Marc D. Lewis

Bridging emotion theory and neurobiology through dynamic systems modeling

Efforts to bridge emotion theory with neurobiology can be facilitated by dynamic systems (DS) modeling. DS principles stipulate higher-order wholes emerging from lower-order constituents through bidirectional causal processes--offering a common language for psychological and neurobiological models. After identifying some limitations of mainstream emotion theory, I apply DS principles to emotion-cognition relations. I then present a psychological model based on this reconceptualization, identifying trigger, self-amplification, and self-stabilization phases of emotion-appraisal states, leading to consolidating traits. The article goes on to describe neural structures and functions involved in appraisal and emotion, as well as DS mechanisms of integration by which they interact. These mechanisms include nested feedback interactions, global effects of neuromodulation, vertical integration, action-monitoring, and synaptic plasticity, and they are modeled in terms of both functional integration and temporal synchronization. I end by elaborating the psychological model of emotion-appraisal states with reference to neural processes.

The Promise of Dynamic Systems Approaches for an Integrated Account of Human Development

After decades of theoretical fragmentation and insularity, a converging explanatory framework based on general scientific principles is an important goal for developmental psychology. Dynamic systems approaches may provide such a framework, using principles of self-organization to explain how novel forms emerge without predetermination and become increasingly complex with development. New trends in traditional theoretical families emphasize systemic, emergent processes, and these can now be explicated with principles of self-organization that apply to all natural systems. Self-organization thus provides a single explanation for the multiple facets of development, integrating diverse developmental viewpoints within a larger scientific perspective.

Emotion, Development, and Self-Organization: Dynamic Systems Approaches to Emotional Development

Introduction: a new approach to study of emotional development Marc D. Lewis and Isabela Granic Part I: Intrapersonal Processes: 2. Self organization of discrete emotions, emotion patterns, and emotion-cognition relations Carroll Izard 2. Emotional self-organization at three time scales Marc D. Lewis 3. Emotions as episodes of subsystem synchronization driven by nonlinear appraisal processes Klaus R. Scherer 5. Surprise! Facial expressions can be coordinative motor structures Linda Camras 6. The dynamic construction of emotion: varieties in anger M. F. Mascolo Part II: Neurobiological Perspectives: 7. The self-organization of the right brain and the neurobiology of emotional development Alan N. Schore 8. Motivation of neural plasticity: neural mechanisms in the self-organization of depression Kate Harkness and Don M. Tucker 9. Emotion is essential to all intentional behaviors Walter J. Freeman 10. The neurodynamics of emotions: an evolutionary-neurodevelopmental view Jaak Panksepp Part III. Interpersonal Processes: 11. Beyond bidirectional models of parent-child relations: a self-organization perspective Isabela Granic 12. Attachment and self-organization Deborah Laible and Ross Thompson 13. The dynamics of emotion-related behaviors in infancy C. de Weerth and Paul van Geert 14. Theoretical and mathematical modeling of marriage K. D. Ryan and J. M. Gottman 15. The dynamics of emotion: metaphors, methods, and models of development Daniel P. Keating and Fiona K. Miller.

Neural correlates of cognitive control in childhood and adolescence : Disentangling the contributions of age and executive function

Dense-array (128-channel) electroencephalography (EEG) was used to record event-related potentials (ERPs) from 33 participants between 7 and 16 years of age while they performed a Go/Nogo task. The frontal (Nogo) N2 component of the ERP was taken as an index of cognitive control, and examined in relation to both age and independent assessments of executive function (EF), including the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT), the Stroop task, a delay discounting task, and backward digit span. Better performance on the IGT and the Stroop task was associated with smaller N2 amplitudes, over and above effects of age. N2 latencies decreased with age but were not predicted by EF. Source modeling of the N2 revealed neural generators in areas suggestive of cingulate cortex and orbitofrontal cortex, and the locations of these generators varied systematically with EF (IGT and Stroop task): the cingulate generator was more anterior for good EF participants at all ages; the orbitofrontal generator was relatively left lateralized for younger and for poorer EF participants. Taken together, these findings suggest that age-related decreases in N2 amplitude, but not N2 latency, reflect the development of cognitive control and cannot be attributed solely to incidental changes that may affect assessments of the N2 (e.g., increases in skull thickness). Functionally relevant decreases in N2 amplitude may reflect changes in the regions of cortex giving rise to the N2.

Development of Hot and Cool Executive Function during the Transition to Adolescence.

This study examined the development of executive function (EF) in a typically developing sample from middle childhood to adolescence using a range of tasks varying in affective significance. A total of 102 participants between 8 and 15years of age completed the Iowa Gambling Task, the Color Word Stroop, a Delay Discounting task, and a Digit Span task. Age-related improvements were found on all tasks, but improvements on relatively cool tasks (Color Word Stroop and Backward Digit Span) occurred earlier in this age range, whereas improvements on relatively hot tasks (Iowa Gambling Task and Delay Discounting) were more gradual and occurred later. Exploratory factor analysis indicated that performance on all tasks could be accounted for by a single-factor model. Together, these findings indicate that although similar abilities may underlie both hot and cool EF, hot EF develops relatively slowly, which may have implications for the risky behavior often observed during adolescence. Future work should include additional measures to characterize more intensively the development of both hot and cool EF during the transition to adolescence.

