RESEARCH INTERESTS & ONGOING PROJECTS

What produces emotions? How do we experience emotions? How can we control emotions? How do emotions impact social behavior? How can cognitive states produce and modulate emotion, and in turn how can emotional states influence cognition? These are some of the questions we seek to answer by our research.

To fully understand how the brain works, especially how it is shaped by emotional states, we take a multidisciplinary approach. Physiological measures help us understand how peripheral functions are modulated by emotions. Neuroimaging pinpoints where in the brain various processes occur and reveals how different functions can be distinguished from one another. By mapping the brain’s anatomical and functional architecture, we gain insights into the neural networks that interact during emotional processing.

In addition to brain-based measures, we also analyze experiential and behavioral responses, as well as personality traits, to explore the intricate relationship between the brain and behavior. Cognitive modeling ties all this empirical evidence together, allowing us to construct a comprehensive understanding of how emotions are processed in the brain.

One of the main focuses of our lab is the cognitive control of emotions. Emotion regulation—the ability to adaptively respond to emotionally salient stimuli—is a cornerstone of human behavior. Our capacity to engage top-down cognitive control mechanisms to adjust emotional responses as circumstances change is critical not only for mental and physical health but also for general well-being. Impaired emotion regulation is a central feature in psychological disorders such as anxiety, depression, bipolar disorder, borderline personality disorder, as well as neurodegenerative diseases

We explore the factors that influence emotion regulation ability, such as personality traits, psychological resources, social context, gender, and age. By uncovering the brain mechanisms involved in emotion regulation, we aim to pinpoint regions that predict regulation success and could be targeted in interventions to reduce maladaptive strategies. Ultimately, this could lead to improvements in emotional well-being, with positive effects in various areas of life.

Some of the main research themes in our lab are described below.