The broad goal of the research proposal is to explore how higher cognitive cortical processes can attenuate subcortical emotional processes and the long-term effect of this interaction on physiological reactivity. Specifically, the effect of linguistic processes on emotional reactivity to unpleasant images will be studied. First, an fMRI study with healthy participants will be conducted to image brain activity when participants look at an unpleasant photograph compared to when they look at an unpleasant photograph followed by a word. Second, a psychophysiology study with spider phobic participants will be conducted to measure autonomic activity when participants look at a photograph of a spider compared to when they look at such a photograph followed by a word. Both groups of subjects will be asked to return a week later for a follow-up psychophysiology measure of reactivity to the same provocative stimuli they viewed earlier. The hypothesis is that the group that viewed pictures alternating with words will show less emotional (amygdala or autonomic) reactivity to the provocative stimuli than the group that viewed pictures alone, both in the short-term and the follow-up. These findings could not only improve our understanding of fear and anxiety, but they could also have broader implications for how verbal expression of emotions may improve long-term well-being. ? ?
| Tabibnia, Golnaz; Lieberman, Matthew D; Craske, Michelle G (2008) The lasting effect of words on feelings: words may facilitate exposure effects to threatening images. Emotion 8:307-17 |
