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Project 5 -- (Neuroscience)
ABSTRACT:
This project builds upon
previous work by the PI and others indicating that asymmetrical prefrontal
activation derived from brain electrical activity recordings is associated
with both psychological and biological indices that reflect affective
style. We have found that subjects with greater left prefrontal activation
report more dispositional positive affect, have lower levels of basal
cortisol, recover more quickly from a laboratory stressor and show
higher levels of antibody titer following vaccination with influenza
vaccine. During this grant period, we propose to test 400 MIDUS respondents
on measures of brain electrical activity under both baseline conditions
and in response to affective stimuli. In addition, using emotion-modulated
startle, we will assess startle modulation before, during and after
the presentation of positive, negative and neutral pictures to derive
indices of affective chronometry, or the time course of emotional responding.
Brain electrical activity measures will be analyzed using both conventional
spectral power estimates as well as source localization procedures.
We predict that subjects with greater left prefrontal activation will
show faster recovery following negative challenge. These individuals
are also predicted to have lower cortisol (both basal and in response
to challenge), lower levels of IL-6 and higher levels of psychological
well-being. Analyses will also be conducted to ascertain the impact
of cumulative adversity on these biological indices and to determine
the extent to which measures of adversity account for variance in brain
function and emotion-modulated startle over and beyond variance accounted
for by contemporary measures of mood and well-being. The data from
this project will provide significant clues to understanding the central
mechanisms through which cumulative adversity and psychological well-being
are instantiated in the brain and affect peripheral biology in ways
that may be consequential for health.