How our brains create emotions
Spatiotemporal dynamics of the human emotion network
This project aims to understand how brain networks work when we experience emotions and how problems in these networks contribute to conditions like depression and anxiety.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | University of California, San Francisco NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (San Francisco, United States) |
| Project ID | NIH-11123099 on NIH RePORTER |
What this research studies
We want to learn how different parts of the brain work together to create our feelings and how this process might go wrong in people with emotional challenges. By using special brain recordings called iEEG, we can see brain activity in great detail, down to milliseconds, which helps us map out the brain's emotion network. This detailed view will help us connect specific brain patterns to how we feel, behave, and even how our bodies react to emotions. Ultimately, we hope to find unique brain signals that can help us better understand and treat conditions like depression and anxiety.
Who could benefit from this research
Good fit: This research is for adults aged 21 and older who are experiencing affective symptoms and may be undergoing intracranial electroencephalography (iEEG) for clinical reasons.
Not a fit: Individuals who do not have neuropsychiatric disorders or are not candidates for iEEG monitoring would not directly benefit from participating in this specific research.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could lead to new ways to identify and treat emotional symptoms in neuropsychiatric disorders by understanding their specific brain patterns.
How similar studies have performed: While functional neuroimaging has explored emotion networks, this project uses advanced iEEG to capture brain activity at a much finer spatiotemporal resolution, offering a novel approach to understanding unique neural signatures of emotions.
Where this research is happening
San Francisco, United States
- University of California, San Francisco — San Francisco, United States (Active)
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Chang, Edward — University of California, San Francisco
- Study coordinator: Chang, Edward
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page below.