Relationship Between Meditation Methods and Psychotic-Like and Mystical Experiences

冥想方法与精神病和神秘体验之间的区别关系

• DOI: 10.31234/osf.io/7cwhv
• 发表时间: 2023
• 作者: Palmer T

Bipolar symptoms and lithium treatment affect neural signatures of adaptation of risk-taking to past outcomes during reward-guided decision-making

双相情感障碍症状和锂治疗会影响奖励引导决策过程中冒险适应过去结果的神经特征

• DOI: 10.1101/2023.03.13.23287200
• 发表时间: 2023
• 作者: Scholl J

An ancient subcortical circuit decides when to orient to threat in humans

古老的皮层下回路决定何时应对人类的威胁

• DOI: 10.1101/2023.10.24.563636
• 发表时间: 2023
• 作者: Trier H

On the role of behavioural modes during temporally extended decision making and their neural substrates

关于行为模式在时间扩展决策过程中的作用及其神经基础

• DOI: 10.31234/osf.io/e6phn
• 发表时间: 2024
• 作者: Scholl J

Emotions and individual differences shape foraging under threat

情绪和个体差异影响在威胁下的觅食

• DOI: 10.31234/osf.io/v6u3y
• 发表时间: 2023
• 作者: Trier H