Neurobiological correlates of speech production influenced by different emotions

• Applicant: Dr. Katharina Saß
• Subject Area: Biological Psychiatry
• Term: from 2012 to 2013
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 230208004

The investigation of language is a fast growing and amazing research area. However, until now little is known how our brain coordinates the complex processes of producing speech and how our brain connects the production of speech with other processes like emotional processing. The project will focus on the influence of different emotional information on the different stages of single word production. We aim to characterize potential interactions between attention, perception, cognition and emotion by using to different tasks during fMRI measurement as this approach represents a great opportunity to investigate brain processes at nearly every level of language production. In the first experiment, subjects will be asked to name a single picture while ignoring a neutral or emotionally valent (positive or negative) distractors. With this task we will be able to investigate conceptual, lexical and post-lexical processes. In the second experiment, we will use a stop-signal task where subjects will again name a single picture but occasionally have to inhibit their response because of a stop-signal that is either neutral, positive or negative. Here, we rather step into perceptual processes as well as the self-monitoring that enables humans to speak fluently with nearly no errors. With these data, we will have a closer look at different neural correlates and networks that enable us to produce speech fluently even if we are distracted by different emotional information. Overall, we aim to examine the spatial and connectivity related cerebral characteristics by using functional neuroimaging. With the results we hope to shed light on heterogeneous results and highly debated processes as well as answer questions according the underlying neural correlates of the interaction of language and emotion.

• DFG Programme: Research Fellowships
• International Connection: Australia
• Host: Professor Dr. Greig de Zubicaray