![]() | Moody Brains |
By Melissa Lee Phillips Neuroscience for Kids Consultant March 8, 2002
Individuals differ in the range of negative moods and emotions that they experience. Over time, some people experience negative mood states more consistently and more severely than others. The purpose of Zald's study was to identify a relationship between negative moods and activity in a specific area of the brain.
When the scores from the questionnaire were compared with the PET scan images, the researchers found that people who reported experiencing frequent negative emotions over the past month usually had higher levels of activity in the VMPFC. The scientists also looked for a correlation between activity in the VMPFC and positive emotional states, but they found none. Activity in this brain area seems to be linked only to the negative aspects of mood.
Zald and his colleagues emphasize that although the study suggests a correlation between chronic negative moods and activity in the VMPFC, it is not known what causes the changes. It may be that people experience negative mood states because they have high activity in the VMPFC, or it could be possible that negative moods cause increased activity in the VMPFC. Other factors not measured in the study may also be the actual cause of the observed results. A correlation means that two variables are related, but it does not provide any information about what causes the relationship. |
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