In this project, we will use functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), intracranial event-related potentials(ERPs), and behavioral performance to investigate the interplay of affective and executive control processesand the brain systems that mediate their interactions. This new project reflects a synthesis of researchthemes developed in Projects 3 and 4 or the current grant period. It is stimulated by our observation thattask-irrelevant stimuli that evoke emotional responses strongly activate brain structures comprising a ventralaffective processing system (VAPS) and evoke a relative deactivation of brain structures comprising a dorsalexecutive control system (DECS). This relative deactivation of DECS and, in particular, dorsolateralprefrontal cortex (dIPFC) is associated with poor working memory performance. Our goal is to identify brainsystems that interact to enhance or impede task performance by varying the degree to which the subject'sprimary task depends upon executive function and the DECS; by varying the valence and arousal propertiesof task-irrelevant distracters; by varying the current focus of attention; and by varying baseline levels ofarousal, emotion and/or stress. There are three specific aims:
Specific Aim 1 will determine (a) whether the degree of phasic dIPFC activation evoked by critical taskevents influences task disruption induced by emotional distracters and (b) whether the tonic state ofactivation influences the degree to which dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dIPFC) shows relative deactivationby emotional distracters.
Specific Aim 2 will investigate whether the VAPS can be activated by manipulatingthe 'mental workload' of a cognitive task, and whether workload induced activation of this system can itselfevoke a relative deactivation of dIPFC and other components of the DECS leading to poor task performance.The effect of noise stressors upon the engagement of DECS by working memory tasks will also beinvestigated in this Aim.
Specific Aim 3 will investigate whether the VAPS is automatically activated byemotional distracters, or whether activation is limited by concurrent attentional demands.Changes in affect and emotional regulation are frequent and debilitating aspects of neurological disorderssuch as stroke, Parkinson's disease, ALS, and Alzheimer's disease. An understanding of how affectiveprocessing influences executive control will provide new insights into remediatory approaches toward thesedisorders and into the functioning of the normal human brain.
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