Cognitive control is a construct that prioritizes how we process stimuli and information to flexibly and efficiently adapt to internal goals and external environmental changes. The Dual Mechanism of Control (DMC) theory delineates two distinct cognitive control operations: proactive control and reactive control (Braver, 2012). Anxiety has been posited to differentially affect proactive and reactive […]
Author Archives: Christine L. Larson
Structural connectivity of the posterior cingulum is related to re-experiencing symptoms in PTSD.
Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a heterogeneous disorder with disturbances in hyper-arousal or avoidance behaviors, and intrusive or re-experiencing thoughts. The uncinate fasciculus (UF) and cingulum bundle are white matter pathways implicated in stress and trauma pathophysiology, yet their structural integrity related to PTSD symptom domains is yet to be understood. Forty-four trauma-exposed young adults […]
Moderating effects of harm avoidance on resting-state functional connectivity of the anterior insula.
Background: As an index of behavioral inhibition and an individual’s propensity to avoid, rather than seek, potentially dangerous situations, harm avoidance has been linked to internalizing psychopathology. Altered connectivity within intrinsic functional neural networks (i.e., default mode [DMN], central executive [CEN], and salience networks [SN]) has been related to internalizing psychopathology; however, less is known […]
Cortico-limbic connectivity changes following fear extinction and relationships with trait anxiety
Fear extinction is a powerful model of adaptive and anxiety-related maladaptive fear inhibition. This learning process is dependent upon plastic interactions between the amygdala, anterior midcingulate cortex (aMCC), hippocampus, and the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC). With regard to the amygdala, the basolateral (BLA) and centromedial amygdala (CMA) serve unique roles in fear extinction. In a […]
Congratulations to Jacklynn Fitzgerald on receiving an NIH NRSA F32!
Jacklynn Fitzgerald, a postdoctoral fellow in the lab, has been awarded an NIH NRSA F32 Postdoctoral Fellowship for her application, “Endocannabinoids and Fear Extinction as Predictors of Acute, Chronic, and Changes to PTSD Symptoms in Traumatic Injury.” Congratulations!
Abnormal cortical gyrification in criminal psychopathy.
Background: Psychopathy is a personality disorder characterized by interpersonal and emotional abnormalities (e.g., lack of empathy and guilt) and antisocial behavior. Psychopathy has been associated with a number of structural brain abnormalities, most notably in orbital frontal and anterior/medial temporal regions, that may underlie psychopathic individuals’ problematic behaviors. Past research evaluating cortical structure in psychopathy […]
Congratulations to Richard Ward who has received a Research Training Award Fellowship from the Society for Psychophysiological Research!
Congratulations to postdoctoral fellow Jacklynn Fitzgerald for being awarded the American Psychological Foundation’s 2018 Trauma Psychology Grant!
Congratulations to Youcai Yang on his successful dissertation defense!
