Isabel Rodriguez

Project: Reward Memories Bias Instrumental Rule Selection via the Orbitofrontal Cortex to Secondary Motor Cortex Pathway

Lab Group: LEAP Neuro Lab

Graduate Mentor: Nadu Barbashova

Abstract:   Anxiety plays a fundamental role in shaping how we think, feel, and react under pressure, yet the mechanisms of how individual emotional traits modulate cognitive control during threat remain poorly understood. Individual differences in temperament, interoceptive awareness, and affective styles may influence how people respond to threatening situations. This study examined how participants' traits predicted performance on a response inhibition task (flanker task).    Participants (n = 59) completed a flanker task, during the task individuals anticipated either electric shocks or neutral stimulations (60% probability). Reaction time and accuracy were taken as measures of performance. Sympathetic activation was measured through electrodermal activity and heart rate. After the task, participants completed standardized questionnaires assessing affective and trait tendencies (MAIA-2, MDI, AVI, PANAS-GEN, ERQ). Individuals who valued low-arousal positive states and trusted bodily sensations showed better cognitive control. In contrast, high derealization, jitteriness, irritability, and elevated activation control were linked to poorer performance under threat. Anxiety to threat was heightened among individuals who both reported feeling and desired to feel high arousal emotions as well as individuals frequently experiencing discomfort, and guilt. Individuals who report feeling high arousal negative emotions were also more responsive to threat. Findings highlight the role of emotional traits in shaping cognitive and physiological responses to threat and underscore the trade-off between threat responsiveness and cognitive control.