Richard J. Davidson

Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience; Functional Neuroimaging

E-mail: rjdavids@wisc.edu

Research Strength: Behavior: Cognition and Emotion

The broad goal of research in my laboratory is to understand how the brain implements emotion in normal individuals, and the brain mechanisms associated with disorders of emotion in patients with affective and anxiety disorders.

A major thrust of our research concerns the role of prefrontal cortex and amygdala in human emotion. We use functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), positron emission tomography (PET) and quantitative brain electrical activity as measures. We study the circuitry associated with individual differences in emotional regulation and we are interested in how this circuitry differs in patients with mood and anxiety disorders compared with normal controls. We also examine how this circuitry changes over time with treatment. In other related research, we are interested in the downstream consequences of the central circuitry of emotion on peripheral biological systems--the autonomic, endocrine and immune systems--that are implicated in physical health.

Lab Website:

http://psyphz.psych.wisc.edu/

Selected Publications:

• Brefczynski-Lewis, J. A., A. Lutz, H.S. Schaefer, D.B. Levinson, and R.J. Davidson. 2007. Neural correlates of attentional expertise in long-term meditation practitioners. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 104: 11483-11488. [PDF]
• Dalton, K. M., B.M. Nacewicz, A.L. Alexander, and R.J. Davidson. 2007. Gaze-fixation, brain activation and amygdala volume in unaffected siblings of individuals with autism. Biological Psychiatry. 61: 512-520. [PDF]
• Slagter, H. A., A. Lutz, L.L. Greischar, A.D. Francis, S. Nieuwenhuis, J.M. Davis, and R.J. Davidson. 2007. Mental training affects use of limited brain resources. PLoS Biology. 5: e138 [PDF]
• Nacewicz, B.M., K.M. Dalton, T. Johnstone, M. Long, E.M. McAuliff, T.R. Oakes, A.L. Alexander, and R.J. Davidson. 2006. Amygdala volume and nonverbal social impairment in adolescent and adult males with autism. Archives of General Psychiatry. 63: 1417-28. [PDF]
• Urry, H. L., C.M. van Reekum, T. Johnstone, N.H. Kalin, M.E. Thurow, H.S. Schaefer, C.A. Jackson, C.J. Frye, L.L. Greischar, A.L. Alexander, and R.J. Davidson. 2006. Amygdala and ventromedial prefrontal cortex are inversely coupled during regulation of negative affect and predict the diurnal pattern of cortisol secretion among older adults. J. Neurosci. 26: 4415-4425. [PDF]
• Dalton, K. M., B.M. Nacewicz, T. Johnstone, H.S. Shaefer, M.A. Gernsbacher, H.H. Goldsmith, A.L. Alexander, and R.J. Davidson. 2005. Gaze-fixation and the neural circuitry of face processing in autism. Nature Neuroscience. 8: 519-526. [PDF]
• Rosenkranz, M. A., W.W. Busse, T. Johnstone, C.A. Swenson, G.M. Crisafi, M.M. Jackson, J.A. Bosch, J.F. Sheridan, and R.J. Davidson. 2005. Neural circuitry underlying the interaction between emotion and asthma symptom exacerbation. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 102: 13319-13324. [PDF]
• Lutz, A., L. Greischar, N.B. Rawlings, M. Ricard, R.J. Davidson. 2004. Long-term meditators self-induce high-amplitude synchrony during mental practice. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 101: 16369-16373. [PDF]
• Davidson, R. J. 2004. Well-being and affective style: Neural substrates and biobehavioral correlates. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London B. 359: 1395-1411. [PDF]
• Rosenkrantz, M.A., D.C. Jackson , K.M. Dalton, I. Dolski, C.D. Ryff, B.H. Singer, D. Muller, N.H. Kalin, and R.J. Davidson. 2003. Affective style and in vivo immune response: Neurobehavioral mechanisms. PNAS 100: 11148-11152. [PDF]
• Davidson, R.J. 2003. Affective neuroscience and psychophysiology: Toward a synthesis. Psychophysiology 40: 655-665. [PDF]
• Davidson, R.J., J. Kabat-Zinn, J. Schumacher, M. Rosenkrantz, D. Muller, S.F. Santorelli, et al. 2003. Alterations in brain and immune function produced by mindfulness meditation. Psychosomatic Med. 65: 564-570.
• Abercrombie, H.C., N.H. Kalin, M.E. Thorow, M.A. Rosenkranz, and R.J. Davidson. 2003. Cortisol variation in humans affects memory for emotionally-laden and neutral information. Beh. Neurol. 117: 505-516.
• Davidson, R.J., W. Irwin, M.J. Anderele, and N.H. Kalin. 2003. The neural substrates of affective processing in depressed patients treated with Venlafaxine. Am. J. Psychiatry. 160: 64-75. [PDF]
• Schaefer, S.M., D.C. Jackson, R.J. Davidson, G.K. Aguirre, D.Y. Kimberg, and S.L. Thompson-Schill. 2002. Modulation of amygdalar activity by the conscious regulation of negative emotion. J. Cog. Neurol. 14: 913-921.
• Pizzagalli, D.A., D. Lehmann, A.M. Hendrick, M. Regard, R.D. Pascual-Marqui, and R.J. Davidson. 2002. Affective judgments of faces modulate early activity (~160 ms) within the fusiform gyri. NeuroImage 16: 663-677. [PDF]
• Davidson, R.J., D. Pizzagalli, J.B. Nitschke, and K.M. Putnam. 2002. Depression: Perspectives from affective neuroscience. Ann. Rev. Psych. 53: 545-574. [PDF]
• Kalin, N.H., S.E. Shelton, R.J. Davidson, and A.E. Kelley. 2001. The primate amygdala mediates acute fear but not the behavioral and physiological components of anxious temperament. J. Neurol. 21: 2067-2074. [PDF]
• Davidson, R.J., K.M. Putnam, and C.L. Larson. 2000. Dysfunction in the neural circuitry of emotion regulation—A possible prelude to violence. Science 289: 591-594. [PDF]