Neural Predictors of Social Emotion Regulation Training
Overview
- Phase
- Not Applicable
- Intervention
- Not specified
- Conditions
- Emotions
- Sponsor
- Columbia University
- Enrollment
- 62
- Locations
- 1
- Primary Endpoint
- Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (ERQ) Score
- Status
- Completed
- Last Updated
- 6 years ago
Overview
Brief Summary
The purpose of this study is to investigate the basic psychological and neural mechanisms underlying the social regulation of emotion - that is, how one person's actions can impact, or regulate - the emotions of another person - and how this ability changes with practice. As such, this study is not designed to directly address clinical health outcomes and provide no treatment or intervention.
Detailed Description
Prior research has demonstrated that helping others regulate their emotions has benefits for the support provider. But little is known about the basic brain mechanisms underlying this ability or how this ability can change with practice. To address these questions, this study has two parts. In the first, functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) is used to gain insight into the brain systems involved in helping others regulate negative emotions by comparing them to the brain systems involved in regulating the participants' own negative emotions. In the second part, participants engage in three weeks of structured practice, or training, in either socially regulating others' emotions or in self-regulating their own emotions. The investigators predict that helping others regulate their emotions will involve many of the same brain regions implicated in regulating one's own emotions, in addition to regions involved in perspective taking and the reward of helping others. Further, when relating the brain data from part 1 to the regulation practice data from part 2, the investigators expect that individuals who in part 1 show greater activity in brain regions supporting either social or self-regulation may be more likely in part 2 to show corresponding improvements in regulation performance. The results of these studies are intended to lay the groundwork for future studies investigating the social regulation of emotion in older adults and clinical populations for whom social support can be beneficial.
Investigators
Kevin Ochsner
Professor of Psychology
Columbia University
Eligibility Criteria
Inclusion Criteria
- •Native English speaker
- •Right handed
Exclusion Criteria
- •Current or past history of neurological or psychiatric illness
- •Use of psychoactive drugs
- •Individuals who have metal devices or implants that cannot be removed from their body (e.g., piercings, pacemakers, copper intrauterine devices (IUDs))
- •Pregnant women
Outcomes
Primary Outcomes
Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (ERQ) Score
Time Frame: Change from baseline at 3 weeks follow up
The Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (10 items) has 2 subscales - suppression and reappraisal. Participants rate their response on a 7-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (Strongly disagree) to 7 (Strongly agree). The total score is calculated from the sum of the items in each subscale. Higher scores indicate higher tendency to use the emotion regulation strategy.
Ruminative Response Scale (RRS) Score
Time Frame: Change from baseline at 3 weeks follow up
The Ruminative Response Scale (22 items) has 3 subscales - brooding, reflection and depression. Participants rate their response on a 4-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (Almost never) to 4 (Almost always). The total score is calculated from the sum of the items in each subscale. Higher scores indicate higher tendency to engage in ruminative thoughts.
Secondary Outcomes
- Change in mood rating (Likert scale score)(Baseline, up to 3 weeks)
- Change in Brief State Rumination Inventory (BSRI) (Likert scale score)(Baseline, up to 3 weeks)
- State Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) - Trait Scale (Likert scale score)(Change from baseline at 3 weeks follow up)
- Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D) (Likert scale score)(Change from baseline at 3 weeks follow up)