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The primary goal of this thesis was to characterize the parameters under which faulty emotion-cognition interactions emerge in Schizophrenia (SCZ). Its theoretical basis rests on neurobiological models specifying two related, yet independent, brain systems that govern how cognitive versus emotional processing impacts behaviour, and related research indicating differential impairment of the cognitive system in SCZ. These models predict that the disruptive impact of emotional information may be greatest when it is actionable and signals a competing response. However, most previous research on patients with SCZ has focused on the influence of extraneous emotional interference on primary cognitive processing. Thus, the central hypothesis guiding these experiments was that patients with SCZ will have the most difficulty prioritizing goal-directed, cognitive response cues in the face of countermanding emotional cues which impel an alternative response. Several different experimental tasks were used to interrogate this hypothesis, at both the behavioural and neural level. Overall, the results confirm that SCZ patients have difficulty prioritizing cognitive determinants of behaviour when emotion-laden information serves as an actionable and opposing response cue. However, the data are not conclusive; effect sizes were generally modest and results were not entirely consistent across studies. Therefore, while these experiments support dual-system neurobiological models of SCZ-related brain pathology, and provide interesting tentative suggestions for novel clinical approaches to treatment and remediation, further research is needed to fully understand dysregulated emotion-cognition antagonism in this clinical population. / Thesis / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

This thesis investigated how different groups of people process the emotionality of linguistic stimuli. Recently, individual and group differences have become topics of interest in psychology, but very few studies have investigated how behavioural responses to emotional stimuli vary as a function of participant demographics. The first study focused on the contrast between how native and non-native speakers of English process the emotional content of English words. The study of emotional processing in non-native speakers is a highly contested issue in the field of bilingualism and experimental psychology. Chapter 2 reports the largest collection of emotion ratings of English words from non-native speakers and provides a theoretical perspective on how bilingual speakers process emotion. In order to facilitate the investigation of individual differences in emotional processing, the field needs a reliable method that allows for the measurement of subtle differences between individuals. In Chapter 3, I demonstrate that a novel ‘slider’ method of measuring valence, proposed by Warriner et al. (2018), is a reliable tool for measuring affective responses to words along a fine-grained sliding scale. In Chapter 4, I demonstrate the use of the sliding scale with the aim of capturing affective differences between those with and without depressive symptoms. This chapter reports that compared to those without depressive symptoms, those with depressive symptoms i) exhibit attenuated responses to emotionally laden stimuli, and ii) are unable to take on the perspective of someone without depression. Overall, this thesis reports on the emotional responses in two hotly debated groups, as well as providing a new method of measuring emotional responses to linguistic stimuli. These findings underscore the importance of studying emotional processing beyond normative populations. / Thesis / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

A conceptual model was originally proposed that linked the vestibular modality with executive domains by means of a functional cerebral systems framework. The claim was that frontal regions exert regulatory control over posterior systems for sensation and autonomic functions in a dense, interconnected network with right hemisphere specialization. As a preponderance of evidence demonstrates that a design fluency task is often associated with right frontal functioning, it was hypothesized that proficiency on a design fluency task would yield differences in QEEG and skin conductance after vestibular activation. Fifty-eight total (29 high- and 29 low-fluent performers on the Ruff Figural Fluency Test were subjected to 20 whole-body passive rotations about the neuroaxis at a constant rate of approximately 120 degrees per second. EEG and skin conductance levels were recorded prior to and post-rotation. Analyses were conducted on delta (1-4 Hz.) and beta (13-21 Hz.) frequencies. Overall, delta activity increased from baseline to post-rotation with higher levels at frontal sites, however no group differences were found across conditions. Regarding beta activation, high design fluency was associated with increased beta activation at the right temporal site (T6). In contrast to expectations, beta activity diminished from baseline to post-stress over both groups. Skin conductance levels increased from baseline to post-stress. Methodological considerations are discussed regarding gender issues and procedures of the experiment. The results indicate that vestibular disorientation yields systematic delta changes in the frontal regions, but that future refinements to the vestibular stressor may elicit QEEG and skin conductance differences in fluency groups. / Ph. D.

