Emotional action control

2019 ◽  
pp. 129-143
Author(s):  
Inge Volman ◽  
Hanneke Den Ouden ◽  
Karin Roelofs
Keyword(s):  
Research Agenda ◽  
Behavioral Flexibility ◽  
Action Control ◽  
Genetic Variations ◽  
Serotonergic System ◽  
Genetic Vulnerability ◽  
Social And Emotional ◽  
Adaptive Responding ◽  
Action Tendencies ◽  
Control Inhibition

Adequate control over emotions and emotional actions is essential for adaptive responding in social and emotional situations, and is critically impaired in various forms of human psychopathology. Variations of the serotonergic system have been associated with variations in action control during emotional and valence specific situations. The present chapter reviews effects of those (genetic) variations on two important aspects of emotional action control: inhibition of action and overriding emotional action tendencies with another action. The chapter discusses literature with regards to emotion action control in general as well as its relation to the serotonergic system, including genetic vulnerability for psychopathologies associated with altered emotional action control. Based on the human literature in this chapter, it is hypothesized that the serotonergic system is critically involved in behavioral flexibility by facilitating inhibition of emotionally driven responses. In order to advance this emerging field of emotional action control, the chapter ends with a research agenda.

scholarly journals Stopping a Response When You Really Care about the Action: Considerations from a Clinical Perspective

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (8) ◽  
pp. 979
Author(s):  
Sharon Morein-Zamir ◽  
Gideon Anholt
Keyword(s):  
Response Inhibition ◽  
Action Control ◽  
Common Denominator ◽  
Obsessive Compulsive ◽  
Apparent Paradox ◽  
Compulsive Disorder ◽  
Reward Seeking ◽  
Threat Avoidance ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Action Tendencies

Response inhibition, whether reactive or proactive, is mostly investigated in a narrow cognitive framework. We argue that it be viewed within a broader frame than the action being inhibited, i.e., in the context of emotion and motivation of the individual at large. This is particularly important in the clinical domain, where the motivational strength of an action can be driven by threat avoidance or reward seeking. The cognitive response inhibition literature has focused on stopping reactively with responses in anticipation of clearly delineated external signals, or proactively in limited contexts, largely independent of clinical phenomena. Moreover, the focus has often been on stopping efficiency and its correlates rather than on inhibition failures. Currently, the cognitive and clinical perspectives are incommensurable. A broader context may explain the apparent paradox where individuals with disorders characterised by maladaptive action control have difficulty inhibiting their actions only in specific circumstances. Using Obsessive Compulsive Disorder as a case study, clinical theorising has focused largely on compulsions as failures of inhibition in relation to specific internal or external triggers. We propose that the concept of action tendencies may constitute a useful common denominator bridging research into motor, emotional, motivational, and contextual aspects of action control failure. The success of action control may depend on the interaction between the strength of action tendencies, the ability to withhold urges, and contextual factors.

scholarly journals Genetic variations in the serotonergic system contribute to amygdala volume in humans

2015 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jin Li ◽  
Chunhui Chen ◽  
Karen Wu ◽  
Mingxia Zhang ◽  
Bi Zhu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Genetic Variations ◽  
Serotonergic System ◽  
Amygdala Volume

scholarly journals Improving emotional-action control by targeting long-range phase-amplitude neuronal coupling

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bob Bramson ◽  
Hanneke den Ouden ◽  
Ivan Toni ◽  
Karin Roelofs
Keyword(s):  
Effective Connectivity ◽  
Rhythmic Activity ◽  
Action Control ◽  
Avoidance Task ◽  
Coupling Mechanism ◽  
Social Emotional ◽  
Neural Noise ◽  
Phase Amplitude ◽  
Gamma Band Activity ◽  
Action Tendencies

