Emotion Recognition and Processing: fMRI and psychometry

Based an improvements in hardware (3 T vs. 1.5 T; stronger gradients), Software (pre- and postprocessing of funetional MRI data) and methodological improvements proposed (e.g., high spatial resolution), we attempt to robustly measure and quantify subtle differentes in the processing of "basic" emotions stimulated by the visual presentation of emotional face expressions in healthy students of different gender and rate. Activation of brain areas in the limbic system, in particular of the amygdala, will be quantified based an blood oxygenation and/or blood flow using the BOLD-effect, a haemodynamic measure secondary to electric activity of groups of neurons. In addition, networking of brain areas may be studied and correlated with psychometric measures established in psychology. This may also help to validate existing models in emotion processing in psychology and neuroscience. An international collaboration of experienced neuroscientist and funetional imaging specialists, working at University of Pennsylvania (USA) and University of Vienna (A), brings together state-of-the art fMRI methodology and novel Stimuli/paradigms in order to tackle several important problems in fMRI of emotion processing. The project proposed also represents the basis for future clinical (research) applications in schizophrenia. Major aims of the proposal are: (a) Development of a high resolution EPI protocol at 3 Tesla to reliably detect BOLD-based activation in the amygdala and other relevant brain structures an a pixel-by-pixel basis (inel. data processing), (b) Comparison of performance in emotion recognition (i.e., happy, sad, anger and fear, versus neutral) of caucasian Austrian vs. non-caucasian foreign students, (c) Examination of whether performance an discrimination of positive vs. negative emotions are modulated by rate or gender of actors, (d) Examination of whether Sex differentes in performance are modulated by rate of actors.