Ricerc@Sapienza

Modern theories of behavioral control converge onto the idea that goal-directed/voluntary behaviors are intimately tied to the evaluation of resources. According to this idea, all moving animals select those actions that, based on a subjective value assigned to them, are most likely to lead to the greatest reward. These computations are at the root of behavioral flexibility. Of key relevance in the decision-making processes that underlie action selection are those stimuli bearing emotional contents. However, even though it is acknowledged that emotional information affects behavioral control, the exact way in which emotions impact on action and perception, including the underlying neural processes, is largely unknown. Research on such phenomena is clinically relevant, as impairments in the integration of emotional information with ongoing motor/cognitive processes are potential biomarkers of psychiatric and neurological disorders. Combining advanced methods in psychophysics, neurophysiology, neuropsychology, and neuroimaging, the present project aims to shed light on this issue from novel perspectives. Data obtained from our experiments will provide new information that will improve our understanding of the basic mechanisms of decision-making subserving voluntary behavior, perceptual processing outside voluntary control, and the clinical management of disorders in which the processing of emotional information is impaired.