Performing under pressure: The impact of realistic, imminent, and uncertain threats on human cognition and the brain

在压力下表现：现实的、迫在眉睫的和不确定的威胁对人类认知和大脑的影响

• 批准号: RGPIN-2018-05515
• 负责人: Mitchell, Derek
• 金额: $ 2.91万
• 依托单位: University of Western Ontario
• 依托单位国家: 加拿大
• 项目类别: Discovery Grants Program - Individual
• 财政年份: 2022
• 资助国家: 加拿大
• 起止时间: 2022-01-01 至 2023-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ase-oro/Details-Detailles_eng.asp?id=743451
• 关键词: Performing; under; pressure; impact; realistic

Our long-term goal is to define how the human brain manages emotionally salient information and stress to optimize performance. We have found that not all aspects of human cognition respond to emotion and stress the same way. Some skills are improved by emotion, others are disrupted, and still others are unaffected. Although we know how some cognitive functions respond to stress or emotion, there are many more that we have not examined. It is important to understand how the brain and mind operates under emotional stress because error in emotional contexts (e.g., air-traffic control, emergency response, military) can have particularly grave consequences. The objective of this study is to determine how the introduction of potential threats influence different aspects of cognition and perception in humans. We will take a cognitive neuroscience approach, using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to measure brain function, psychophysiological techniques to measure arousal, and behavioural techniques to measure performance and cognitive function. We will pursue 3 specific aims: Aim 1: Contrast the impact of realistic 2- and 3- dimensional threatening stimuli on emotional responding, perception, habituation and adaptation. In order to assess the impact of threats on the human brain it is important to have realistic stimuli. It has recently been shown that 3D stimuli influence brain and behaviour in fundamentally different ways than 2D stimuli. Yet, almost everything we know about how the human brain responds to threatening stimuli has been conducted using 2D stimuli. We have developed 3D images of threatening species and will examine the impact they have on human performance and the brain.Aim 2: Determine the opposing effects of auditory versus visual threatening stimuli on cognition and perception. Recently, we have shown that whereas presenting threatening visual stimuli (e.g., snakes) during an object detection task disrupts performance, presenting threatening sounds can actually improve performance for reasons that are poorly understood. We will use fMRI and behavioural experiments to determine the neurocognitive basis behind these and other poorly understood effects. Aim 3: Delineate the impact of fear and anxiety on dissociable cognitive functions. Fear and anxiety are distinct emotions that are mediated by slightly different brain mechanisms. Both can be provoked through the use of shocks: unpredictable shocks (for anxiety) or predictable shocks (for fear). We will determine the impact of each on different cognitive functions that we hypothesize vary in their susceptibility to the distracting effects of stress and emotion.

我们的长期目标是定义人脑如何管理情感上的重要信息和压力以优化表现。我们发现，人类认知的所有方面并非都以相同的方式应对情绪和压力。有些技能会因情绪而提高，有些则会受到干扰，还有一些则不受影响。尽管我们知道某些认知功能如何对压力或情绪做出反应，但还有更多功能我们尚未研究。了解大脑和思维在情绪压力下如何运作非常重要，因为情绪环境（例如空中交通管制、紧急响应、军事）中的错误可能会产生特别严重的后果。本研究的目的是确定潜在威胁的引入如何影响人类认知和感知的不同方面。我们将采用认知神经科学方法，使用功能磁共振成像（fMRI）来测量大脑功能，使用心理生理学技术来测量唤醒度，以及使用行为技术来测量表现和认知功能。我们将追求 3 个具体目标： 目标 1：对比现实的 2 维和 3 维威胁刺激对情绪反应、感知、习惯和适应的影响。为了评估威胁对人脑的影响，重要的是要有真实的刺激。最近的研究表明，3D 刺激以与 2D 刺激完全不同的方式影响大脑和行为。然而，我们所知道的关于人脑如何响应威胁刺激的几乎所有信息都是通过二维刺激进行的。我们开发了威胁物种的 3D 图像，并将研究它们对人类表现和大脑的影响。目标 2：确定听觉和视觉威胁刺激对认知和感知的相反影响。最近，我们已经证明，虽然在物体检测任务期间呈现威胁性视觉刺激（例如蛇）会破坏性能，但呈现威胁性声音实际上可以提高性能，但原因尚不清楚。我们将使用功能磁共振成像和行为实验来确定这些和其他鲜为人知的影响背后的神经认知基础。目标 3：描述恐惧和焦虑对分离认知功能的影响。恐惧和焦虑是不同的情绪，由略有不同的大脑机制介导。两者都可以通过使用电击来激发：不可预测的电击（用于焦虑）或可预测的电击（用于恐惧）。我们将确定每种认知功能对不同认知功能的影响，我们假设这些功能对压力和情绪的干扰影响的敏感性有所不同。