Neural networks connecting emotion and cognition assessed in psychopaths, cocaine users and obsessive-compulsive disorder using MRI

Contreras Rodríguez, Oren

Neural networks connecting emotion and cognition assessed in psychopaths, cocaine users and obsessive-compulsive disorder using MRI

Document Type

Doctoral thesis
Published Version

Author

Contreras Rodríguez, Oren

Director

Pujol Nuez, Jesús

Publication Date

2013-09-12

Pages

188 p.

Citation

Contreras Rodríguez, O. Neural networks connecting emotion and cognition assessed in psychopaths, cocaine users and obsessive-compulsive disorder using MRI. Universitat Pompeu Fabra; 2013. handle: http://hdl.handle.net/10803/283481

This citation was generated automatically.

Doctoral program

Programa de doctorat en Biomedicina

Abstract

Emotional processing is fundamental for normal socialization, interpersonal interactions, successful decision-making and overall to self-regulate behavior according to each context. Adequate emotional processing relies in the satisfactory and balance function within certain brain networks of coactivated emotional, cognitive and perceptual regions that respond and integrate the emotional information to successfully guide behavior. Magnetic resonance techniques provide a method to directly non-invasively challenge whole-brain processes underlying diverse emotional processes as well as brain functional activity during rest. The present thesis aims at identifying functional alterations within the brain networks processing emotion and connecting emotion with cognition in psychopathic individuals, along with two clinical populations showing common or opposite behavioral features such as cocaine dependence and obsessive-compulsive disorder. Overall, the five studies presented herein constitute a step forward in the characterization of how the brain responds to emotional situations and how changes in this response pattern may compromise flexible and advantageous behaviors across pathologies.
El processament de les emocions és fonamental per una correcta socialització, unes bones relacions interpersonals, una pressa de decisions competent i en general, per una bona regulació de la conducta en funció del context específic. Un processament emocional adequat depèn del funcionament satisfactori i equilibrat de xarxes cerebrals formades per regions emocionals, cognitives i perceptives que responen i integren informació emocional per tal de guiar la conducta amb èxit. Les tècniques de ressonància magnètica funcional permeten obtenir mesures directes, de forma no invasiva, dels mecanismes cerebrals que sustenten els processos emocionals, així com també del funcionament del cervell en repòs. Aquesta tesi té per a objectiu identificar alteracions funcionals dins les xarxes cerebrals que processen les emocions i les connecten amb processos cognitius en psicòpates i en dues condicions clíniques, consumidors de cocaïna i trastorn obsessiu compulsiu, amb les que mostra trets conductuals comuns i diferencials. A grans trets, els cinc estudis que es presenten constitueixen un pas endavant en la caracterització de la resposta cerebral a les diferents situacions emocionals i com canvis en aquests patrons de resposta poden comprometre conductes flexibles i adaptatives en diferents patologies.

Keywords

Emotion brain processing, Magnetic resonance imaging, Psychopathy, Cocaine use, Obsessive-compulsive disorder, Processament cerebral emocional, Ressonància magnètica funcional, Psicopatia, Consum de cocaïna, Trastorn obsessiu- compulsiu