The music-evoked emotion literature implicates many brain regions involved in emotional processing but is currently lacking a model that specifically explains how they temporally and dynamically interact to produce intensely pleasurable emotions. A conceptual model, The Dynamic Functional Capacity Theory (DFCT), is proposed that provides a foundation for the further understanding of how brain regions interact to produce intense intensely pleasurable emotions. The DFCT claims that brain regions mediating emotion and arousal regulation have a limited functional capacity that can be exceeded by intense stimuli. The prefrontal cortex is hypothesized to abruptly deactivate when this happens, resulting in the inhibitory release of sensory cortices, the limbic system, the reward-circuit, and the brainstem reticular activating system, causing 'unbridled' activation of these areas. This process produces extremely intense emotions. This theory may provide music-evoked emotion researchers and Music Therapy researchers a theoretical foundation for continued research and application and also to compliment current theories of emotion. / Ph. D.

Emotion regulation difficulty is commonly experienced by autistic adults and has been explored as a transdiagnostic mechanism contributing to anxiety and depression in autistic adults. Previous research has found that emotion regulation strategies and autonomic nervous system (ANS) responses involved in emotion regulation differ between autistic and non-autistic individuals. These findings highlight the role of the ANS as a measure of emotion regulation; however, this has not been studied in an autistic adult sample. The current study examined ANS activity, as measured by respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA), root mean square successive differences (rMSSD), and skin conductance level (SCL), and subjective ratings of valence and arousal at rest and while viewing emotional film clips and engaging in emotion regulation in autistic adults. The study consisted of 31 autistic and 31 non-autistic adults, matched on age, intellectual ability, sex, and race/ethnicity. Participants also self-reported their daily emotion regulation use via the Emotion Regulation Questionnaire. Results demonstrated group differences in baseline RSA and rMSSD, self-reported valence of viewing neutral and negative stimuli, and cognitive reappraisal used in daily life. There was also increased SCL and self-reported arousal and decreased self-reported valence to negative stimuli across the whole sample. Exploratory results also showed that SCL and self-reported arousal to negative stimuli were correlated for autistic participants, and that emotion regulation changed physiological and subjective experiences of negative emotion across the whole sample. Supplementary analyses explored the covarying role of co-occurring depression and anxiety and antidepressant use, and showed that these covariates may explain variance in some physiological and self-reported responses whereas in other models, they may suppress these changes. This study extends previous research on emotion regulation in daily life of autistic adults and is the first investigation that demonstrates how an objective measure, such as correlates of ANS, provides additional insight in emotion regulation in autistic adults beyond subjective ratings. This study is important insofar as it shows how emotion regulation strategies manifest in autistic adults and its implications for informing the use of emotion regulation treatment intervention. / Doctor of Philosophy / Autistic adults struggle to regulate their emotions which may contribute to their anxiety and depression. It is previously known that autistic people emotionally regulate differently than non-autistic people, and that their autonomic nervous system (ANS) reacts differently too. These differences may lead to information about how the ANS may measure emotion regulation, yet no one has ever studied this in autistic adults. Therefore, the following study examined ANS activity, as measured by respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA), root mean square successive differences (rMSSD), and skin conductance level (SCL), and self-reported ratings of positivity and excitement at rest and while watching emotional film clips and regulating their emotional responses in autistic adults. The study included 31 autistic and 31 non-autistic adults, who had similar age, intellectual ability, sex, and race/ethnicity. Participants also self-reported how often they emotionally regulated, specifically by changing their thoughts ("reappraisal") and keeping a blank face ("suppression") in their daily life using the Emotion Regulation Questionnaire. Based on this study, autistic adults had lower levels of RSA and rMSSD when they were watching a baseline video of swimming fish. They also rated lower levels of positivity when watching both neutral and negative themed film clips and shared that they used reappraisal less frequently in daily life than non-autistic adults. Everyone in the study showed increased SCL and rated lower levels of positivity when watching negative themed film clips. Also, autistic adults with higher SCL also felt greater levels of excitement when watching negative film clips. For everyone, regulating emotional experiences changed the body's responses (i.e., RSA, rMSSD, and SCL) and experiences of positivity and excitement when watching negative themed film clips. However, since having depression and anxiety and taking antidepressants may affect how participants emotionally regulate, additional analyses also explored the impact of these factors; these extra analyses found that some of the previously reported findings may be because of depression, anxiety, and antidepressants, rather than being autistic. Overall, this is the first study to explore the relationship between emotion regulation and autism in adults by looking at the ANS. It is important because it shows how autistic people emotionally regulate which can help experts design mental health treatments.