Neural mechanisms supporting environment evaluation in humans and their breakdown in clinical disorders (360G-Wellcome-209108_Z_17_Z)
My goal in this proposal is to understand the neurocognitive mechanisms by which individuals evaluate their environment. First, I will use computational modelling to characterise how individuals adjust their estimates of the reward rate in an environment on a trial by trial basis. I will manipulate the reward rate over time and model how individuals respond to these changing dynamics. I will test models with 2 learning rates that allow estimates to be adjusted with different degrees of sensitivity (contingent on whether the environment is improving or deteriorating) against models that apply a single learning rate. I will then use fMRI to examine how the time varying components of computational models map onto brain activity during the task. Second, I will look to experimentally validate recent theoretical work from computational psychiatry which proposes that a pessimistic evaluation of an environments reward rate may underpin a number of the symptoms observed in clinical disorders. By using a threat manipulation, I will examine whether being in a temporary anxious state alters how individual update reward rate estimates. I will then examine whether this generalises to individuals with high levels of trait anxiety alongside other psychiatric disorders which share anxiety like features.
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Grant Details
Amount Awarded | 250000 |
Applicant Surname | Garrett |
Approval Committee | Basic Science Interview Committee |
Award Date | 2017-11-08T00:00:00+00:00 |
Financial Year | 2017/18 |
Grant Programme: Title | Sir Henry Wellcome Postdoctoral Fellowship |
Internal ID | 209108/Z/17/Z |
Lead Applicant | Dr Neil Garrett |
Partnership Value | 250000 |
Planned Dates: End Date | 2021-09-30T00:00:00+00:00 |
Planned Dates: Start Date | 2018-08-13T00:00:00+00:00 |
Recipient Org: Country | United Kingdom |
Region | South East |
Sponsor(s) | Prof Christopher Summerfield |