Clinical Psychology Brown Bag Series

Brant P. Hasler, PhD

Assistant Professor, Department of Psychiatry

University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine

Does reward have a rhythm? Evidence for circadian modulation of positive affect and appetitive motivation

Friday December 11, 2015

12:00 PM to 1:00 PM

The Martin Colloquium Room

4127 Sennott Square

Accumulating evidence supports circadian regulation of reward-related behavior and physiology.   Circadian misalignment, in turn, is associated with problematic outcomes involving reward function, including affective disorders and substance abuse.  Adolescents may be particularly prone to effects of circadian misalignment on reward function due to the mismatch between their tendency for delayed circadian phase and early school start times. This talk will discuss relevant evidence across methodologies, from ecological momentary assessment of diurnal rhythms in positive affect under naturalistic conditions, to neuroimaging measures of altered reward-related brain function following experimental manipulation of sleep-circadian alignment.  

For further information, please contact Aidan Wright, aidan@pitt.edu