# Understanding the role of dysregulation in positive affect in developmental psychopathology.

> **NIH NIH K23** · WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY · 2024 · $193,523

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
Emotion dysregulation is transdiagnostic, integral to most affective and disruptive behavior disorders, and is
associated with impaired functioning across domains from health to academics. The study of dysregulation of
negative affect, or irritability, has resulted in a better understanding of how it predicts later impairment and
general psychopathology and has identified neural correlates. However, there has been less focus on
dysregulation of positive affect, despite recent evidence suggesting it contributes to the development of
psychopathology, particularly externalizing symptoms, and impairment across domains from general to social
functioning. Dysregulated positive affect may not only confer independent risk, but is likely to have separate
underlying neural correlates, as positive and negative emotional valence systems are different domains in the
Research Domains Criteria. While surgency, the temperamental measure of high positive affect, has been
related to increased aggression and externalizing symptoms in infants and young children, how this relates to
clinical dysregulation of positive affect, or excitability, is unknown. Moreover, the relationships between surgency
and excitability with psychopathology and impairment have been largely unstudied in young children. This
proposal addresses these gaps in understanding by studying the overlapping and separable contributions of
surgency (normative high positive affect), excitability (clinically related dysregulated positive affect), and
irritability (clinically related dysregulated negative affect) to symptoms of psychopathology and impairment in
school age children. Additionally, this proposal will assess the overlap and distinctions in brain-behavior
relationships between dysregulation in positive and negative affect. Specifically, 100 7-10-year-old children
enriched for emotion dysregulation will be assessed using a research diagnostic interview and parent and self-
report measures of emotional and general functioning at baseline and after one year. At baseline, children will
undergo functional MRI scans during emotion response and regulation tasks. Consistent with the NIMH Strategic
plan, particularly Strategy Objective 2, to “chart mental illness trajectories to determine when, where, and how
to intervene,” understanding the separable contributions of surgency, excitability, and irritability to risk trajectories
and elucidating the neural correlates of such can provide meaningful targets for early identification and
intervention in multiple disorders. Under the mentorship of a diverse team of experts in emotion regulation and
development, developmental psychology and psychopathology, and longitudinal and statistical methodology, the
training provided through this proposal will facilitate the applicant gaining expertise in fMRI methods for studying
affective processing, dimensional constructs in developmental psychopathology, and longitudinal design and
analysis. This tr...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10915509
- **Project number:** 5K23MH131849-03
- **Recipient organization:** WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Alecia C. Vogel
- **Activity code:** K23 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $193,523
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2022-09-08 → 2027-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10915509

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10915509, Understanding the role of dysregulation in positive affect in developmental psychopathology. (5K23MH131849-03). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-25 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10915509. Licensed CC0.

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