Research group on the Psychology of Stress and Cognitive and Affective Processes

Description

The group's research activity focuses on the cognitive and affective aspects associated with stress processes in healthy people and those suffering from a long-term pathology, from a multidisciplinary perspective. To this end, it records neuropsychological, electrophysiological and endocrine variables, using non-invasive procedures, in various laboratory, field and clinical studies. The end goal of the research is to contribute to clarifying the mechanisms involved in stress processes and how these may impact on health, as well as to pay attention to the modular factors that may play a role.

In thematic terms, the interaction between stress and decision-making in healthy individuals may have implications for maladaptive behaviours that may influence the health of healthy individuals. In people with long-term conditions, stress can act as a predisposing factor, precipitating factor or impact on recovery, cognitive processing, functionality and quality of life in people diagnosed with epilepsy. The results of these studies represent a relevant advance in the generation of basic scientific knowledge on the correlates of stress and cognitive and emotional processes, as well as a possibility of transfer to the clinical care setting, favouring the detection of the key aspects involved in quality of life and which may be useful for the design of cognitive-behavioural interventions.

Institutionally, the Research Group maintains collaborations with other groups at national and international level. The different lines of study are financed by different research grants from the Universitat de València itself, the Valencian Government (PROMETEO Excellence Group) and the Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (Excellence Projects).

Goals CT

Main objective 1: Interaction between stress and decision-making in healthy people. This line of research addresses the bidirectional interaction between stress and decision-making processes in young, healthy people.

Specific objective 1.1: The effects of stress and its psychological, cardiovascular and hormonal response on decision-making in laboratory contexts, both in standardised decision-making tasks (such as the Iowa Gambling Test or the Dice Gambling Test) and in stimuli relevant to the individual's daily life (eating habits, etc.).

Specific objective 1.2: Examine to what extent, and under what conditions, decision-making can be considered a stressful stimulus in itself that promotes maladjusted health states, from a preventive perspective.

Specific objective 1.3: Detect the role of factors of vulnerability and resistance to the effects of stress both related to the individual (personality factors, previous experiences, etc.) and to the social context in which he/she finds him/herself.

Main objective 2: Neuropsychology of epilepsy: quality of life and functionality. This line of research is carried out in collaboration with the Multidisciplinary Epilepsy Unit of La Fe Hospital in Valencia, within the framework of a collaboration agreement.

Specific objective 2.1: Examine and evaluate the possible interaction between stress and epilepsy. Both in terms of stress processes as predisposers and precipitants of crises, and with the understanding that the repeatability and uncontrollability of crises can be a pattern of chronic stress in humans. Neuropsychological, cardiovascular and hormonal variables, among others, will be examined.

Specific objective 2.2: It aims to detect predictors of cognitive performance, functionality and quality of life in drug-resistant patients undergoing epilepsy surgery, with the aim of proposing intervention guidelines.

Research lines

Stress and decision-making
Study of the effects of stress on decision-making in healthy people.
Stress and quality of life in people with epilepsy
Effects of stress and treatment on cognitive aspects, hormone levels and quality of life in people with epilepsy.

Management