Centro: Universidad de Lleida (www.udl.cat). Institut de Recerca Biomèdica de Lleida (www.irblleida.org)
Grupo: Neurocognición, Psicobiologia de la Personalidad y Genética de la Conducta. https://www.irblleida.org/ca/recerca/members/25/neurocognition-psychobiology-of-the-personality-and-behavioral-genetics
IP: Dr. Anton Aluja (Catedrático de Personalidad y Psicopatología).
Beca asociada al proyecto: PID2019-103981RB-I00 (EFECTO DE LA PERSONALIDAD EN LA TOMA DE DECISIONES Y ACTIVIDAD DEL LOBULO PREFRONTAL DEL CORTEX MEDIANTE ESPECTROSCOPIA FUNCIONAL POR INFRARROJO CERCANO (FNIR).
Summary
This study is designed with the general objective of investigating the relationships between the disinhibited personality, characterized by
high impulsivity, sensitivity to reinforcement, sensation-seeking trait, decision-making and diferential activity prefrontal cortex,
electrodermal and cardiac. Disinhibited personality has effects on socially risky behaviors such as additions, including alcoholism and
pathological play, reckless driving and eating disorders such as bulimia. Disinhibited personality is related in numerous studies to low
cortisol and elevated testosterone levels, which can facilitate disadvantageous decision-making and engage in risky behaviors. The overall objectives of this study are: 1) to evaluate the relationship of the disinhibition trait with behaviors characterized by the lack of control of
impulses registered through questionnaires, as well as in the tasks execution that involve decision-making, 2) to study the influence of the
disinhibition trait on the electrophysiological and endocrine responses during the execution of tasks that involve decision-making, 3) to
analyze the response of the prefrontal cortex during decision-making tasks in relation to the disinhibition trait. To achieve these goals, four
different groups of subjects, particularly with disinhibited personality traits and a sample of healthy subjects, will be studied. Each group
shall consist of 60 subjects, plus 240 for control group, to be possible parity in sex and aged 18 and 60 years. Different data will be
obtained through different psychometric questionnaires and saliva samples. Once the subjects have been selected according to the
exclusion criteria set, they will perform a series of decision-making tasks before a computer while measuring prefrontal activity,
electrodermal activity and cardiac activity. The analysis of the results shall result in the verification or not of various hypotheses raised on
the possible effect or interaction between the psychological and biological variables analyzed. It is hoped that this study will contribute to
the better understanding of the effects of personality on social risk behaviors within the framework of specialized literature. This study
contributes especially to the scientific field by jointly including desinhibited personality variables, decision-making and biological activity at
three levels (electro-dermal, cardiac and prefrontal brain), in addition to cortisol and testosterone effect. The results can also contribute to the
scientific training of researchers and in prevention programs of pathologies such as pathological play, reckless conduction
or eating disorders such as bulmia. The inclusion of four different types of clinical groups related to impulsive-uninhibited personality,
sensitivity to reward and deterioration in decision-making allows to extend the conclusions to different social problems, such as gambling
problems, eating disorders, substance abuse, and reckless driving behavior. It should be noted that if only one clinical group were
analyzed, the results and recommendations would be quite limited to this problem, thus losing much of the possible social and economic
impact of this project.
Requisitos del candidato/a:
a) Graduado en Psicologia con una nota media del grado de 8 ó más sobre 10.
b) Máster en Neurociencia Cognitiva.
c) Se valorará experiencia en un laboratorio de electrofisiología.
d) Inglés escrito y hablado nivel alto.
e) Conocimientos profesionales en informática: manejo de grandes bases de datos (Big Data), paquete R, software de laboratorio en resonancia magnética o similar. Se valorará conocimentos de ingenieria informàtica.
f) Dos cartas de recomendación.
Interesados con estos requisitos pueden contactar con Anton Aluja ([email protected])
