Abstract
What do we propose? One of the unsolved issues in neuroscience is how we regulate interpersonal distance (IPD) to defend ourselves and to interact with others. Aim of this project is to identify the psychological and neural mechanisms of how emotional, psychophysiological, and personality variables regulate and predict the optimal distance, and how the IPD dysregulation is linked to inappropriate social behaviors, such as social inhibition, withdrawal, and interpersonal problems as displayed by individuals with autistic traits. Why is what we propose important? Understanding the psychological and neural mechanisms leading to the optimal distance during interpersonal situations, and any abnormal regulations in autism, is of great societal importance, given the high costs in terms of mental health for treating individuals with autism and the related social issues. The relevance of studying this topic goes beyond clinical and translational applications and has direct implications for the theoretical understanding of two components of optimal distancing: social spacing and space invasion. By studying both the socio-emotional facets of IPD and how these are altered in autism, we will clarify the unsolved issues of IPD. How can we realize it? We will adopt revised and novel experimental paradigms combined with top-notch artificial intelligence methods to study how participants regulate their IPD to assess emotional, psychophysiological, and personality variables that predict it. Virtual reality settings will be used to measure IPD from emotional stimuli and to verify the role of bodily and facial expressions in regulating the distance we maintain from others. fMRI will be adopted to separate the neural mechanisms behind the decision to adjust the IPD, from the neural mechanisms subserving the perceived discomfort that leads to the modulation of IPD. tDCS will be used to test the causal role of the brain areas found using fMRI, in regulating IPD. We will use Machine Learning, a branch of artificial intelligence, which builds statistical models to understand the psychological factors and the neural structures explaining the IPD regulation, both in neurotypical participants and individuals with autism. Only a multidisciplinary approach that takes into account all the variables involved and that mechanistically tests their joint contribution can provide us with an exhaustive account of social distance. These fundamental questions will be addressed by both Units (UniTN and UniBO): - the role of emotion expressions conveyed by face and body, as well as psychophysiological and personality factors in IPD regulation in the neurotypical population; - how the above factors characterize IPD preference both in childhood and adulthood Autism; - the brain networks and their subcomponents involved in IPD regulation and space violation, by running first an fMRI study and then a tDSC study to prove the causative role of the areas in these processes
Dettagli del progetto
Strutture Unibo coinvolte:
Dipartimento di Psicologia "Renzo Canestrari"
Coordinatore:
Università degli Studi di Trento(Italy)
Contributo totale di progetto: Euro (EUR) 168.928,00
Contributo totale Unibo: Euro (EUR) 79.067,00
Durata del progetto in mesi: 24
Data di inizio
12/12/2023
Data di fine:
28/02/2026
