Neurocognitive Mechanisms: Appetitive & Aversive Emotion

描述：(申请人提供) 我们小组一直在开发一种注意力和注意力的理论整合 情绪处理及其辅助性的区域大脑机制 正在处理。整合借鉴了研究中的概念和实证工作 未经选择的正常人以及各种功能失调的人群。 因此，我们的工作既涉及一般原则，又侧重于 注意机制的个体差异，区域大脑参与， 以及由此产生的情绪处理和情绪行为的调节。我们 对神经细胞的特定区域分化特别感兴趣 焦虑和抑郁中的活动以及焦虑和抑郁的影响 关于注意加工。拟议的项目将把我们的工作重点放在 心理和神经现象被认为在毒品中特别重要 虐待，例如当个人面临情感挑战的刺激时。我们会 关于愉悦和兴奋的区域大脑机制的测试假说 不愉快的情绪，特别是与胃口和胃口的加工有关 厌恶的刺激。 研究计划涉及两个方面的探索性协议开发工作： 受试者表征仪器和功能磁共振成像扫描参数。这两个都是 开发工作直接源于我们最近的行为、EEG和fMRI 对注意力和情绪过程的研究，越来越重视 情绪压抑机制的个体差异。主题 需要(A)对某些因素的影响提供明确的测试 情绪加工的个体差异和(B)作为一种潜在的 评估药物滥用的风险。需要开发fMRI扫描参数以 继续我们最近关于眼眶额叶皮质的发现，这可能会 在情绪和情绪调节方面尤其重要。因此，在 在为期3年的项目期的第一年，两项行为研究是 提出、开发和验证情绪挑战方案。在……里面 将进行并行、广泛的fMRI试点工作，以优化 眶-第一水平皮质。在第二年和第三年，一项情感挑战实验将 使用改进的fMRI扫描参数进行检查。

DESCRIPTION: (provided by applicant) Our group has been developing a theoretical integration of attentional and emotional processing and the regional brain mechanisms that subserve that processing. The integration draws on concepts and empirical work in studies of unselected normals as well as a variety of dysfunctional populations. Accordingly, our work involves both general principles and a focus on individual differences in attentional mechanisms, regional brain involvement, and the resulting modulation of emotional processing and emotional behavior. We have been particularly interested in region-specific differentiation of neural activity in anxiety and depression and in the affects of anxiety and depression on attentional processing. The proposed project will focus our work on psychological and neural phenomena believed to be especially important in drug abuse, such as when individuals face emotionally challenging stimuli. We will test hypoththeses about regional brain mechanisms involved in pleasant and unpleasant emotion, specifically related to processing of appetitive and aversive stimuli. The research plan involves exploratory protocol development work on two fronts: subject characterization instruments and & fMRI scan parameters. Both of these development efforts arise directly from our recent behavioral, EEG, and fMRI research on attentional and emotional processes, with an increasing emphasis on individual differences in mechanisms of emotional suppression. Subject characterization is needed (a) to provide clear tests of the effects of certain individual differences on emotional processing and (b) as a potential means of evaluating risk for drug abuse. fMRI scan parameter development is needed to pursue our recent findings involving orbitofrontal cortex, which is likely to be particularly important in emotion and emotion regulation. Accordingly, in the first year of the 3-year project period two behavioral studies are proposed, to develop and validate the emotional challenge protocol. In parallel, extensive fMRI pilot work will be conducted to optimize imaging of orbitofirontal cortex. In years 2 and 3, an emotional challenge experiment will be conducted using the improved fMRI scan parameters.