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How is the diversity of the human experience reflected in the brain/mind? What is universal about the brain and mind, and what depends on the particulars of people's physical and social experiences? This project explores how the actions we perform with our bodies shape the neural processing of emotion. It asks whether right- and left-handers, who perform many actions differently, use correspondingly different areas of the brain to process one of the most basic components of human emotion: affective motivation (our predisposition to approach or avoid physical or social stimuli). The research team, led by Dr. Daniel Casasanto at the University of Chicago, will use a combination of behavioral tasks, brain imaging, and neural stimulation to test the hypothesis that the way people use their hands to perform approach-related actions and avoidance-related actions may determine how approach- and avoidance-related emotions are represented in the brain.
There are important clinical implications of this basic research. FDA-approved neural therapies are currently in use to treat depression and anxiety disorders. These treatments are based on a one-size-fits-all model of the brain and mind. If the way we use our hands influences how emotions are distributed across the cerebral hemispheres, this may signal that treatments that are beneficial for right-handers may be detrimental for left-handers. Tailoring neural therapies to the specifics of patients' interactions with the world may be crucial for developing safe, effective treatments for common mental health issues.
