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EQ: Neurobiological Basis of Emotional Intelligence

Sponsor
Mclean Hospital (Other)
Overall Status
Completed
CT.gov ID
NCT01721356
Collaborator
(none)
70
Enrollment
32
Duration (Months)

Study Details

Study Description

Brief Summary

Emotional Intelligence (EI) is defined as the ability to accurately perceive and identify emotions in oneself and others, understand and use emotions to enhance cognitive processes, and effectively manage one's own emotions as well as those of others. Two major approaches to the construct of emotional intelligence have emerged. These two approaches can be broadly defined as the Trait and Ability Approaches. The Trait Approach, which is typically assessed via self-report measures such as that Bar-On Emotional Quotient Inventory, appears to be strongly related to existing models of personality and coping. The other major approach to EI follows an Ability Model, assuming that EI is similar to but distinct from other types of cognitive intelligence, and involves measurement of a variety of skills and abilities related to emotional processing. An understanding of the neurobiological substrate of emotional intelligence is beginning to emerge. One influential theory that is particularly relevant to the neurobiology of emotional intelligence is the "somatic marker hypothesis," yet there still remains a limited understanding of the neurobiological basis of EI. The proposed investigation will attempt to provide the most comprehensive study to date examining the behavioral, psychological, functional, and brain structural correlates of EI. The proposed study will use neuroimaging techniques to examine the relationship between current measures of EI, behavioral expression of emotionally competent capacities, brain functional responses, and structural cerebral organization.

The specific questions to be addressed and their associated hypotheses are:

  1. The two major approaches to EI (i.e., Trait vs. Ability) will show only modest, though significant positive correlations with one another.

  2. EI Trait measures will be highly correlated with measures of personality but weakly correlated with specific skills such as facial affect identification, emotional decision-making, and affectively based judgments, whereas EI Ability measures will correlate more highly with specific emotional skill measures.

  3. During functional MRI affective challenge tasks, EI scores will be negatively correlated with activity within the Somatic Marker Circuitry suggested by Damasio and colleagues (i.e., ventromedial prefrontal cortex, amygdala, insular cortex), as suggested by the neural efficiency hypothesis.

Condition or Disease Intervention/Treatment Phase

    Study Design

    Study Type:
    Observational
    Actual Enrollment :
    70 participants
    Observational Model:
    Cohort
    Time Perspective:
    Cross-Sectional
    Official Title:
    The Neurobiological Basis and Potential Modification of Emotional Intelligence Through Affective / Behavioral Training
    Study Start Date :
    Sep 1, 2009
    Actual Primary Completion Date :
    May 1, 2012
    Actual Study Completion Date :
    May 1, 2012

    Arms and Interventions

    Arm Intervention/Treatment
    Healthy individuals

    Healthy individuals ranging in age, race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, and years of education

    Outcome Measures

    Primary Outcome Measures

    1. Score on ability measure (MSCEIT) of emotional intelligence [Measure administered on the day of the MRI scan]

    Eligibility Criteria

    Criteria

    Ages Eligible for Study:
    18 Years to 45 Years
    Sexes Eligible for Study:
    All
    Accepts Healthy Volunteers:
    Yes
    Inclusion Criteria:

    • Age range between 18 and 45

    • Right handed

    • Primary language must be English

    Exclusion Criteria:

    • Any history of neurological illness, current DSM-IV Axis I disorder, lifetime history of major depression or psychotic disorder, or head injury with loss of consciousness > 30 minutes

    • Complicating medical conditions that may influence the outcome of neuropsychological assessment or functional imaging (e.g., HIV)

    • Mixed or left-handedness

    • Current score of 15 or greater on Beck Depression Inventory

    • Abnormal visual acuity that is not corrected by contact lenses

    • Metal within the body, claustrophobia, or other contraindications for neuroimaging

    • Less than 9th grade education

    • Evidence of impaired reading comprehension

    • Excess alcohol use (Males: regular intake of 5+ drinks on one occasion or >2 drinks per day on average for past 2 months; Females: 4+ drinks per day or >1 drink per day on average for past 2 months)

    • History of alcoholism or substance use disorder

    • Use of illicit drugs

    • Best of 4 learning trials of Memory Suppression Task Training below 85%

    • Indication of invalid responding, potentially including elevated Omission Rate, Inconsistency Index, or Positive/Negative Impression scales on EQi, or elevated Omission Rate or Scatter score on MSCEIT

    Contacts and Locations

    Locations

    No locations specified.

    Sponsors and Collaborators

    • Mclean Hospital

    Investigators

    • Principal Investigator: William D Killgore, PhD, Mclean Hospital

    Study Documents (Full-Text)

    None provided.

    More Information

    Publications

    None provided.
    Responsible Party:
    William Killgore, Associate Professor, Mclean Hospital
    ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier:
    NCT01721356
    Other Study ID Numbers:
    • W81XWH-09-1-0730
    First Posted:
    Nov 4, 2012
    Last Update Posted:
    Nov 4, 2012
    Last Verified:
    Nov 1, 2012

    Study Results

    No Results Posted as of Nov 4, 2012