Ongoing Projects

We have several ongoing projects in the MAClab. Explore our current research below.

W.E. Brain

The Well-being and Emotion (W.E. Brain) study recruits participants experiencing anxiety, worry, and/or depressed mood to look at how brain function, physiology and behavior relate to mental health. Participants will undergo 3 assessments over the course of 24 months. For each assessment, participants will complete an interview, self-report questionnaires, a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scan and electroencephalography (EEG) recording to non-invasively measure brain activity, and smartphone surveys at home. Findings from this study will help identify the brain and behavioral mechanisms that are involved in anxiety and its co-occurrence with other forms of anxiety and depression.

Funding: NIH R01MH125083

SMILE

The Short-term Methods for Improving Life's Enjoyment (SMILE) study aims to develop and evaluate a novel, accessible treatment delivering a short-term, positive affect, in-person intervention resulting in clinically meaningful and significant reductions in depression and anxiety. We will also employ EEG to identify neurobiological predictors of responsivity to positive affect treatment.

Funding: President's Excellence Fund X-Grant

Neuroscience of Emotion

The Neuroscience of Emotion study aims to measure emotional processing and its regulation by combining behavioral, self-report and psychophysiological measures (e.g., event-related brain activity, heart rate, eyeblink startle, skin conductance). This study will help to better characterize normative emotional response and regulation in healthy individuals and those with psychiatric disorders.

If you are interested in participating in any of these studies, please complete the following link: https://tamu.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_cNq3efFDfg1cBYW