Abstract:

Prior studies indicated a prevalence of affective disturbances during adolescence and various affective disturbances influence adolescents' physical- mental health profoundly. By literature analysis, this study proposes that the prevalence of affective disturbances in adolescents is closely linked with their emotion coping style, and that cognitive training may decrease adolescents' susceptibility to affective disturbances, consequently to enhance their psychological wellbeing. To test these hypotheses, using behavioral/physiological methods, EEG/ERP, and fMRI measures, this project plans to conduct the following four studies:1) neural mechanisms underlying the impact of pubertal development on adolescents' susceptibility to negative emotions; 2) the interactive influences of cognitive coping style and pubertal status on adolescents' susceptibility to negative emotions;3)how cognitive trainings (attention, interpretation or acceptance training) dampen healthy adolescents' susceptibility to negative emotions and neural plasticity mechanisms;4)how cognitive trainings modify the anxious/ depressive adolescents' emotion coping styles, clinical symptoms and the neural underpinnings of these influences. The ultimate goal of this series of studies is to unravel cognitive-neural mechanisms of adolescents' vulnerability to affective disturbances, to find and cultivate healthy coping styles, and to lay theoretic and practical bases for clinical treatment of affective disturbances.

Key words: susceptibility, pubertal development, coping style, cognitive training, affective disturbances