AbstractControl over emotional action tendencies is essential for every-day interactions. This cognitive function can fail during socially challenging situations, and is chronically attenuated in social psychopathologies such as social anxiety and aggression. Previous studies have shown that control over social-emotional action tendencies depends on phase-amplitude coupling between prefrontal theta-band (6 Hz) rhythmic activity and broadband gamma-band activity in sensorimotor areas. Here, we delivered dual-site phase-coupled brain stimulation to facilitate theta-gamma phase-amplitude coupling between frontal regions known to implement that form of control, while participants were challenged to control their automatic action tendencies in a social-emotional approach/avoidance-task. Participants had increased control over their emotional action tendencies, depending on the relative phase and dose of the intervention. Concurrently measured fMRI effects of task and stimulation, and estimated changes in effective connectivity, indicated that the intervention improved control by increasing the efficacy of anterior prefrontal inhibition over sensorimotor cortex. This enhancement of emotional action control provides causal evidence for a phase-amplitude coupling mechanism guiding action selection during emotional-action control. More generally, the finding illustrates the potential of physiologically-grounded interventions aimed at reducing neural noise in cerebral circuits where communication relies on phase-amplitude coupling.

Exemplary Rehabilitation Educators Experiences of Mentoring and Beginning Their Careers

2017 ◽  
Vol 31 (4) ◽  
pp. 401-418 ◽  
Author(s):  
Irmo Marini ◽  
Noreen M. Graf ◽  
Bruce J. Reed
Keyword(s):  
Doctoral Students ◽  
Emotional Support ◽  
Time Management ◽  
Research Agenda ◽  
Role Model ◽  
Career Experiences ◽  
New Faculty ◽  
Positive Role ◽  
Social And Emotional ◽  
Positive Role Model

Purpose: To investigate the career experiences and mentoring advice of nationally recognized rehabilitation educators who have excelled and proffer strategies for success to newcomers to the field.Method: The authors surveyed via Qualtrics 28 rehabilitation educators regarding their career experiences with open and closed structured questions and triangulated for common themes.Results: Two thirds of respondents expressed having a mentor and following his or her advice which included offering opportunities to research and publish, opening doors and assisting in networking, establishing a research agenda, time management, serving as a positive role model, and providing social and emotional support.Conclusions: Respondents emphasized establishing a research agenda, networking, managing time well, and having a mentor who opened doors as being necessary components to success. Implications for doctoral students and new faculty are discussed.

Transformative Social and Emotional Learning: Work Notes on an Action Research Agenda

2020 ◽  
pp. 004208592093334
Author(s):  
Brittney V. Williams ◽  
Robert J. Jagers
Keyword(s):  
Action Research ◽  
Learning Environments ◽  
Continuous Improvement ◽  
Research Agenda ◽  
Social And Emotional Learning ◽  
Emotional Learning ◽  
Research Practice ◽  
Social And Emotional ◽  
Stakeholder Groups

The potential for transformative social and emotional learning (SEL) was conceptualized as a lever in service of equity. This article explains the next steps and working assumptions the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL) has employed to collectively address the inequities that exist in schools. The proposed research agenda has implications for the continuous improvement of various resources. It also supports the formation of research–practice partnerships that will work to find frameworks, spaces, and stakeholder groups that will journey to implement and promote relevant efforts needed to create equitable learning environments where youth can excel.

scholarly journals Improving emotional-action control by targeting long-range phase-amplitude neuronal coupling

eLife ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bob Bramson ◽  
Hanneke EM den Ouden ◽  
Ivan Toni ◽  
Karin Roelofs
Keyword(s):  
Action Control ◽  
Avoidance Task ◽  
Social Emotional ◽  
Healthy Human ◽  
Neural Noise ◽  
Phase Amplitude ◽  
Emotional Approach ◽  
Coupling Mechanisms ◽  
Automatic Action ◽  
Action Tendencies

Control over emotional action tendencies is essential for everyday interactions. This cognitive function fails occasionally during socially challenging situations, and systematically in social psychopathologies. We delivered dual-site phase-coupled brain stimulation to facilitate theta-gamma phase-amplitude coupling between frontal regions known to implement that form of control, while neuropsychologically healthy human male participants were challenged to control their automatic action tendencies in a social–emotional approach/avoidance-task. Participants had increased control over their emotional action tendencies, depending on the relative phase and dose of the intervention. Concurrently measured fMRI effects of task and stimulation indicated that the intervention improved control by increasing the efficacy of anterior prefrontal inhibition over the sensorimotor cortex. This enhancement of emotional action control provides causal evidence for phase-amplitude coupling mechanisms guiding action selection during emotional-action control. Generally, the finding illustrates the potential of physiologically-grounded interventions aimed at reducing neural noise in cerebral circuits where communication relies on phase-amplitude coupling.

