How side frontal brain areas help control emotions
Official title: Lateral prefrontal organization in emotion: representational and causal mechanisms
Funded at University of California Santa Barbara · NIH-11352626 · Data updated 2026-11-12
Researchers will look at how parts of the side of the front brain help adults with mood and anxiety problems manage emotions over time and across situations.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | University of California Santa Barbara NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Santa Barbara, United States) |
| Project start | July 1, 2023 |
| Project end | April 30, 2028 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $453,710 |
| NIH project number | 5R01MH134000-04 |
| Project ID | NIH-11352626 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Adults aged 21 and older with mood or anxiety disorders who can undergo MRI and noninvasive brain stimulation and are willing to participate in repeated lab visits would be ideal candidates.
✕Less likely to help
People who do not have mood or anxiety disorders, are under 21, or cannot safely undergo MRI or TMS (for example due to metal implants, pacemakers, pregnancy, or seizure risk) are unlikely to participate or benefit.
What this research studies
This project uses brain scans and noninvasive brain stimulation to see how different parts of the lateral prefrontal cortex represent and control emotions. Adult participants will do tasks that involve emotional events while researchers record brain activity and occasionally use transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) to change activity in specific frontal regions. The team will study how emotion responses update over time and in different contexts to find which regions support adaptive emotional responding. Findings will combine mapping of brain activity with causal tests to link particular frontal areas to changes in emotional behavior.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could point to better brain targets for treatments like TMS and inform therapies that help people with mood and anxiety disorders regulate emotions more effectively.
How similar studies have gone: Previous brain-imaging and TMS work targeting frontal regions has shown promise for depression, but combining detailed representational mapping with causal TMS tests in the lateral frontal pole is a newer approach.
Where this research is happening
-
University of California Santa Barbara
Santa Barbara, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Lapate, Regina — University of California Santa Barbara
- Study coordinator: Lapate, Regina
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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.