This subproject is one of many research subprojects utilizing theresources provided by a Center grant funded by NIH/NCRR. The subproject andinvestigator (PI) may have received primary funding from another NIH source,and thus could be represented in other CRISP entries. The institution listed isfor the Center, which is not necessarily the institution for the investigator.FULL TITLE: Examining the Neural Bases of Amusement and Sadness: A Comparison of Block Contrast and Dynamic Emotion Intensity Idiographic Regressor ApproachesNeuroimaging studies have made substantial progress in elucidating the neural bases of emotion. However, no study to date has taken into account the idiosyncratic, time-varying nature of emotional experience. In the present study, we employed functional magnetic resonance imaging to examine the neural bases of two common emotions: amusement and sadness using both (a) a conventional stimulus-based block contrast approach, and (b) a novel subject-specific, continuous, dynamic emotion intensity rating idiographic regressor approach. Thirteen women twice viewed a set of nine 2-minute amusing, sad, or neutral film clips. On first viewing, participants just watched the films. On second viewing, they made continuous dynamic ratings of amusement and sadness intensity experienced during the first film viewing. Whole-block and idiographic regressor approaches revealed in common that sad films were associated with activations in medial prefrontal cortex (PFC), precuneus, ventral occipital cortex, amygdala and thalamus, and that amusing films were associated predominantly with activations in left PFC and temporal lobes. While the idiographic regressor detected regions similarly identified by the block approach during sad films, it revealed more subcortical and medial PFC areas of activation than the block approach for amusing films. These results suggest a relationship between emotion-specific temporal dynamics and the sensitivity of different data analytic methods for identifying distinct cortical and subcortical regions of activation. These findings shed light on the neural bases of emotion, and suggest a new approach for examining the dynamic aspects of emotional responses that differ so dramatically across individuals.This research was supported by NIMH grant MH58147.
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