Neural Control of Emotional Actions in Response to Affective Vocalizations

2020 ◽  
Vol 32 (5) ◽  
pp. 977-988
Author(s):  
Saskia B. J. Koch ◽  
Alessandra Galli ◽  
Inge Volman ◽  
Reinoud Kaldewaij ◽  
Ivan Toni ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Neural Control ◽  
Neural Circuits ◽  
Action Control ◽  
Emotional Behavior ◽  
Emotional Control ◽  
Social Emotional ◽  
Emotional Faces ◽  
Posterior Insula ◽  
Automatic Action ◽  
Action Tendencies

Social–emotional cues, such as affective vocalizations and emotional faces, automatically elicit emotional action tendencies. Adaptive social–emotional behavior depends on the ability to control these automatic action tendencies. It remains unknown whether neural control over automatic action tendencies is supramodal or relies on parallel modality-specific neural circuits. Here, we address this largely unexplored issue in humans. We consider neural circuits supporting emotional action control in response to affective vocalizations, using an approach–avoidance task known to reliably index control over emotional action tendencies elicited by emotional faces. We isolate supramodal neural contributions to emotional action control through a conjunction analysis of control-related neural activity evoked by auditory and visual affective stimuli, the latter from a previously published data set obtained in an independent sample. We show that the anterior pFC (aPFC) supports control of automatic action tendencies in a supramodal manner, that is, triggered by either emotional faces or affective vocalizations. When affective vocalizations are heard and emotional control is required, the aPFC supports control through negative functional connectivity with the posterior insula. When emotional faces are seen and emotional control is required, control relies on the same aPFC territory downregulating the amygdala. The findings provide evidence for a novel mechanism of emotional action control with a hybrid hierarchical architecture, relying on a supramodal node (aPFC) implementing an abstract goal by modulating modality-specific nodes (posterior insula, amygdala) involved in signaling motivational significance of either affective vocalizations or faces.

scholarly journals Plasticity of the glutamate transporter EAAT2 on striatal astrocytes regulates flexibility in behavior

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arjen J. Boender ◽  
Raffaella Tonini
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Changes ◽  
Glutamate Transporter ◽  
Dorsal Striatum ◽  
Behavioral Flexibility ◽  
Action Control ◽  
Network Activity ◽  
Lateral Part ◽  
Instrumental Task ◽  
The Relationship

AbstractModulation of striatal circuits is necessary for behavioral flexibility and confers the ability to adapt to environmental changes. Striatal astrocytes contribute to circuit neuromodulation by controlling the activity of ambient neurotransmitters. In particular, extracellular glutamate levels are tightly controlled by the astrocytic glutamate transporter EAAT2, thereby influencing synaptic functioning and neural network activity. While disturbances in EAAT2 have been related to neurological dysfunctions, it remains unclear if environmental cues influence this protein’s function to specifically shape action control.In this study, we investigate the relationship between experience-dependent plasticity of EAAT2 expression and action inflexibility that follows overtraining for an instrumental task. We find that task overtraining is associated with the upregulation of EAAT2 in the lateral part of the dorsal striatum (DLS). Interfering with EAAT2 upregulation by chemogenetic activation of astrocytic Gq signaling or by transient in vivo knockdown of EAAT2 in the DLS restores behavioral flexibility. Astrocytes are emerging as critical regulators of striatal functions, and by demonstrating that plasticity of EAAT2 expression in the DLS shapes behavior, this work provides novel mechanistic insights into how flexibility in action control is regulated.

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