Neurophysiological Correlates of Emotion Regulation in Children and Adolescents

Psychologists consider emotion regulation a critical developmental acquisition. Yet, there has been very little research on the neural underpinnings of emotion regulation across childhood and adolescence. We selected two ERP components associated with inhibitory control—the frontal N2 and frontal P3. We recorded these components before, during, and after a negative emotion induction, and compared their amplitude, latency, and source localization over age. Fifty-eight children 5–16 years of age engaged in a simple go/no-go procedure in which points for successful performance earned a valued prize. The temporary loss of all points triggered negative emotions, as confirmed by self-report scales. Both the frontal N2 and frontal P3 decreased in amplitude and latency with age, consistent with the hypothesis of increasing cortical efficiency. Amplitudes were also greater following the emotion induction, only for adolescents for the N2 but across the age span for the frontal P3, suggesting different but overlapping profiles of emotion-related control mechanisms. No-go N2 amplitudes were greater than go N2 amplitudes following the emotion induction at all ages, suggesting a consistent effect of negative emotion on mechanisms of response inhibition. No-go P3 amplitudes were also greater than go P3 amplitudes and they decreased with age, whereas go P3 amplitudes remained low. Finally, source modeling indicated a developmental decline in central-posterior midline activity paralleled by increasing activity in frontal midline regions suggestive of the anterior cingulate cortex. Negative emotion induction corresponded with an additional right ventral prefrontal or temporal generator beginning in middle childhood.

Cognition-Emotion Feedback and the Self-Organization of Developmental Paths

Individual differences in personality and social behavior crystallize with age. Yet they vary sensitively with situational context and shift significantly with development. A dynamic systems perspecti

A State Space Analysis of Emotion and Flexibility in Parent-Child Interactions

Negative emotion has been shown to reduce flexibility in cognition and behavior. We examined interpersonal flexibility during negative emotional episodes within parent-child interactions. Fifty-five mothers and early-adolescent daughters were observed during a positive discussion, a negative (conflict) discussion, and another positive discussion. Codes of moment-to-moment changes in emotion expression were used to create state space grids from which measures of emotional valence and flexibility were derived. As expected, mean flexibility was lowest during the conflict discussion when negative emotion peaked, suggesting that interpersonal flexibility decreases with increasing negative emotion. Sub-groups identified as low or high in stress were also compared. Dyads with girls reporting more stressful events showed lower flexibility during the first positive discussion. However, dyads expressing more negative emotion during the conflict discussion were also more flexible, suggesting that flexible dyadic styles permit more negative emotion. These individual difference findings are discussed in terms of the suppression versus expression of negative emotions.

Neurophysiological mechanisms of emotion regulation for subtypes of externalizing children

Children referred for externalizing behavior problems may not represent a homogeneous population. Our objective was to assess neural mechanisms of emotion regulation that might distinguish subtypes of externalizing children from each other and from their normal age mates. Children with pure externalizing (EXT) problems were compared with children comorbid for externalizing and internalizing (MIXED) problems and with age-matched controls. Only boys were included in the analysis because so few girls were referred for treatment. We used a go/no-go task with a negative emotion induction, and we examined dense-array EEG data together with behavioral measures of performance. We investigated two event-related potential (ERP) components tapping inhibitory control or self-monitoring - the inhibitory N2 and error-related negativity (ERN) - and we constructed source models estimating their cortical generators. The MIXED childrens N2s increased in response to the emotion induction, resulting in greater amplitudes than EXT children in the following trial block. ERN amplitudes were greatest for control children and smallest for EXT children with MIXED children in between, but only prior to the emotion induction. These results were paralleled by behavioral differences in response time and performance monitoring. ERP activity was localized to cortical sources suggestive of the dorsal anterior cingulate for control children, posterior cingulate areas for the EXT children, and both posterior cingulate and ventral cingulate/prefrontal regions for the MIXED children. These findings highlight different mechanisms of self-regulation underlying externalizing subtypes and point toward distinct developmental pathways and treatment strategies.

Behavioral Differences in Aggressive Children Linked with Neural Mechanisms of Emotion Regulation

Abstract:  Children with aggressive behavior problems may have difficulties regulating negative emotions, resulting in harmful patterns of interpersonal behavior at home and in the schoolyard. Ventral and dorsal regions of the prefrontal cortex (PFC) have been associated with response inhibition and self‐control—key components of emotion regulation. Our research program aims to explore differences among aggressive and normal children in the activation of these cortical regions during emotional episodes, to the extent possible using electrophysiological techniques, to identify diagnostic subtypes, gain insights into their interpersonal difficulties, and help develop effective treatment strategies. This report reviews several recent studies investigating individual and developmental differences in cortical mechanisms of emotion regulation, corresponding with different patterns of interpersonal behavior. Our methods include event‐related potentials (ERPs) and cortical source modeling, using dense‐array electroencephalography (EEG) technology, as well as videotaped observations of parent–child interactions, with both normal and aggressive children. By relating patterns of brain activation to observed behavioral differences, we find (i) a steady decrease in cortical activation subserving self‐regulation across childhood and adolescence, (ii) different cortical activation patterns as well as behavioral constellations distinguishing subtypes of aggressive children, and (iii) robust correlations between the activation of cortical mediators of emotion regulation and flexibility in parent–child emotional communication in children referred for aggressive behavior problems. These findings point toward models of developmental psychopathology based on the interplay among biological, psychological, and social factors.