# Project 3 - Neural Bases of Affective Style in MIDUS III

> **NIH NIH U19** · UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN-MADISON · 2020 · $765,701

## Abstract

Abstract – Project 3 – Neuroscience Project
The Neuroscience project will collect psychophysiological and MRI data from 300 MIDUS 3 respondents to
derive measures of emotional reactivity and recovery in response to standardized positive and negative
emotional stimuli. In addition, measures of resting state connectivity, structural MRI, and white matter
connectivity measured with diffusion tensor imaging will provide additional indices of brain function and
structure. Collectively these neuroscientifically-based measures will provide a unique opportunity to examine
the neural pathways through which psychosocial factors are transduced and impact psychological function,
health and well-being as we age. Among the several innovative features of this project, facial EMG will be
acquired in the scanner to provide real-time, continuous, objective measures of emotional reactivity and
recovery that will be used in conjunction with the imaging measures. Based upon findings from MIDUS 2, we
predict that prolonged responding in the ventral striatum in response to positive incentives will be associated
with higher levels of well-being and with lower levels of cortisol and with a biomarker and gene expression
profile indicative of increased resilience. Functional connectivity between the different sectors of the prefrontal
cortex and the amygdala and ventral striatum in resting state functional MRI are predicted to be associated
with individual differences in well-being and with peripheral measures of stress biology. Increased functional
connectivity between prefrontal cortex and these subcortical zones is predicted to be associated with a more
resilient profile. Structural variations in key circuits will also be examined in relation to psychosocial factors
and peripheral biology. The neuroscience project provides key measures of the neural bases and correlates of
key emotion-related processes that are central to well-being and health and will enable MIDUS to provide a
mechanistic account of how psychosocial factors are transduced and in turn impact neural circuits and
peripheral biology in ways that modulate mental and physical health.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9955138
- **Project number:** 5U19AG051426-05
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN-MADISON
- **Principal Investigator:** Richard J Davidson
- **Activity code:** U19 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $765,701
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** — → 2022-09-29

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9955138

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9955138, Project 3 - Neural Bases of Affective Style in MIDUS III (5U19AG051426-05). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-25 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9955138. Licensed CC0.

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