Sheri L. Johnson, Ph.D. - US grants

Emotions pervade human experience. Most work on affect concerns negative feelings such as depression and anxiety. Less is known about positive feelings. The studies proposed here examine some effects of positive affect, as suggested by the theory and research of Carver and Scheier (1998). This theory holds that positive emotion is an internal signal that the person is moving toward a desired goal at a rate higher than necessary. This view leads to 3 sets of predictions.

First, this theory holds that positive affect that comes from doing well at some activity should cause a tendency to "coast" with respect to that activity, because it implies that progress is better than needed. This should be reflected in reducing effort toward that activity. Secondly, this theory suggests that positive affect may also facilitate goal shifts. If positive affect is a signal that the person is devoting more effort to the now-focal goal than needed, it would set the stage for another goal to become focal. Recent research suggests that positive feelings broaden attention (in contrast to the narrowing of attention by negative feelings). This would permit a more informed choice of what goal (if any) to shift to. Finally this broadening of attention should make people more aware of unexpected opportunities that have arisen.

The results from this project will inform future conceptions of the relation between normal experiences of positive emotions and the extreme experiences that occur in mania. Coming to a better understanding of mania would have substantial societal impact. Furthermore, this work will contribute to the training of graduate and undergraduate students in the experimental techniques relevant to this line of investigation and in the extended body of ideas that underlie the research.

[unreadable] DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): In this project we will examine the basic cognitive and biological mechanisms that contribute to hyper- responsivity to reward in individuals diagnosed with bipolar (BP) disorder. Over the past 30 years, several theorists have conceptualized mania as the manifestation of dysregulation in an underlying neurobiological system, the Behavioral Activation System (BAS). This brain-based motivational system is hypothesized to underlie positive affect and related behaviors in the context of cues for incentive. In general, research supports the BAS model of BP disorder. Elevated BAS sensitivity has been documented both for persons who are at risk of manic episodes and for those with BP disorder, even during remission. That is, both groups report elevated reward sensitivity on self-report scales. Beyond self-reported sensitivity, people at high risk for manic episodes have been found to demonstrate stronger psychophysiological reactions after positive stimuli than those at low risk. Drawing on the BAS model, we have begun to examine more specific cognitive and behavioral components of reward responsivity in BP disorder. We have found that people with BP disorder display greater increases in positive affect, success expectancies, and goal-setting after receiving reward than do those with no disorder. Beyond evidence for group differences, BAS-relevant characteristics have been found to predict increases in mania over time. Evidence to date, then, suggests that remitted BP disorder is associated with greater reward responsivity, and that related processes help predict the course of mania. In study one, at the University of Miami; we will examine cognitive processes that underlie reward responsivity in BP disorder. In study two, at Stanford University, we will examine biological processes that underling reward responsivity in BP disorder. Both studies will involve comparing people with BP-1 disorder in remission against age-, sex-, and employment-status-matched controls with no mood disorders. By pursuing these aims, we hope to elucidate biological and cognitive processes that could trigger manic symptoms in contexts involving reward. Understanding these processes could help identify times when individuals are at increased risk for manic symptoms and strategies to prevent symptoms. Moreover, the planned study is expected to refine neurobiological models of this disorder. [unreadable] [unreadable] [unreadable]

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): In this project we will examine the basic cognitive and biological mechanisms that contribute to hyper- responsivity to reward in individuals diagnosed with bipolar (BP) disorder. Over the past 30 years, several theorists have conceptualized mania as the manifestation of dysregulation in an underlying neurobiological system, the Behavioral Activation System (BAS). This brain-based motivational system is hypothesized to underlie positive affect and related behaviors in the context of cues for incentive. In general, research supports the BAS model of BP disorder. Elevated BAS sensitivity has been documented both for persons who are at risk of manic episodes and for those with BP disorder, even during remission. That is, both groups report elevated reward sensitivity on self-report scales. Beyond self-reported sensitivity, people at high risk for manic episodes have been found to demonstrate stronger psychophysiological reactions after positive stimuli than those at low risk. Drawing on the BAS model, we have begun to examine more specific cognitive and behavioral components of reward responsivity in BP disorder. We have found that people with BP disorder display greater increases in positive affect, success expectancies, and goal-setting after receiving reward than do those with no disorder. Beyond evidence for group differences, BAS-relevant characteristics have been found to predict increases in mania over time. Evidence to date, then, suggests that remitted BP disorder is associated with greater reward responsivity, and that related processes help predict the course of mania. In study one, at the University of Miami;we will examine cognitive processes that underlie reward responsivity in BP disorder. In study two, at Stanford University, we will examine biological processes that underling reward responsivity in BP disorder. Both studies will involve comparing people with BP-1 disorder in remission against age-, sex-, and employment-status-matched controls with no mood disorders. By pursuing these aims, we hope to elucidate biological and cognitive processes that could trigger manic symptoms in contexts involving reward. Understanding these processes could help identify times when individuals are at increased risk for manic symptoms and strategies to prevent symptoms. Moreover, the planned study is expected to refine neurobiological models of this disorder.

