The goal of this research is to elucidate the neuroanatomical networks underlying distinct positive emotions that map onto the major components of extraversion. Distinct agentic and affiliative components are associated with different types of positive emotional experience, incentive motivation-positive activation and warmth-affection, respectively. There is growing evidence that these different states of positive emotion differ by type and not simply by level of activation or arousal. To test this hypothesis, pictures from the International Affective Picture System will be used to induce emotional and neutral states in 12 subjects (half female) high on both agentic and affiliative extraversion as measured by questionnaire during fMRI scans. There will be five picture conditions: agentic, affiliative, neutral, low arousal nonaffiliative, and high arousal nonagentic. During the scans, autonomic measures of skin conductance will be taken as objective indicators of arousal induced by the pictures. After the scans are completed subjects will view the slides again and rate them on five affective scales (valence, arousal, dominance, positive activation, and warmth-affection). SPM ?99 will be used to analyze the data, comparing regions of significant activation during the two types of positive states, and their relationship with affective ratings of the pictures and autonomic measures. It is hypothesized that these positive emotions will differ not only in degree of arousal, but also in regions of activation unrelated to arousal, albeit with some overlap. Elucidating the underlying neural networks of distinct positive emotions may contribute to understanding of normal positive emotional experience and disordered emotional states that are manifested in affective and personality disorders, and have implications for the role of different types of positive emotions in health and well-being.
| Depue, Richard A; Morrone-Strupinsky, Jeannine V (2005) A neurobehavioral model of affiliative bonding: implications for conceptualizing a human trait of affiliation. Behav Brain Sci 28:313-50; discussion 350-95 |
