Example 1: Studies regarding long and short-term intense romantic love in heterosexual relationships suggest that romantic love is a result of activation in the Ventral Tegmental Area (VTA), Dopaminergic cells, and various other cortical regions. Instead of romantic love being an emotion by itself, it instead mimics a reward and motivation system that turns the search for romantic love into one of obtaining a reward. With all research built around heterosexual populations, little is known about individuals who consider themselves Aromantic. Aromantics have little or no romantic attraction to others. This is not to say that they are not in relationships or may not feel sexual attraction, but they genuinely have never experienced the feeling of having a crush or having butterflies and are simply dull most of the time when considering the conversation of love. There is relatively no information relating to what causes and/or contributes to this orientation’s way of living. I would be interested in understanding the reward and motivation systems of Aromantics using fMRI. Do they lack Dopamine in the typically Dopamine-rich areas seen in heterosexual romantic partnerships? Are they intrinsically or extrinsically motivated given their lack of interest in obtaining a reward of romantic love? The answers to these questions can provide more insight into their community and paint them in a better light as opposed to being deemed as unloving and heartless individuals. • • • H1: If Aromantics have in-tact reward and motivation systems, then their orientation is caused by a lack of dopamine within these systems. H2: Given their lack of dopamine in typically dopamine-rich areas of the reward and motivation system, Aromantics are extrinsically motivated. Alternate Hypothesis: There is no significant difference in dopamine within the reward and motivation systems of Aromantics as compared to those in heterosexual romantic relationships. Aromantics are not extrinsically motivated. Example 2: Background: (What research has shown): Intermittent explosive disorder is a condition associated with erratic, often difficult to predict episodes of aggression perpetrated against property as well as other people. It is reported that 3%-5% of individuals diagnosed with the condition present with symptomatology for the majority of their lives and the age of onset is typically around 14 years old. Individuals struggling with this disorder often demonstrate significantly greater property damage and acts of physical aggression than their typically developing counterparts. Neuroimaging studies using fMRI technology have demonstrated qualitatively different neural functional activity when comparing individuals diagnosed with IED and controls. More specifically, neuroimaging research has demonstrated increased amygdala activation compared to controls when viewing angry faces, which may be indicated behaviorally by struggles in emotion regulation. Further, there is research supporting the idea that amygdala activation and negative emotions can be reduced and when observing emotional stimuli amongst individuals diagnosed with Borderline Personality Disorder after the completion of Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT). What remains unknown: While research does support a cortico-limbic model where hyperresponsivity of the amygdala is positively associated with emotion dysregulation, there is little research exploring whether both negative emotions and amygdala activity when observing angry faces can be mitigated amongst individuals diagnosed with IED. Current study aims: The current study looks to bridge the gap between our understanding of neural activity amongst individuals diagnosed with IED and the potential efficacy of a thirdwave cognitive behavioral therapy, namely, DBT, in reducing amygdala activity and subjective negative emotions when perceiving negative stimuli. The study will involve two groups, using a within-subjects design, wherein 15 participants in the experimental condition (those diagnosed with IED who will be receiving DBT) will undergo fMRI scans while observing angry faces to measure their amygdala activation and will report their negative emotional experience. The control group (15 participants diagnosed with IED) will undergo the same procedure, but will not be exposed to DBT nor any other form of treatment (pharmacological nor clinical) between their initial exposure to the negative stimuli and follow up exposure. H1 (My hypothesis): Participants in the experimental condition, whom have received 12 months of standardized DBT, will exhibit significantly less amygdala activity and report less subjective emotional distress when observing angry faces compared to their baseline amygdala activation and self-reported emotional experience as compared to the control group, individuals diagnosed with IED who receive no treatment. H0 (Alternative Hypothesis): There will not be a significant difference in amygdala activation nor self-reported negative emotions amongst those who receive DBT (the experimental group) and those who don’t (the control group).
Purchase answer to see full attachment