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Affective science is concerned with emotions and emotion-related phenomena such as moods, emotional traits, and emotion-based pathology. Given that over 80% of mental disorders involve emotion disturbances, it is evident that affective science is central to the mission of NIMH. Rapid growth in the field of affective science has been accompanied by scientific specialization that has had both benefits and costs. Among the benefits are increasingly mature theories and an explosion of methodological advances and empirically-derived knowledge concerning aspects of affect ranging from molecular to molar levels. Among the costs are increasingly narrow training and growing isolation among areas of specialization, resulting in basic affective scientists who are less aware of the larger applied context, and applied affective scientists who are less aware of work on basic processes. This multi-university training program is predicated on the idea that fostering an appreciation and understanding of the theories, methods, and data of areas of affective science beyond one's own area of specialization lays the groundwork for better communication among subspecialties, more interdisciplinary collaborations, and stronger bidirectional links between basic science and clinical translation. The training faculty are specialists in all aspects of affect, including neurobiological, psychological, developmental, and social methods. Since its inception, the training program has nurtured the development of a highly productive group of researchers, including some of the leading scientists in affective science. This revised application builds on the rich legacy of this program and presents a highly focused training program designed to train the next generation of affective scientists. Four new predoctoral trainees will be selected each year - one from each of the four participating Bay Area universities (Stanford University and the Berkeley, Davis, and San Francisco campuses of the University of California). Trainees will participate in a two-year training sequence. Training will take place in a year-long seminar at Berkeley, specialized methods workshops led by training faculty across the four campuses, a structured research rotation in a laboratory outside each trainee's own laboratory, and an annual conference/workshop where trainees' research findings are shared and discussed. Close mentoring and monitoring of trainee progress will be maintained throughout. This training program provides clear added value for trainees, faculty, and departments/universities. The added value of this program flows from (1) exposure to state-of-the-art methods, (2) interactions among trainees and faculty, (3) opportunities for professional development, and (4) cross-fertilization across research programs, laboratories, departments, and universities. The training and resources provided by this program are designed to promote exceptional productivity and academic success among trainees.

PROJECT ABSTRACT Much attention has been focused on dysfunction associated with high or low approach motivation, or with deficits in effortful control. Recent evidence suggests, however, that it is important to consider these two dimensions jointly. We suggest that high approach motivation is related to externalizing syndromes, low approach motivation is related to internalizing syndromes, and that high effortful control dampens the effects of both of these extremes of approach motivation. We propose to take a multi-level approach to systematically investigate a broad range of internalizing and externalizing syndromes. This project will address two critical gaps: 1) Researchers to date have rarely considered approach motivation and cognitive control jointly. 2) Researchers have not examined how models of approach and effortful control can explain a broad range of both internalizing and externalizing syndromes. To address these gaps, our proposal has three specific aims: Aim 1: Investigate associations between neural, behavioural, and self-report indices of approach motivation. Aim 2: Investigate associations between neural, behavioral, and self-report indices of effortful control. Aim 3: Investigate how the confluence of high approach motivation and low effortful control predict a range of externalizing syndromes in a community outpatient sample. Aim 4: Investigate how the confluence of low approach motivation and low effortful control predict a range of internalizing syndromes in the same sample. Knowledge gained will provide information about core motivational and control deficits in psychopathology and their neural basis, and provide an important base for treatment development. The aims of this project fit NIMH goals of integrating basic research with clinical science to enhance outcomes for those with mental illness.

PROJECT ABSTRACT This supplement builds on our R01 (MH110477). The parent grant tests a novel model integrating three RDOC dimensions as predictors of internalizing and externalizing syndromes in adults. Recent research provides evidence that these same RDOC dimensions may be of import in understanding suicide risk. Here, we request funding to recruit an additional sample of 50 persons with a history of suicide attempt in the past year, to supplement our parent grant?s recruitment of persons with suicidal ideation and those with neither ideation nor attempts. We will gather the same multi-level measures as are collected in the parent grant, to systematically investigate the effects of threat sensitivity, approach motivation, and emotion-related response inhibition on suicidal ideation and action. This supplemental project will address two critical gaps: 1) Researchers to date have rarely considered multiple RDOC dimensions jointly in the prediction of suicide risk. 2) Little research has used multimodal measures to understand factors that differentiate suicidal ideation versus attempts. To address these gaps, our proposal has three specific aims: Aim 1: Investigate how behavioural and self-report indices of threat sensitivity relate to suicidal ideation. Aim 2: Investigate how behavioral and self-report indices of approach motivation relate to suicidal ideation. Aim 3: Investigate how response inhibition, measured in the context of heightened emotional arousal, amplifies the influence of suicidal ideation on suicidal action. The proposed plan draws on the strengths of the large, well-characterized sample recruited for the parent grant. Knowledge gained will provide novel information integrating core variables related to suicidality and will provide a natural bridge to applying recently developed treatment designed to address deficits in executive control during periods of high emotion. The aims of this project fit NIMH goals of building RDOC models of suicidality, of understanding the transition from ideation to action, and providing a stronger knowledge base to guide suicide prevention.

PROJECT ABSTRACT Much attention has been focused on dysfunction associated with high or low approach motivation, or with deficits in effortful control. Recent evidence suggests, however, that it is important to consider these two dimensions jointly. We suggest that high approach motivation is related to externalizing syndromes, low approach motivation is related to internalizing syndromes, and that high effortful control dampens the effects of both of these extremes of approach motivation. We propose to take a multi-level approach to systematically investigate a broad range of internalizing and externalizing syndromes. This project will address two critical gaps: 1) Researchers to date have rarely considered approach motivation and cognitive control jointly. 2) Researchers have not examined how models of approach and effortful control can explain a broad range of both internalizing and externalizing syndromes. To address these gaps, our proposal has three specific aims: Aim 1: Investigate associations between neural, behavioural, and self-report indices of approach motivation. Aim 2: Investigate associations between neural, behavioral, and self-report indices of effortful control. Aim 3: Investigate how the confluence of high approach motivation and low effortful control predict a range of externalizing syndromes in a community outpatient sample. Aim 4: Investigate how the confluence of low approach motivation and low effortful control predict a range of internalizing syndromes in the same sample. Knowledge gained will provide information about core motivational and control deficits in psychopathology and their neural basis, and provide an important base for treatment development. The aims of this project fit NIMH goals of integrating basic research with clinical science to enhance outcomes for those with mental illness.