Neurocomputational approach to investigate the interaction between emotion and cognition

2020 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 18K13374
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Early-Career Scientists
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Review Section: Basic Section 10040:Experimental psychology-related
• Research Institution: Tokyo Woman's Christian University (2019-2020); Takachiho University (2018)
• Principal Investigator: Ueno Taiji 東京女子大学, 現代教養学部, 准教授 (20748967)
• Project Period (FY): 2018-04-01 – 2021-03-31
• Keywords: 感情 / 認知 / ニューラルネットワーク / ノルアドレナリン

Outline of Final Research Achievements

This study investigated the effect of emotion on cognitive processing. The existing literature has debated whether emotion facilitates or interferes cognitive function, and actually the results have been mixed. However, a recent theory (GANE theory, Mather et al., 2011) explains the seemingly contradicting results in terms of signal-to-noise ratio. Specifically, high-priority items (i.e., higher activation) tend to be facilitated by emotional experiences whilst low-priority items (i.e., lower activation) tend to be interfered by emotional experiences. Thus, emotion is assumed to increase the signal-to-noise ratio in human brains. We developed a neuro-computational model whose computational principles are constrained by the latest neurophysiological findings (as the GANE theory assumes), and successfully reproduced the human behavioral patterns.

Free Research Field

認知心理学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

研究成果は、Nature Human Behavior; Cerebral Cortex; Cognition; Attention, Perception & Psychophysicsといった雑誌に採択された。その学術的意義としては、比較的別個に研究されがちな心理学、計算科学、神経科学の知見を単一モデルにまとめたところにある。また、高齢者が情動興奮時にどういった認知機能の低下が起きるかを予測することも可能にした研究である。高齢者の犯罪理由として、激怒(興奮)して周りが見えなくなる、といった理由の頻度が高いことからも、そういった社会問題に貢献するといった意義が期待される研究である。